A little home for a week

A quick trip today, after a great visit to All Saint's, Braunston, the "cathedral of the canals." We've had a fabulous weekend with good friends and today needed to move to a mooring allowing a longer stay so we can get back to work. This is one of our favourite sections of long stay mooring in Braunston, and each time we're in a slightly different place than the last and delight in the new view. Pete will be pleased that there is a good break in the trees for the solar panels to soak up juice, Elizabeth likes the new open view out the windows and Maxwell is thrilled. We're moored port to, so he can sit out on deck again. Win, win all round!

Right, off for some shopping and to collect Marvin, Pete's work van.

Braunston again

Here we are again. We set out south this morning turning at Wigrams Turn or Napton Junction, depending on which canal map you read. We're happily here to welcome a dear friend to dinner. Our Mr Well enjoyed his journey, meeting another lovely friend at the Stop House, near where we stopped this afternoon. The Stop House is usually known to us as Pete's central office of the CRT Grand Union North. Fun to be here not for work!

Fuel and a few more miles

We had booked a coal visit, so knew we needed to wait in Braunston until the Southern Cross, one of Jules' Fuels boats stopped by. Elizabeth went to the shops (We know! It's usually Pete who likes this! Needs must in the case of 25kilo bags of coal...). The pictures show Southern Cross arriving and then pulling in to work.

We then set out to a significantly colder and darker day. Shockingly, the 2nd of September required the layers of wool. Good we have coal for Squirrel! We're now moored on the South Oxford Canal, just west of Flecknoe in Warwickshire. Oh, and Maxwell is doing so incredibly well as a boat travelling member of the family.

Out again

So, we’re sorry, but we forgot to blog that we’d actually returned to Welton Hythe on July 19^th.  It was a warm and dry day, with good lock work.  The tunnel was packed, however, with perhaps 7 boats.  We’ve never had it so packed!  

We set out again yesterday, turned at the maintenance point and enjoyed the sunny break in the day to cruise down the mature tree lined canal ‘avenue’ which is our home mooring.  Pete made one of the best turns ever at Norton Junction and we headed to Braunston once again.  Note – we had plans to go southeast, but the Buckby flight has a serious lock damage problem.  We decided to keep out of the way and head back west.

Back to yesterday.  On from Norton Junction, we headed toward the tunnel with high hopes compared to last time, as we passed only one boat coming the opposite direction from the tunnel before we entered.  Well, hopes dashed quickly with headlamps galore.  We passed six boats in the tunnel, one a pair with one towing the other.  Fun around the bends, not! Out in the sun again, we did half the lock flight and moored in what we call the Nellie pound, the pound ending in the lock by the Admiral Nelson.  So, of course, we took Mr Well for a walk, now that we have a dog who can greet the public, and had a lovely stop at the pub.  Including sitting under the parasol. To stay out of the rain.

Today, we traveled the remainder of the flight and are now moored outside Braunston Marina as we wait for the coal boat.  It’s that time of year again!