Here we are, moored in Rugby, Josie discovering the towpath and Elizabeth looming out of the stern doors watching. This is the first time Pete and Elizabeth have been out travelling together, just for the sake of it, since they moved on to Bella and moved to Rugby. The three Hillmorton locks were good, each in their own way. We were moving down hill, the Braunston to Hillmorton pound being close to the highest on the Oxford Canal (above Napton being the highest - the summit pound). The first lock was great and we took the northmost lock, Hillmorton being one of the few places on the canals where there are parallel locks designed to allow the maximum usage in the days of canals as commercial transport. The second lock had someone going south on the Oxford, so Elizabeth had to pull to towpath and hold Bella with the centre line while Pete worked the lock with the other travellers. We got through there fine, while Elizabeth took a call about Project Management while watching all the green gunge growing on the inside lock walls as she held Bella for the descent.
Lock three was interesting. This was the first time Elizabeth and Pete experienced the bow fender getting stuck on the bars of the forward lock gates. We have always watched out not to get the tiller stuck on the stern cill, but we had never really got entangled at the front. A loud, "reverse" from Pete was met with Elizabeth realising what happened and throwing the throttle back. Pete stopped opening the forward gate paddles to make sure the lock water levelled, then made his way to the stern paddles to allow more water back in to level Bella if necessary. But with a bit of a splash off the gates and back into the lock, all was well, albeit a bit sploshy fore to aft. Elizabeth held Bella free of gates at the front and free of the cill at the back and we were fine. Out through the gates, we enjoyed seeing a boat ready to come in the lock with three women out for the weekend. One said, "This is our first lock!!!" and looked slightly terrified. We reassured them a little and they moved on in.
This is where we found to moor. A whole new view of Rugby!
