Tag: Grand Union Canal

The Final Stretch

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The first day of June and another sunny morning and a quick turn round Waterhall Park. We were surprised how different it looked compared with our last visit in October …

… and even how warm, so decided I should keep Mr Hayes company …

… and there was no time like the present … only to be caught in the act!

We made our way back, enjoying the sunshine. Just a couple of things we noticed … a pipe bridge so bright we don’t know how we haven’t noticed it before …

… and another fuel boat moored up – easy when you know what to look for!

Realising we’d not take many pics of the actual hard work, we took a few at a Stoke Hammond lock as we had it to ourselves.

At Soulbury, help was at hand from David and John, Canal Trust volunteers who man the triple lock to try to save water, so we actually had to wait a while for boats to come down before we could up, but at least we had help with the locks.

I sat at the front for a while, surprised how quiet it was and watched the world float by, listening to the gentle plink of water. We’ve seen lots of people sitting in the front, usually the women, with the men huddled round the tiller, but since there’s just two of us, we usually sit companionably at the back together. I saw a couple of boats from the Leighton Buzzard Navy, as we’ve heard Wyvern boats described, starting out on their holidays, just as we return from ours.

It was soon time to moor up for the night, leaving just a short distance and one lock to navigate in the morning. Dinner tonight is truly gourmet, Tesco tinned vegetable curry with potato wedges and Haloumi! We have a great little freezer compartment in the fridge on Daisy and brought four frozen home cooked stew dinners with us which we’ve mixed up with sausages, pies, pasta and an evening out in the pub. We’ve managed to buy groceries on the way in 7-11 type stores where milk and bread is easy but fresh food is harder to find.

As I was getting this ready, I noticed a well turned calf outside the window, and found Chris recording some video for his next camera club audio visual.

Our trip has turned out just as planned with a total distance of 72 miles, 28 locks and 2 tunnels (since we did them both ways!). We’ve certainly found a pace that suits us, around 6 miles a day, which gives plenty of time to take everything in our stride, stop to explore and walk and not feel we are on a mission. We’re getting better at judging angles and speeds and which bit of bank looks tricky to moor close to. We’ve experienced a tunnel, a flight of locks and a fouled propeller and all were fine, but are mindful getting on and off as while a slip into the canal is unlikely to be fatal, it certainly wouldn’t be pleasant.

All the housekeeping was quite straight forward and we only had a couple of minor bumps along the way. Even though we’ve had the coldest and wettest May in ages, the weather perked up halfway through our trip and the last few days have been glorious. The towpaths are so pretty with the white hawthorn and cow parsley and fields have been full of buttercups, clover and speedwell. I’m not sure another time of year would be so lovely.

I’m sure we’ll give this another go sometime … maybe Daisy south to Kings Langley since our map covers this direction too … or another waterway entirely!

Needless to say, there’s been a fair bit of downtime too and I found some great books to keep me company, a couple of autobiographical accounts, firstly Waterways by Jasper Winn who was sponsored by the Canal & River Trust to travel 1,000 miles round canals by narrowboat, bike and kayak to explore their history and present day life and write a book, then Afloat by Danie Couchman, an account of her six years living on the water, mainly as a constant traveller on a narrowboat but also on a mooring in a wider boat. After that I lightened up a bit and read a couple of novels, Three Women and a Boat by Anne Youngson about Eve and Sally who collide on a towpath and agree to drive Anastasia’s narrowboat to Chester and The Cosy Canal Boat Dream by Christie Barlow which was a feel good romance set in a canal side marina and have just started Murder on the Oxford Canal, investigated by DI Hillary Greene who lives on a narrowboat.

I also brought a bag of yarn scraps and a crochet hook and in odd moments have been making a kaleidoscope of butterflies as a summer makeover for my craft tree once we get home. I’ve got a dozen in the bag and it’s going to look lovely!

We’ve been checking out boat names all trip, and while many are fairly standard, a few have floated to the top of our list

We’re so pleased we’ve been afloat again, seen all we had hoped to see last trip … and more … thank you Daisy!

Map


The Greenest City

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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.

Map


Stoke Bruerne to Cosgrove Revisited

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Another beautiful day dawned and having made so much progress yesterday, we decided to aim for Cosgrove as there are several good walks here if we have extra time and the added bonus that we could visit Daisy’s Bakin Butty!

Today is Saturday of the Bank Holiday weekend and already it seems noticeably busier than when we came through a few days ago, with boats moored up nose to tail. We were hoping there would be another boat to go down the flight of locks with, and as we pulled out and set off, the skipper of Requies waved and said they would come down with us. I realised this was the same boat that I’d photographed outside Weedon Wharf the day before and once we all got chatting we found out that is where it lives, owned by skipper Andy’s father. Andy was taking it out for the first time in a couple of years with his wife Lynne and their friends Colin and Jane who were crewing and doing the locks.

We met and chatted with lots of people on the way. There was one chap who had boated all his life but with two new knees, had to take it a little easier, but was still drawn to the canal. He helped with one of the locks and told me several interesting gems such as the lock gates are painted white on the end so from a distance you can see if the lock is open or shut, and also that in days gone by the lock gates were never closed when boats left a lock – that is a new regulation so that lock gates aren’t damaged by surges of water.

He was part of a greyhound walking group, who walked along the canal to access a secure field in which they were able to release the hounds for some exercise. Apparently you can’t just let them off the lead anywhere because they run off and chase little furry things! I also chatted to another member of the group with three dogs who explained they had been racing dogs, but after three or four years, their racing days are over and often owners don’t find it economical to keep them so there are charitable groups that try to rehome them, especially as they can happily live as a pet for another ten years or so. It seems that these dogs are the lucky ones.

Next there were a couple of Canal Trust volunteers, one in training, who was loving getting out at the weekend, helping put, getting some exercise and chatting to people. Over busy weekends it helps to keep the locks moving, and some less experienced or able boaters really appreciate the help.

There were even mosaics …

At the bottom of the flight we waved goodbye to Requies, made a cuppa, and happily chugged along, enjoying the beautiful day and the scenery.

We moored for lunch, and I was tempted by footpath leading off the canal, but a loop would have been a long walk, and we decided to take it easy instead.

That didn’t stop me taking pics though …

Carrying on, we didn’t want to be caught short like yesterday and find we had to proceed further than we wanted to, so instead were over cautious, and I hopped onto the bank as we approached Cosgrove to check out there was space for us to moor. Before I knew it, I was walking and walking thinking it must come soon … but there was another bend! When we did find a spot, we couldn’t pull in close enough, so I headed beyond the Ornamental Bridge and we ended up mooring in almost the same space that we had waited for the engineer before!

Having moored up, we walked down the bank in search of Daisy’s and realised it was a good job we hadn’t tried to go further, as the bank was full of boats. We found the Bakin Butty and had drinks and chocolate chip traybake with mascarpone icing (and extra Victoria Sandwich to go for Chris) then walked down to the aqueduckt and back to walk it off!

Looking over the bridge we noticed Barbie … did she jump or was she pushed?

It was lovely just sitting on Daisy for the rest of the afternoon, with the doors and windows open, listening to the chatter of passers by, who seem to like that our little boat is called Daisy!

Dinner was going to be pasta with broccoli … till I realised I’d forgotten the pasta … so we had broccoli with dhal and potato wedges instead … yummy!

Later, Chris noticed a number of people running passed and found out this was ‘The Long Run’ a 145 mile race from Birmingham Gas Street Basin to Little Venice in London run entirely on the waymarked Grand Union Canal Towpath, regarded by many as Britain’s premier Ultra. By the time they reached us, they’d already run around 60 miles and were continuing through the night and having run marathons himself in the past, he was eager to support the runners as they passed by.

The weather has definitely improved and next morning we started with a short walk across the fields to Wolverton Mill …

… then along the bank of the Great Ouse and back through the horse tunnel and over the aqueduct. This took us passed Daisy’s again, and it would have been rude not to stop and say hi, have a coffee and a yummy iced orange cupcake! Probably a good job we are now moving on … away from temptation. Or we could paddle boarding down the canal to work it off … but I’m not sure I want to take the chance of falling in as it looks a bit murky!

Cosgrove Store solved the missing pasta problem as well as restocking bread and tomatoes and we were off once more, leaving the Iron Trunk Aqueduct behind us.

Map


Weedon Wharf and the Northampton Arm

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Today was the first really warm day of our trip, with lots of sunshine and the canal was completely still when we set off, with barely a ripple.

Our first port of call this morning was shopping so we moored where the canal was very close to the road and just a few minutes walk through a field of broad beans to the One Stop grocers in Nether Heyford.

We managed to get milk, broccoli, bananas and a couple of treats – a cheesy pasty for a Chris and a pork pie for me, then walked back. After a coffee sitting in the sun, we set off again to Weedon Bec, checking out the best place to moor – not too close to the railway or the road, not on a bend or narrow stretch, reasonable view and walking distance to our walk start point and the pub for dinner tonight! At Weedon Wharf we had reached the furthest extent of our journey and turned round at the winding point – a kind of three point turn for boats – and Chris did a grand job.

We returned to our chosen mooring beside a big field with a couple of mobile homes parked and had lunch, again in the sun!

The afternoon was spent walking, following part of the Nene Way from Weedon, through Flore to Nether Hayford then back through fields along another path. It was well signposted and we have never walked through so many fields of broad bean plants with their pretty pink flowers!

There were flower filled meadows too …

…and we played poo sticks in the River Nene with fronds of cow parsley (3-1 to Mrs Hayes!) The half-time exotic Soleros from the One Stop were delicious.

In the evening we went to The Narrowboat at Weedon having booked a table in advance, and it was the first time we’ve had dinner our together this year! Since it was still warm, we chose to sit in the garden with a view of the canal as we munched through pizza and chunky chips and a couple of pints for Chris and burger and red for me … but we did clock up 7 miles today, so we deserved it!

Next day we began our return trip and spent the morning enjoying the more rural feel to this section of the canal. As we approached Gayton Marina, we phoned ahead to check they could pump out our loo as the gauge had moved into the red, not glamorous, but necessary and swiftly achieved.

We moored up nearby and had lunch then set out on a walk to explore the Northampton Arm on the Grand Union Canal that branches off at Gayton Junction.

It may only be 4.75 miles long, but it packs in 17 locks and joins the River Nene which enabled goods to travel from Northampton to London and the Midlands. It is also a narrow canal, so each lock only takes one boat at a time and it also has a couple of draw bridges.

Recent restoration has made this a quaint stretch with a mosaic nature challenge which spells a phrase …but this is remains a mystery as we only followed the canal part of the way … guesses welcome!

We saw one boat coming up, and a lady with a novel method of not having to walk round to close the lock gate!

At lock 10, we crossed the canal, jumped over a ditch …

… and continued our walk through fields. It seems like nearly every field we walk through is planted with broad beans so today we had the Guess the Crop Challenge – as we approached each new field I guessed beans and Chris guessed anything else and somehow won 3-0 so after the Pooh sticks, we are even! We have since found out that beans are a major crop in the area but most are field beans used as animal feed, even though they look like broad beans.

There are field margins round all the fields and every walk I’m amazed that I’m still spotting new flowers …

… and also some swinging ladybirds

Four miles later we got back to the Grand Union Canal and crossed the Gayton Turnover bridge, specially designed so horses could change sides without detaching the tow ropes – the towpath changes sides in the first place so the horses don’t end up wonky from always pulling the the same side.

Back at Daisy we had tea and cake and then decided to moor for the night a little further on … which became even further on as we missed our last good chance to moor before the Blisworth Tunnel and had to go through. Old hands, we motored more confidently and despite slowing to pass two boats, still got through in just under half an hour, so ended up mooring just after 7pm in almost the same place as three nights earlier.

Dinner was soon on the table and the wine swiftly poured.

Map


A Flight of Locks and a Haunted Tunnel

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We were awake and breakfasted and ready to go by 8.30, but had a slight technical issue, namely a blocked loo. Chris had inadvertently knocked my perfume bottle and while he had caught the bottle, the cap went into the loo and disappeared. We decided to set off, then stop and call the office once it was open. We took a few snaps crossing the aqueduct …

… then headed down to Cosgrove lock. So far, we felt we’d got the hang of steering, but the morning was breezy, and Chris had trouble lining Daisy up for the lock. Eventually he succeeded and fortunately no one was about, either watching or waiting to go as he had several attempts. This had taken so long, we made our phone call, and they said to moor up and they’d send an engineer. I took over steering, and proceeded to make just such a hash of steering Daisy just a short way down the bank to moor, bumping into another boat. The couple onboard realised we had a problem, and the wind had caught Daisy and were incredibly cheerful, saying it could happen to anyone and helped us tie up.

We waited for the engineer, who came and retrieved my perfume cap which had lodged itself perfectly into the pump entrance! All good and by 11.00 we were ready to go, but a little reticent after our steering mishap, but it didn’t seem so windy, so we set off, in theory with 5 miles and a flight of 7 locks ahead!

The canal passed between fields with sheep and cows grazing and we saw the odd church tower peeking out between trees as the canal meandered along. It remained grey and a bit chilly especially as with few moored boats to slow for, we were able to keep a reasonable speed.

At one point a boat had come loose from its morning and the current had moved it across the canal, but then it settled closer to the back and we were able to get by. We also came up behind a pair of swans and they took off down the canal.

After a late lunch we approached the first lock and saw another boat coming up behind us, hopefully meaning a buddy to work the locks with. Carpathian was owned by Colin who had Wes and Meg on a Workaway Break crewing in return for board and lodging. Not only could Meg and I work the locks together, but Wes went ahead and prepared the locks, so we reached Stoke Bruerne within a couple of hours, chatting along the way.

Rather than skirting the village, the canal was built slap bang straight through the middle of Stoke Bruerne, and the locks have raised us up 17m to get here. There was a wharf to serve the nearby quarry and Mill Dock where coal was delivered for the steam powered corn mill, now the museum. It became a popular overnight stop for working boats, where they could stock up with food, use the blacksmith, cobbler and rope maker and catch up with news. It would have been a busy and bustling working environment, quite different from the picturesque view today.

The duplicate lock was built to speed up the traffic when the canals got really busy by allowing boats to pass each other, but once the railways took over it was no longer used.

The Boat Inn remains the centre of commerce, not just a pub but also a small shop selling groceries and we picked up a loaf of bread and a couple of ice creams which we ate watching the world go by, before retiring to Daisy for the evening … and a gourmet dinner!

We woke to sunshine and breakfasted quickly and set off for a walk but got chatting to Lloyd who was moored behind us when we admired his boats. He and his wife Daisy live on Trout and recently bought a butty called Norah which they’ve turned into a coffee and cake business called Daisy’s Bakin Butty! Both boats date to the 1930’s and have been recently restored pretty faithfully to the period with Lloyd doing most of the work. They are heading to Cosgrove for the bank holiday weekend so we will try and stop by on our way back, especially as the couple of red velvet cupcakes Lloyd gave us to try were delicious!

This is the entrance to the Blisworth Tunnel which at nearly 3km long is the third longest navigable canal tunnel in Britain. It was started in 1793, and teams of navvies were to work away by candlelight, using picks, shovels and wheelbarrows for the next three years. Unfortunately they not only misaligned the route, leaving a ‘kink’ in the tunnel, but also hit quicksand, causing a roof collapse which killed fourteen men. In 1802 they tried again, and the tunnel finally opened in 1805, but it had already claimed the lives of some 50 workers. Initially the boats were legged through with a couple of men lying of top of the boat with their feet against the tunnel but from 1871 steam tugs were used to pull boats through, and extra ventilation shafts were installed. Boaters who wanted to avoid the extra cost of using tugs could still leg their boats through, but by the 1930s most people used motor boats.

Further tragedy was to strike in 1861. Entering the northern end of the unlit tunnel – which had been temporarily narrowed due to engineering works – a canal steamer known as Wasp collided head on with a narrow boat being ‘legged’ in the opposite direction when smoke from her boiler reduced visibility to zero. In the ensuing chaos several people drowned or died of fume inhalation and two engineers were horrifically burned as they fell against a furnace. As a result of this disaster a new air shaft was sunk into the crash site to provide better ventilation. Since then some travellers claim to have experienced a sense of suffocation in the vicinity of this shaft or heard the wailing, splashing and choking of dying crew members in the darkness …

Well we will be going through later, but first a walk in the sunshine! We started up Boathorse Road, the track the children used to take the horses over Blisworth Hill while their parents legged the boat through the tunnel. We turned off down a footpath, through crops and fields of grass, this time studded with clover and buttercups …

… and then quite a lot of inquisitive sheep …

…and a study in pink!

The route took us through the village of Shutlanger and back, and we bumped into Julia and James who we had chatted to on the towpath the day before about travels and walking and the countryside. We went our separate ways, with us returning to Stoke Bruerne.

We had coffee and cake in the Canal Museum and a quick look round at the history of narrowboats and the traditional roses and castles and decoration which is still used on boats today and it was time to set off once more … through the tunnel …!

We were bound to be apprehensive, although other boaters said going through was perfectly fine. We knew to turn the spotlight on and wear a waterproof as there is often water dripping from the roof, particularly the ventilation shafts. We also knew there was room for two boats to pass but it was also going to be dark, and take 30-40 minutes to get to the other end … so here goes!

Well it was fine – there was plenty of space, we dodged most of the drips, took some pictures and didn’t hear and ghostly sounds, although it would be a challenge to hear anything over the sound of the engine echoing in the tunnel. But it did seem to take a long time and we did get quite chilly. We saw a boat coming towards us which looked a little surreal …

… but passed them easily and could then see the light at the end of the tunnel!

We moored up for some soup to warm us up, then pressed on, through Blisworth with the old mill building on the left, and up to the boatyard at Gayton Junction where we stopped to refill with water.

It seemed more rural, with fewer moored boats and less traffic as we chugged along … but having got the angle a bit out when approaching a bridge a little fast, some speedy reversing avoided collision but also got something caught on the propeller. Chris struggled to get Daisy to the bank, but a chap on the towpath, also a boater we found out, offered to help and we threw him a rope to pull us in. Chris told me later he had visions of finding something horrid in the weed hatch involving bones or dead bodies, but it turned out to be a piece of plastic sacking and a torn Slumberdown padded pillow protector!

All clear we set off again, but it was almost time to call a halt for the day and find a mooring spot, which on this occasion proved easier said than done as this picturesque stretch of canal was quite shallow and it took three attempts to find a spot we could pull Daisy in close enough to the bank.

After dinner, Chris managed to join the zoomed Yateley Camera Club AGM, with the canal as a backdrop and a bit later, I was out catching the sunset.

Map


A Tale of Two Aqueducts

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I was awake at the crack of dawn, not helped by cramp in my foot which made me hop out of bed quickly to relieve it. It was already light and the birds were chirping. Then I started fretting that I only had 0.3GB of data to last 6 days and before I knew it, I was definitely awake. It was 5.30. I lay in bed and read for a while, then got up and crocheted a butterfly, then made tea for us both, telling Chris it was nearly 8.00 Rome time (ie 6.45!).

Anyway, by 8.30 Chris had topped up the engine and were ready to explore Willen Lake.

The public art here has an alternative religious theme, starting with the Peace Pagoda, the first of its kind in the Western hemisphere and built in 1980 by the monks and nuns of the Nipponzan Myohoji, a spiritual movement. It enshrines sacred relics of Lord Buddha presented from Nepal, Sri Lanka and Berlin and the frieze tells the story of Buddha – here he is The first of its kind in the Western hemisphere and built in 1980 by the monks and nuns of the Nipponzan Myohoji, a spiritual movement. It enshrines sacred relics of Lord Buddha presented from Nepal, Sri Lanka and Berlin and the frieze tells the story of Buddha.

The Medicine Wheel was designed by Roy Littlesun in 2000 and consists of two concentric circles of stone inspired by the legends of the Hopi Nation in North America whose prophesies foretell an age of peace when all nations live in peace and harmony. The design pays homage to British traditions of building circles alongside meeting places and important sites. Two extra pairs of stone situated north east and south west of the circle align with the needle stone alongside the lake and join the ‘Midsummer Line’, which follows the Midsummer sunrise that runs through the Tree Cathedral to the Belvedere in Campbell Park, along Midsummer Boulevard in Central Milton Keynes.

The Willen Labyrinth is a turf maze based on an enlarged version of the Saffron Walden Rosicrucian Maze with an oak tree at its centre and bronze faces in its lobes like this one and was laid out in 1988.

Finally we followed the edge of the lake, past the waterskiing winch and a series of paths and underpasses in search of the Tree Cathedral. We could have picked up a couple of scooters on the way, but unfortunately didn’t have helmets to hand.

The Tree Cathedral initially just looked like a glade of trees and as we entered a couple of bunnies ran across the grass with their pale fluffy tails catching the light. Inside there were aisles of trees forming an arched roof which apparently depicts Norwich Cathedral, peaceful, and certainly different.

Returning to Daisy, we made a start, and saw several more of the Gyosei art works from the canal – a life size steel Shire Horse whose steady toil propelled the barges of yesteryear along the towpaths …

… Three Post Bench illustrating wildlife of the canal such as coarse fish, and water birds but also smaller inhabitants such as water beetles, snails, insect larvae, floral algae and amoebae …

… and finally a beautiful white barn owl in glass mosaic swooping to capture its prey.

We then chugged slowly through Great Linford Park and Stanton Low Park which we hope to see more of on our return, and on to the New Bradwell Aquaduct, which carries the canal over Grafton Street. I’d read it was possible to get off the boat, nip down the towpath and over a parallel footbridge to take a photo of our narrowboat crossing the aqueduct … and it is possible!

Chris was so excited by starring in the photo, his steering briefly went a bit to pot!

Coming into Wolverton there were a few more urban views …

… including a mural alongside the station …

… and several boats moored up beside a wharf development of new houses beside a footbridge which conveniently leads to a good size Tesco, no doubt stocking up on groceries.

Not much further and we arrived at Ouse Valley Park and moored up just before the aquaduct. We’d had a couple of short bursts of rain on our way, but now the sky was getting very dark, and I think we arrived just in time.

After lunch, the sky soon cleared and the sun came out and we went for a walk. Steps took us down beside the Iron Trunk Aqueduct which dates to 1811 and is the oldest broad canal iron trough aqueduct. It was the 4th attempt by the Grand Junction Canal Company to cross the River Great Ouse as earlier attempts collapsed. A horse tunnel leads underneath … so we walked through to get a view from both sides …

We then headed round the park, taking in the river floodplain filled with flowers …

… and grazing ponies …

… until we reached the brick-built Wolverton Viaduct, constructed by Robert Stephenson in 1838, carrying the railway from Euston northwards …

… before looping back as the sky became grey once more and we were back to Daisy for a cuppa and cake before the rain.

We wanted to take a turn round Cosgrove, just a mile away, billed as a typical canal village, but also wanted to make a good start next day, so once the rain stopped we took a chance and set out. This time we weren’t so lucky, so most of our walk was in the drizzle, down to the lock, a snap of the Ornamental Bridge, through another horse tunnel and back, but I’m not sure it would have been much more exciting on a lovely.

We were pleased to get back, dry out and sit in the warm with stew and red wine for supper.

Map


A Very Good Start

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We picked Daisy up at lunchtime and she immediately felt like home from home. We’re travelling in the same direction as our last trip, so we repeated our route through the three locks at Soulbury …

… before mooring near Bridge 106 at Stoke Hammond.

The biggest difference is that I had the helm for much of the afternoon, and did a pretty good job! Don who came with us to begin with encouraged me to steer and I must have felt more relaxed because I finally got the hang of it. Having said that, Chris steered through the locks while I manned the windlass, but we went through with another boat so we shared the work.

Soon afterwards we moored and went for a walk to stretch our legs. The hawthorn is blossoming in abundance, but there were lots of other white flowers like cow parsley, white dead nettle, garlic mustard and even the dandelion clocks.

And there were sheep …

… inevitably some sheep bottoms …

… and also Daisy’s!

After dinner we sat listening to the sound of sheep in the field and a cuckoo calling, pleased we’d covered the 4 miles we’d planned.

Next day rain was forecast later so we got a good start, taking turns to steer through the locks at Stoke Hammond and Fenny Stratford then into Milton Keynes. It started to get showery so we stopped for a sandwich in the hope it would pass, then cracked on, past the winding hole where we turned last trip and Campbell Park to new territory.

After covering about 7.5 miles, we moored up at Willen Lake where we had planned to walk, but heavy rain threatened and instead we just took a short walk in search of a frog.

There is lots of public art in Milton Keynes and this stretch of the towpath hosts the Gyosei Art Trail, funded when the site of a Japanese School was redeveloped. The eight pieces relate to Japan, the canal and natural history and we came across this little chap sitting on a bench. Entitled “What lies beneath”, the frog is sitting, peacefully unaware of the food chain below in the canal … but he did look like he wanted some company … and we are allowed to hug again now!

Chris was delighted to be back in time for a mug of tea and LFC’s final game of the season v Crystal Palace that he was able to watch on his phone … even more delighted when they won 2-0, so Champions League football again next season.

I was surprised how few snaps I took today, just a couple of fallen soldiers …

… and a trio of bridges.

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Chris & Elaine Afloat Again 2021

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As soon as we returned from our last trip on Daisy, we were inspired to try a longer trip and a lucky cancellation gave us the opportunity.

So here we are, preparing to set off afloat once more, from the same place and in the same direction but further! We are looking forward to actually reaching Cosgrove and seeing the viaduct and aquaduct in Ouse Valley Park, and based on our progress last time, we hope to get to Weeden Bec before we turn round.

There will be a bit more housekeeping involved in a longer trip, things we didn’t have to consider before like fuel, water, rubbish and groceries and the forecast is mixed, but I have a nice new waterproof jacket, and we are really looking forward to a bit of an adventure.

Journal Entries

A Very Good Start

A Tale of Two Aqueducts

A Flight of Locks and a Haunted Tunnel

Weedon Wharf and the Northampton Arm

Stoke Bruerne to Cosgrove Revisited

The Greenest City

The Final Stretch

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Homeward Bound …

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We took a turn round Waterhall Park before we set off. The park seems to mark the end of Milton Keynes and the beginning of the countryside.

Just the other side of the towpath is an avenue of Lombardy Poplar trees which have been planted either side of a footpath which run from here, all the way through Milton Keynes.

It gives access to an almost uninterrupted stretch of parks which I wish we had explored more fully and we kept catching glimpses of the these tall trees all along the canal.

Once we set off, I had another go steering, but still couldn’t get the hang of it and even managed to collide with a parked boat … albeit very gently!

As we approached Stoke Hammond lock, we looked out for the unusual double arched bridge which we’d missed on the way up.

At one point, duplicate narrow locks were built to take smaller boats saving water and time. They have since been filled in but the second arch shows where it was.

We caught up with the boat we had started out with, also making their way back and worked the lock together.

We stopped for lunch then refreshed, continued to Soulbury and the Three Locks. As we arrived another boat had just come through, so they were in our favour, and if they could come through just a single boat, then so could we. It was hard work though, working all three locks on our own, with Chris on the boat steering and me working all the paddles and gates. I did manage to get Chris to close one set though … just so he could have a go! At the end we were quite pleased with ourselves!

A bit later we moored up and went for a short walk past St Mary’s Church in Old Linslade and along the towpath.

We moved a short way further and moored for the night beside the site of Bridge 112, carefully chosen as far from the railway as possible and leaving just a short run back to Wyvern Shipping in the morning, setting a daily record of 6 miles, 31⁄4 furlongs! We polished off the last of the cake and a well deserved cuppa!

We came away, prepared to self cater throughout and brought enough with us so we didn’t need to shop, after all we are only on Daisy for four days and keeping our distance seems sensible at the moment.

We had thought if we passed an appealing pub at lunchtime we might stop for a bag of chips but it didn’t happen, and by choosing secluded moorings we were too far from a pub for dinner. We’ve had homemade soup, sandwiches and beans on toast for lunches and the dinner menu has comprised sausages with roasted sprouts and potatoes, Higgedy Pies and veg, homemade chilli and on our last night we have pesto pasta. This has worked out really well and meant we could both enjoy the whole experience and spend our time watching the world go by rather than slaving in the galley.

And from galley to gallery, just in case I’ve not included enough photos already, here are a few more, including some of the quirky views from the canal …

Next morning we were out on the water at 8.15 to ensure we were back on time. Just Leighton Lock to go through …

… and 31⁄2 furlongs to travel and we were back at the boat yard, handing Daisy back.

We caught up with others who had been out for a midweek trip like us, some making Cosgrove and the tunnel at Stoke Bruerne beyond, a lady who had dished up a full roast dinner one night and a chap who had backed into the winding hole by mistake, but a good time was had by all.

We’ve really enjoyed our first trip afloat and it was a perfect way to celebrate our anniversary, especially this year with options being limited. We may only have travelled a total of 22 miles, 1⁄2 furlongs and 12 locks with a revised destination of Campbell Park but we were obviously a little too ambitious thinking we could get further! Daisy is just lovely and we’ve already told her we hope to see her again soon … maybe we can get to Cosgrove next time and see the aquaduct!

Maps

Actual Route

Celebrating In Campbell Park …

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We woke on our anniversary to a lovely morning and exchanged cards and thought how lovely our mooring was, especially so close to Milton Keynes.

Already we are about halfway through our trip so we looked at the map to decide how much further we could get and where we could turn. Needless to say with a 48 foot boat and a canal that’s 30-40 foot wide, you can’t turn round just anywhere! We needed a winding hole (pronounced win-ding) which is a ‘notch’ or specially widened area made for turning. We saw the best one would be 2 miles ahead, just short of Campbell Park in Milton Keynes, otherwise we would need to travel another 45 minutes (and back) so it was important we didn’t overshoot it!

Chris did a grand job, waiting till other boats had passed, heading the bow into the notch and swinging the stern round.

We then moored up across from the noisiest stretch of canal so far …

… and walked to Campbell Park, a huge rectangular green space in the centre of the city, edged by the canal on one side and containing a cricket arena and full of autumn colour.

The Belvedere rises in the centre and offers views across Bedfordshire and there is a wild flower meadow in the middle which is apparently grazed by sheep in the summer! The original vision was that the park would also be the cultural centre of the city and there are a number of works of art and sculptures throughout, the most prominent being the Light Pyramid which replaced the original basket beacon which was destroyed by lightening. It is made of steel and painted white and was first lit for the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee on 4th June 2012 and is still lit to commemorate special local and national events.

The Milton Keynes Rose is a commemorative public space featuring a calendar of days important to the people of Milton Keynes. Pillars are arranged like a flower, many already inscribed and others left for future dedications.

Other pieces include Head …

… Gnomon or Shadow Castor made of Ffestiniog blue grey slate and bronze which casts its shadow just like the arm of a sundial it is named for … but Chris keenly pointed out it is by the cricket pitch and represents wickets and a ball … surely I had realised that … but I hadn’t!

… Onwards and Upwards, carved from a single piece of eight-metre-high sweet chestnut and representing the growth and development of the park and the city …

… Cave, supposedly offering shelter in the park, but not much as it doesn’t really have a roof …

… Chain Reaction, a 3D model of figures balanced like acrobats, in an endless chain which changes as it is viewed from different angles …

… and Armillary Sphere in the centre of the Labyrinth to celebrate the 10th anniversary of MK Housing Association.

Chris was intrigued by this plaque, confused by the seemingly incorrect distances …

… until I pointed out this post!

We returned to the boat for lunch …

… before beginning our return trip. We barely had to stop at Fenny Stratford Lock with its Swing Bridge as it was in our favour and open. We went through with another boat, and another boat was waiting so we didn’t even need to close it, quite a contrast to the day before! Before we knew it, we were back at Waterhall Park, where we had stopped for lunch the day before and moored up after covering exactly 6 miles for the day.

The sun came out when I made the tea, so we sat on the bow, admiring the canal.

Later we celebrated our anniversary with a bottle of fizz and a very delicious White Chilli made from a Simon Rimmer recipe which I’d brought with us frozen, served with greens, grated cheddar and tortilla chips!

We played several hands of Uno and Chris was pleased to reign once more as Uno Champ!

Maps