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Braunston via Napton

More blue skies when we got up and got going at eight o’clock. We turned as usual at Birdingbury wharf and then headed back in the direction of the junction with the Oxford canal. It didn’t take long to get to the three locks at Calcutt and we made short work of them, leaving the top one just half an hour after entering the bottom chamber. We turned right at the junction and made our way to Napton where we found a mooring just before the winding hole. There seemed to be a bit of a domestic dispute going on in the boat in front of us when we tied up. As we left the boat to walk to rubbish bins by the bottom lock, the skipper of the boat mumbled something about moving forward to give space for another boat. We left him, not sure what he was thinking about since he was already very close to the winding hole. After we had gotten rid of our bin bag, we wandered over to the little shop next to the Folly pub and bought an ice cream each. The pub wasn’t open so we made use of a bench in their garden and sat and ate the ice creams in the sunshine. We walked back to our mooring where we met the guy from the boat in front again and he asked us if we were staying. We told him that we were moving on but he then felt the need to explain that he had been going to ask us to move our boat either backwards or forwards to create space for another boat. We untied and turned around at the winding hole, giving a cheery wave to the self appointed harbour master as we passed.

We stopped for lunch just beyond the junction, almost opposite Wigrams turn marina. Sue picked this deliberately so that we would be on hand to view any ‘entertainment’ as boats tried to negotiate the turn. We weren’t disappointed as we ate our lunch out on the back deck. One boat turning too late and hitting the bank, another speeding through causing another to take avoiding action all added to the fun.

Once we were fed and watered we set off again, this time all the way to Braunston. The trip takes a couple of hours and on this occasion was relatively straightforward. We passed a boat being pumped out, it has been partially submerged for a few weeks now but the petrol powered pump was doing a grand job and she was almost afloat again. As we approached the last bridge before the turn with its iconic twin bridges, we were faced with two oncoming boats, nothing unusual in that except that a third boat which had been tied up at the bank decided to set off. It was all very confusing for a minute or two but it was soon sorted out and we went through first. As we got closer to the marina, Sue switched her iPad on and viewed the marina webcam page so that we could watch ourselves driving in.

We were pleased to see that Havoc II hadn’t returned which made our job of getting back into our berth very much easier than it sometimes is.

So that was it, another lovely weekend out on the boat dramatically enhanced by the superb late summer weather.