A somewhat less strenuous day today but also without too many new or interesting features. As a result this will probably be a shorter blog than usual and certainly we took just a fraction of the photos.
One reason, apart from the fact that we are now back on quite familiar territory as every trip north from Packet Boat has to come as far as Norton Junction (unless perhaps taking the unusual route down to the Fens). But also most of today was rather overcast. It was dry and because of the cloud the temperature was noticeably warmer. We did have a short period in the middle of the day when the sun came out but again we had no rain.
The reason for the 'historically' bit in the headline is that the section between Napton and Braunston was originally part of the Oxford Canal - the southern part runs from Napton whilst the northern section heads straight on at Braunston. Today, most people would think that the five miles in between was part of the Grand Union and, indeed, the later upgrading of the main line route from London to Birmingham made it so. However, for a time the Oxford Canal Company made good returns by charging high tolls for boats passing across their water!
Shortly after setting off we passed Nelson's Wharf where Willow Wren training established a base for their Helmsman Courses and developed splendid looking facilities. At the time, the former arm to a nearby cement works was mostly filled in and the abandoned railway line also blocked the route. When we came this way last year a short section with room for a couple of boats had been completed but we were surprised to see the extent of the restoration work now in progress that will take the arm much further back, beyond the line of the former railway.
Further details of the work they are doing can be found at http://www.willowwrentraining.co.uk/basinrestoration.html
Much of the pound through to Calcutt has moored boats so progress was a little slower than might otherwise have been possible.
There are three locks at Calcutt but our aim was to stop at the boatyard after the first two which we duly did. Here we took on diesel, a gas bottle and a bag of coal so our fuel stocks are now much healthier. It was an efficient operation and we were able to back out into the main line before the boats, which had started up the flight just after us, were anywhere near ready to come out.
Looking back at Calcutt Top, this was the end of the 'candlestick' locks, with the distinctive tall paddle gears. Although they can sometimes be a bit heavy to turn, the overall lock design is so much more efficient than anywhere else on the Grand Union.
At the start of the inline moorings just before Napton Junction we spotted this bijou boat - perhaps it is used as an annex! It looks even shorter than Mouse, a little pusher tug that normally resides at Braunston.
After the junction we saw several stretches of very recent bank repairs. We were not impressed and the result is so poor that one part (we missed a photo of it) had already fallen into the canal. Some sections just used the roll matting and stakes whilst others had the fabric stretched probably too loosely between the stakes for additional retention. We can only hope that the contractors will be called back to do the work properly. It seems unlikely that there can be much excuse so soon after the work has been done - the dredgings deposited on the bank were still very wet.
When passing under many of the brick accommodation bridges it is easy to forget that much of what you see is just the parapets protecting users over the top falling over the edge. When we see one without the parapets, presumably to allow wider farm machinery to pass from one field to another, it is a surprise to see how narrow the arch is at the apex. A tribute to the inherent strength of an arch design.
Nearing noon, the elegant spire of Braunston Church came into view and by now sufficient sun had emerged to make it a charming scene.
We paused at the service mooring by the junction to take on water and make the usual disposals. Christine called at Midland Chandlers to buy a replacement cartridge for Mike's life jacket which he (again) accidentally set off a few days ago. However, she did not find a suitable life jacket for herself (she would like a replacement for the buoyancy aid which has had for a while) but not only were they out of stock but the sadly told her that she had just missed the 20% discount day! perhaps we will have to use mail order to obtain one as we have been looking for most of the season.
Meanwhile, Andrew had walked to the village shop for today's newspaper and rejoined us at the next bridge. Before the next locks we pulled in for a lunch break. We noticed that the canal was really busy ta this point and quite a few boats passed us as we were moored.
On then to the Braunston flight of six locks. We took a little longer than we might as a couple of hire boats were taking their time going up just ahead of us whilst several boats were heading down the flight as well. despite this we only lost about 10 minutes over our standard estimate!
We were amused to see the old railway sign attached to the wall of the top lock cottage (now a private house).
At the top we quickly headed into Braunston Tunnel only to find that the two hire boats were going very slowly indeed and Andrew had quite a task making sure that we did not ram into the second. It is difficult to judge distances from behind when in the tunnel - the tunnel bands did not seem to show up much at all.
After the tunnel it is a short distance to Norton Junction where we saw a number of work boats gathering ahead of the stoppage next weeks for gate replacement. The gates and balance beams have already arrived and waiting on a barge to be fitted.
In order to have a chance of a tv signal we went down one lock with one of the hire boats we had been following - they kindly spotted us coming and opened up the top gates which they had just shut so that we could join them. Like us they were only going down one lock to the pound below for an overnight mooring.
12.3 Miles - 10 Locks
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