After a quiet night at Apsley, we got up and got ready to start out on the next leg of our journey. After making a quick trip to the local Sainsbury store, we untied and got into the lock which was just a few feet away from our overnight mooring. The landscape was predominantly rural as we dropped down through Kings Langley, Sue was stunned to see a young woman carry her baby and its pushchair over the lock gate, particularly since she was wearing flip-flops! The top gate was almost impossible to open but we got through in the end. There was another lock like this later and with another blocked by BW floating skips, we were starting to get fed up with it all.

As usual we have seen a lot of wildlife, plenty of Moorhens and ducks, Canada geese, domestic geese and swans. We’ve been privileged to see herons and even a few kingfishers. We’ve seen fish jumping, sometimes right out of the water but nothing could have prepared us for this sight near Abbotts Langley.

Nevertheless we persevered and eventually stopped for lunch at Hunton Bridge next to the A41 which runs between Hemel Hempstead and Watford. We indulged ourselves with the chicken kievs that we had bought at Eastwoods and some home made, or should that be boat made chips.

After lunch we got going again and enjoyed some beautiful scenery which eventually took us down through Watford’s Cassiobury park. We saw the first signs of London in the form of a tube train which was travelling overhead, hmmm strange place to have an underground train!

We took on water and emptied the toilet just below Batchworth lock where we saw a miniature canal sytem complete with two locks and a tunnel. Sadly there was no water except below the lock, no doubt the result of a drought and leaky gates, just like the real thing. We thought that we had picked up something on the prop and handily enough there was space on the visitor moorings so we stopped to check. There was nothing on the prop but with a darkening sky, we decided to stay a while. The rain came and although it didn’t last long we decided that this was as good a mooring as any to stay the night on since it was already five o’clock.

At six o’clock we were ready to venture out again so we took a walk to the centre of Rickmansworth. Wandering along the main street we became aware of the faint smell of chips. The smell became stronger as we walked along and soon enough we reached the source where of course we had to sample some of their wares. The enthusiastic proprietor informed us that the chips were cooked in rapeseed oil so we felt that we had somehow chosen a healthy option as we sat on a nearby bench and stuffed our faces. Afterwards we paid a visit to the local M&S food shop before retiring to the local Weatherspoons for a couple of beverages. After that it was back to the boat where we sat and relaxed for the rest of the evening.

Waking up was a bit of a difficulty today but we made it anyway. We trotted on down through the first lock from Cowroast and after the second caught up with another boat. We shared the third lock but we were both held up at the fourth by a coal boat which was replenishing its stock, the fifth lock saw us wait until the local CRT staff re-balanced the water levels in the pounds.

We stopped at Berkhamsted and it was lovely. We had breakfast at Carluccio’s before walking on to Eastwoods butchers where we spent thirty quid or so on meat. A short stop off at the Crystal Palace pub before we toddled off to Waitrose for some essentials and then made our way back to the boat.

We left Berko and started the long slog down through the locks to Hemel Hempstead. We eventually tied up just above lock 67 before walking down to the Italian restaurant next to the marina where we had a pizza. On the way back we called in to the pub, The Paper Mill which was very busy for a Tuesday evening and had a drink before returning to Phoenix III for the night.

We awoke to a rather cloudy Monday morning, not the dark rain laden sort of cloud that has dogged Britain this summer but more the colour of dirty dishwater type of cloud colour. We worked up through Slapton lock and then took on water before setting off again just before nine o’clock. We did the next lock on our own before we caught up with a lone locker with whom we worked up the next two locks before he pulled up so that he could go to work. We generally bumbled on until we reached Marsworth where we dumped our rubbish and emptied the toilet. The White Lion and the tea room are closed now at Marsworth which is rather sad but we were moving on anyway. We shared some of the seven locks which took us up to the Tring summit but otherwise it was more bumbling. We stopped outside the Grand Junction Inn and  had a superb lunch there, not cheap but worth every penny. After that, we crossed the summit and stopped at Cowroast marina where we took on diesel, emerging back on to the cut, we turned left and moored below the lock. For the sake of completeness we walked back up to the pub and checked it out, purely in the interest of scientific research of course.

After a peaceful night on the visitor moorings at Cosgrove we got up and readied ourselves for another day cruising in the sunshine. As we untied and headed towards the village lock, a couple of other boats were starting their day but in the opposite direction. Once through the lock we chugged along, basking in the morning sunshine while passing parallel lines of moored boats on the way to the aqueduct over the river Ouse.

As on the previous day, we were on a very long pound and it was a long time before we met another boat on the move; then, like the proverbial buses, we encountered another four in quick succession. We paused momentarily at Pennyland on the outskirts of Milton Keynes to take a closer look at the houses which boast their own moorings and then it was on towards Fenny Stratford. We caught up with a fully crewed Wyvern hire boat at the entrance to the lock at Fenny Stratford and had a bit of banter with them as we shared a passage through. We stopped for lunch a little while later after passing another Wyvern boat who were having their own lunch. We teased them as we passed, asking if they had some pizza for us. When they passed us, the banter continued and they confessed that they had run out of alcohol.

Later, when we reached the three locks at Soulbury just by the Grand Union pub, we saw a boat waiting for us in the second lock. It soon became apparent that it was the alcohol free Wyvern boat. The mood of the day, indeed the whole weekend prevailed and we not only had a bit of a laugh and a joke with them, we provided the steerer with a cold can of lager and his wife with a glass of chilled wine.

We left them behind and then tramped on down through Leighton Buzzard, suddenly we were at Grove lock. Nothing dramatic about this lock except that it marked the limit of our ill fated cruise in 2009. We quickly worked our way up through and then on and through Church lock. We were back in the countryside again, heading towards the Chiltern hills where in the distance we could see a chalk lion carved into the hillside. Eventually we tied up just below Slapton lock, we made a half hearted attempt to walk to the village but gave up when the busy road didn’t seem to be leading us there.

So we’ve had another long and enjoyable day in the August sunshine and according to the forecast, the weather is set to continue like this for the rest of the week. We’re not pushing hard but cruising under blue skies is so addictive, at this rate we’ll be in London on Wednesday or Thursday.

We ended up at Cosgrove on what has been one of the finest days of the year so far. The day started when we awoke on our mooring just outside Whilton marina. It was quite early but we were in no hurry so it was gone eight o’clock when we ventured outside after a tea, a coffee and a shower each. We were surprised to see that every boat in front of us had gone, including the Cheeseboat. It was almost twenty to nine before we untied and headed south on day two of our journey.

We quickly shrugged off the noisy motorway but the railway stayed with us for a long way as we enjoyed our morning cruise along the long pound between Whilton and Stoke Bruerne. We encountered a couple of hire boats trying to wind near Bugbrooke but unfortunately the first to turn had reversed into the hole, forcing the crew to pole the bow around. We advised them on the correct technique before passing them, leaving the other boat to do the job properly.

The temperature rose steadily as the morning went on and by the time we reached Gayton junction where the canal splits and carves a route down to Northampton and the river Nene, the day had become almost Mediterranean in its nature. By the time we reached Blisworth tunnel, we were baking but as we approached the entrance the cool air reached out of its mouth and engulfed us. We met a boat almost immediately and the crew, who were already soaked, advised us to get our wet gear on. We followed their advice and then made our way through this, the third longest navigable tunnel on the system. We made good time through the tunnel, meeting only two other craft along the way. We emerged forty minutes later into the sunshine and found a mooring quite close to the centre of the village. Stoke Bruerne is an unusual canal village in that the buildings face the water and it also houses a part of the national canal museum.

We ate lunch on the back deck before we ventured along the towpath towards the lock. We passed a small gazebo where a man tried to interest us in joining the Canal and River Trust, we declined having just paid £800 for our annual licence which we think is a big enough contribution. The whole area was really busy with people, hardly surprising given that it was a hot and sunny Saturday in the middle of August. We made our way back to the boat and then headed for the top lock of the Stoke flight. We had the assistance of a volunteer lock keeper which partially offset the the annoyance of the crowds of gongoozlers hanging around and crossing the gates. The second lock wasn’t so busy and by the third, the crowds had gone. In reality it was probably too hot to be doing locks but most were in our favour and we did meet a couple of boats coming up. We had the assistance of another lock keeper for the last two locks before we pulled in and did our chores at half past three.

It was almost four o’clock when we re-started our journey in the sunshine and we just plodded on enjoying the sun bathed countryside. A couple of hours later we reached the village of Cosgrove where we quickly found a place on the visitor moorings. After we had sorted ourselves out we took a walk through the horse tunnel which passes under the canal and made our way to the local pub where we had a couple of drinks. The local vicar sat at the next table enjoying a beer and a smoke with a friend. We then returned to Phoenix III where we sat on the deck and relaxed for a while before turning in for the night.

Hurray! It’s the first day of this, our third boating holiday of the year. We moved on to the boat on Thursday evening after which we visited Daventry and did some shopping so that we were ready for departure on Friday afternoon. There was the small matter of me going to work of course so after getting up at six o’clock the following morning, I left Sue and went to Coventry. I was back at Braunston for a quarter past one where Sue was waiting with a tasty lunch consisting of fish, new potatoes and some mixed vegetables – delish!

We sat in the boat as it rocked in the wind, the rain came, light at first and then heavy with the strong wind behind it but we couldn’t sit forever so just after two, we untied and attempted to leave our mooring. As luck would have it the wind was blowing in the right direction for us so as Phoenix III nosed out into the marina, nature’s bow thruster worked its magic and pointed us in the direction of the bottom lock. When we reached said lock it was full and needed emptying. Once in it and with the water starting to refill the chamber we saw that another boat had arrived ready to begin the ascent. For reasons best left unsaid we decided that we would rather not work the locks with them and so we tied up between locks one and two and had a cup of coffee. Half an hour and three boats had passed before we untied and resumed our journey. The rain had almost stopped and so we made our way up the hill towards the tunnel. I have run out of ways to describe Braunston tunnel so I will keep it simple this time. We went in following a boat, we passed two oncoming boats, the first of which wanted to keep to the middle of the channel which is impossible in a fourteen feet wide tunnel! Some quick thinking by Sue who went to the front and pushed the bows apart saved the day.

When we left Braunston tunnel we entered a different land, one with blue skies, white fluffy clouds and sunshine. Had we just passed through a tunnel or through a wardrobe into a Narnia like existence? One of our new centre ropes had come undone in the fifth lock so as we made our way to Norton junction I retied both ropes and fixed them securely with a couple of tie-wraps.

We treated ourselves to a drink before we reached Buckby top lock, there was no one else around since the boat that we had been following had turned left at the junction so we were left to drop down through the flight on our own. Most of the seven locks were already in our favour, some even had the gates open but it was still a bit of a slog. The gates are big and heavy and they all leak which probably explains why there were restrictions here during the drought period which by the way included the wettest four months since records began!

We plugged away at our task and by half past seven we were tied up just below the bottom lock and outside Whilton marina. The vessel in front of our mooring? It was our old acquaintances Michael and Geraldine on The Cheese boat. It seemed impolite not to say hello and it would have been downright rude not to buy some of their excellent wares so we visited them and then returned to Phoenix III with three cheeses and a jar of chutney. Cheese, chutney and few crackers made for a nice supper which we relished as we sat and relaxed for the evening.

And that was it really, we had had a good start to our trip, we had found ourselves a nice mooring and although it lay between the M1 motorway and the west coast main line, the constant drone of the traffic soon became a soothing background noise interrupted now and again by the odd Virgin pendolino train.

Another Saturday morning on board Phoenix III, another lazy start for us. Coffee followed tea and then a light breakfast on the back deck before we started the engine and left our mooring. We had already seen a few boats on the move beforehand but once on the move we couldn’t believe how busy the traffic was. We pottered on and eventually reached the last winding hole before Napton bottom lock. There were no mooring spaces left before the winding hole and the only space on the other side was four boat lengths away. Nothing ventured, nothing gained as they say so we turned Phoenix III around and started the long reversing move that would bring us to our next mooring place. We were lucky in the sense that no boats approached us from either direction and the wind which was blowing quite hard didn’t trouble us too much. Maybe we should also give some credit to the R&D slipper stern which really does improve the quality of the swim and maybe I’m getting better at steering.
After tying up we took a walk up to the village shop before returning to the boat but not before we stopped at the Folly Inn for a quick libation. Returning to Phoenix III we sat on the bank before enjoying yet another al fresco meal. After that we sat inside, listened to music, knitted, blogged and had a drink or two, generally mellowing and chilling out on a beautiful August evening.

Only one week to go until our next holiday but with the weather nice and settled, we boarded Phoenix III and set a course for another weekend out on the cut. Straight away we encountered a Black Prince hire boat which for some reason was on the service point in the marina. It caused us no trouble as it shot out on to the Grand Union but the boat travelling from the locks towards the junction had to perform an emergency stop. We watched in disbelief as the episode unfolded and then after waving the shocked boat crew on, followed both vessels as they made their way in a northerly direction. At Braunston turn we lost the boat ahead whose crew saw fit to perform some sort of turning manouevre and that left us with the hire boat which now seemed to want to travel at tickover speed. We didn’t travel far, just an hour from Braunston and we tied up between bridges 99 and 100. Sue prepared a lovely meal which we enjoyed ‘al fresco’ on the deck where we remained until the sun sank a few hours later.

Back in the days when we kept Phoenix III at Hinckley, we very often laughed at the queuing traffic on the A5 as we passed underneath the Lime Kiln bridge. As we enjoyed an unhurried start to our weekend, we would raise a glass to those poor unfortunates crawling along, maybe going home, maybe driving a delivery truck but in any case they were stuck in their world, the world that we had just escaped from. Nowadays we keep our boat at Braunston which means that we have to endure that traffic with the rest of them before we can begin our weekend escapes. This friday was a little worse than most, the M1 being closed near Northampton and the M6 suffering heavy congestion, both conditions forcing traffic on to the trusty old A5.