The Grand Adventure - Day 6

After a lovely evening last night it was now all about getting back to the Marina so that Lee could go see Luke and Dana and perhaps the baby! You can't really get anywhere fast on the canal you just have to put in the hours so with that in mind I wanted to try and get us near Braunston today, but not at any cost. I still wanted to take in the countryside and enjoy the next couple of days because you never know when we will be here again.

What a lovely garden

We waved goodbye to some fellow boaters that we had got chatting to last night and headed off along the Oxford Canal. It's quite strange because you would have thought that covering the ground we had only just been along in the opposite direction would be repetitive but it really is not. Yes, you remember some of the stuff you past but you see more of what you missed. There are some amazing canal side homes which make me a tad envious. Imaging having your own narrowboat parked at the end of your garden!

On our return through Stretton Stop the swing bridge was across the canal. I had never encountered on of these before so was not really sure what I was supposed to do. It was a very small pedestrian bridge that the boat yard workers use for crossing the canal so I was unsure whether I should just wait or send one of the girls to swing it open. I chose the later but was then unsure if we we supposed to swing it back over or not but chose to leave it open.

Lee takes control in the Newbold Tunnel

As we approached the Newbold Tunnel we had a bit more time to actually look and appreciate it. I don't know who is responsible for the lighting but it really is quite cool, colourful and quirky which is quite unusual for something as functional as a tunnel. I spotted a boat coming towards us but this was nowhere near as nerve racking as the Braunston Tunnel, partly because it is quite short and partly because its not as narrow! Lee was at the helm and although she was telling me to take control I refused with a big grin on my face. She has to just has to get on with it as she is more than capable rather than taking the wimps option hahaha.

Captain Woodgnome

Just after Newbold Upon Avon the canal starts to get a bit tight and windy as we pass through Rugby so I took the helm again. It's quite narrow and has lots of boats moored along the tow path which does not help as many of the corners are blind. We did meet a few boats coming the other way but managed to get through unscathed. It's quite an odd feeling chugging along the canal without a care in the world and then looking out and seeing the traffic and people buzzing around just a few yards from the canal, it's almost as if we are in a parallel world.

It was not long before we were back at the Hillmorton single locks, which were quite busy today. There was one hire boat that gave us a bit of entertainment. It was full of young lads on a stag cruise who really had no clue how to operate the locks. As they are in pairs we were going up alongside them but by the third lock they were nowhere to be seen - I think they were still stuck in the second lock. Of course my crew is like a well oiled machine and we simply chugged our way through with no drama. We could still hear them in the background shouting and laughing at each other which made us laugh too. They definitely seemed to be enjoying themselves so fair play to them.

Chugging along

After passing under the M45 just after the Barby Straight we were starting to get a bit tired as it was getting well in to the evening by now so decided to look for a place to moor up for the night. After dinner we were sitting in the bow and could hear music and some shouting. I thought we must be near a big pub or something like that but according to our maps we were pretty much in the middle of nowhere. It was actually a young offenders prison which must have been holding a party or something as it went on well in to the night, not that it bothered me as I love music!