Retracing our route back into Milton Keynes, we just enjoyed the countryside on such a lovely day and pottered along slowly, stopping for lunch in the sun.
When we got to New Bradwell, we remembered how we were so busy taking photos of the aqueduct, we missed the windmill entirely so we stopped to find it. Samuel Holman built the mill to grind corn and take advantage of the trade possibilities of the new canal to sell his flour, but may not have proved too successful as it had several owners and was abandoned 60 years later as no longer economic. Surprisingly it is almost completely hidden, in a field, surrounded by a housing estate and I’m not sure which of these views I prefer, so I put them both in.
New Bradwell on a bank holiday – cricket, a packed pub garden and the sound of an ice cream van in the distance.
A recent poll found that Milton Keynes has the largest area of parks per person in Britain and since many of the larger areas can be found either side of the canal, we’ve been visiting many of them with the next being Stanton Low Park, a large green space with grazing animals, wild flowers and an atmospheric ruined church. This was once the centre of Stantonbury village but it fell into decline in the C18th and was later destroyed by quarrying. Today it’s just another green space in Milton Keynes, enjoyed by the housing estate the other side of the canal.
We walked around, Chris had a bit of a photo op with a couple of models …
… and I managed to take some pics of a bird on the look out for supper.
We unpacked the little chairs and sat on the canal bank, firstly in the shade with a cup of tea …
… and later in the sun with a glass of wine …
… and then the sun set!
Next day I was awake early, had a wander down the towpath and watched the mist hovering above the canal, but went back to a cuppa and waited for the day to warm up a bit.
In the end, we had a bit of a slow start, made slower by the arrival of Jules Fuels to deliver diesel to the boat behind us. We were fascinated – the boat and butty are both around 87 years old and beautifully painted with castles and roses and despite being working boats.
They can carry 9,000 litres of diesel, 8 tons of coal and 5 tons of coke as well as wood and gas cylinders. The original proprietors have recently retired, leaving the work to younger folk. There are monthly routes and they use text and Facebook to contact their clients who then place an order and know roughly the time and place they can meet up, but they can also be flagged down.
They tied up mid stream against the boats either end of us and refilled the boat behind who had almost run dry yesterday and borrowed a jerry can of fuel to get here.
Then a woman ran up the towpath saying they were desperate for fuel and they were reversing their boat Klara up for a refill, so we waited for that too.
It’s amazing to think these traditional ways are still relevant, especially now that there are more continuous cruisers than ever on the waterways and we were pleased to have seen them and had the chance to chat.
Once we got going, we kept an eye out for some enamel panels we had missed on the way through, another part of the Gyosei Art Trail, showing local birds using a Japanese aesthetic.
We then made a brief stop to walk into Linford Park to find brick kilns which were in use at the end of the C19th. There was once a tall chimney and the fire would have serviced all three kilns in rotation. They are currently being restored so that the brickwork is safe once more. The information panel had details of the two week firing process which heated the kilns to 1150°C.
We had lunch in the sun, and took snaps along the way, stopped to refill with water then made a longer stop so we could visit Caldecotte Lake.
This is another of the green spaces in Milton Keynes and this map from their Parks department shows how many there are, with the Grand Union Canal. curving from top left to bottom right joining many of them up. So far we have been to the Ouse Valley Park, Stanton Low Park, Great Linford Park, Willen Lake, Campbell Park, Cauldicotte Lake and Waterhall Park.
And on a bank holiday Monday with the temperature almost hitting 20°, the park was full of people enjoying themselves in the sun! We walked 3.5 miles on the lakeside path, had Mr Whippy ice creams halfway round …
… spotted a windmill minus the sails …
… and a swan keeping a low profile.
Back onboard, we continued through the lock at Fenny Stratford where a Rod Stewart lookalike who sang more like Tom Jones was pounding out tunes for the busy pub garden audience at the Red Lion. Fortunately a couple of people offered to help with the swing bridge and we were soon on our way, down to Waterhall Park where we’ve moored before.
Tomorrow we move on for our last full day afloat.
Off Travelling Together 