Aynho on Monday night

We left Cropredy, having exchanged addresses with our new Melbourne friends, and had a glorious travelling day to Aynho. It is wonderful to see places which are now familiar and to be travelling again! We passed Nell's Bridge Acre where we moored a bit last year and Sarah came down to the wharfside to say hello as we passed. She tells us that Clarissa is due to have piglets in a matter of days. All in all, we did 8 locks and 11 miles and the weather was a heavenly sunshine with the occasional bit of cloud. We wandered into the Railway Arms, as the pub is sandwiched between the canal and the rail line. Brilliant day.

In Cropredy for Spring

Well, we're out! We set out on Saturday just before noon and moored up in a gorgeous spot two locks below the top of Napton Flight on the Oxford Canal. Wonderful. bit.ly/cO201Q says Pete's phone, Chester, about where we were. We had a stunning day travelling and so enjoyed the sunshine and our colleague travellers! We even had to do a boat rescue. A boat had gone adrift, as another boat had travelled by so fast and caused such a wave that this boat's pins and lines had pulled out of the tow path. Elizabeth hopped off Bella's bows, climbed over a bridge to get to the opposite side of the canal, another boater travelling north handed the pin with rope attached over the roof to her, and she tied the boat to the bridge. At the same time, Pete had moved Bella alongside and then Elizabeth hopped across the stern to go back home. International Rescue, eat your hearts out! The fun thing is that the boaters ended up being behind us up the Napton flight of locks and we had much fun chatting!

The next morning we were away before 9 and travelled the rest of the Napton flight, stopped in Fenny Compton at the new shop at the Wharf Inn where we virtually lived frozen in a few years ago, then descended the Claydon flight and worked our way to Cropredy. Chester says it's here: bit.ly/brO5bW.

Last night we met at the Brasenose with wonderful friends who have just bought a boat to live on the canals again and then met new friends, visiting from Melbourne. They're just about to arrive for coffee, so logging off arrives!

May has run away!

Well, we got Bella out of sheds and she looks beautiful. We have taken pictures, but we haven't had time to get them ready for web yet, but we will. We came back from our various travels (Oxford, Cambridge, Oxford, Salisbury, Newcastle under Lyme, Manchester) on the 18th of April to discover Bella had been taken out of sheds and lovingly moored up next to our usual quayside. It was SO good to be home after having managed 6 different beds while she was in the beauty parlour!

We had various bits of work to do, including a few days in London, so we finally able to untie and cruise on the 23rd (James' 29th birthday) and went south a little bit. We moored just north of Braunston. If you put "willoughby northamptonshire uk" in to Google maps, you'll see the little curl of canal just south of the Willoughby bridge where we found the most heavenly quiet spot. You could look at: http://maps.nationalgeographic.com/map-machine#s=r&c=52.30639695836349,%20-1.2282371520996027&z=14. If anyone call tell us how to get the satellite data, then we will and put it here regularly. Back to us, it was warm enough for a G&T on the bench on the towpath, a fabulous break from all the cities and all the driving and for Bella, it was OUT.

The next day, we trekked (!) just over two hours to the Bridge pub at Napton to see our friends. We had an odd moment when Bella's engine stopped after having run over something in a section where there were lots of moored boats and not a few wrecks, but she recovered well and we moored up in a lovely walking distance (http://maps.nationalgeographic.com/map-machine#s=r&c=52.25713439881985,%20-1.321878433227538&z=15) from the pub. Wonderful. The Sunday morning, we turned around and headed back - not to Blue Haven, but Willoughby corner again. Just opposite the mooring, the farm is full of bullocks, all languidly wandering around and variously looking at us. We called Pete's photo on flickr, Brothers in Farms: http://www.flickr.com/photos/pete_gray/4553933105/. It was such a lovely place to be.

We returned to Blue Haven on the 26th and have been firmly moored ever since. Pete's had two weeks in a row working out of offices in Cambridge and Elizabeth has been back and forth to London, Oxford and Cambridge. Our plans are, despite the weather, to head south to Thrupp starting on Saturday. We would like to do a huge circuit again this summer, taking in hundreds of miles, but we have a range of commitments in different places so may just take long weeks or long weekends. But then again, we may change our mind!! We have joined a virtual boating club called cutweb - http://www.cutweb.org.uk/ - which means we have visiting rights at other boating clubs. If this is the case in reality, then we may stay out a bit more if we can leave Bella in secure locations to pop up to, say, Scotland.

We'll let you know!

Notice - Bella to be in sheds!

Regular blog service, whatever that is, will be resumed in a few weeks. Bella is due a beauty visit to the sheds. She'll have all the red bits sanded down, primed and repainted, the green bits repaired, new paint to her stern, new blacking, new vents on her roof and other various body maintenance things done. She'll be a new Bella! Well not quite, but we'll be thrilled. While she's in, we'll be out, wandering around from one conference to another. Here's to Bella! We can't wait to show you the pics of her new self.

Easter Monday and back to Blue Haven

We set out from Braunston whilst having breakfast, eager to get moving again! We didn't go far, mooring up opposite the Boat House. This was for Elizabeth to get on fatter band to deal with the back blog, whilst our friend collected Pete to go get Reg.

We set out again to guess what? Cloudy threatening sky!!! Harumph. Only a little mizzle though, but lots of wind. We pulled back into Blue Haven to guess what? Sunshine!! (how typical).

Easter in Braunston

Easter 2009 we were moored in Blue Haven and took ourselves off to the inspirational Coventry Cathedral. This Easter, we walked up the hill to All Saints, Braunston. We loved Coventry Cathedral with its trumpets and stunning stained glass, yet we really loved being able to walk up the hill and to worship in a local community. As we walked up the hill, we saw the quintessential European scene of the church spire above the green hills against the clouds. As we walked down the hill after a very moving service, we saw Bella nestled in the cut on the canal side of the marina.

The evening was beautiful. Life is good.

Butlers Bridge Bronny

We set out bright and early to a day threatening the rain it never delivered. Thank goodness! It was a treat to cruise in the dry. We did the top lock, stopped for Elsan with Elizabeth at the helm for mooring. Sweet.

Setting out, the traffic started to hot up with boats everywhere for the Easter weekend. We spotted these two dogs having a great time on a roof just before we travelled the Braunston tunnel. This time, Pete was on the tiller and Elizabeth was on deck. She LOVES tunnels and the magic of the feeling of being in them with the light dappling the old brick lining. But she is dazzled by on-coming headlamps and can't see to drive. Not a good plan for tiller person (she's tried). So Pete is helm-ing and not really liking tunnels at all. In the past, he's been on deck, she's been inside sulking. This time, we were both out. What a result! Her gushing enthusiasm lightens his dislike. Hey presto! Tunnel done in no time.

Tunnel in no time, Braunston locks the longest time ever! There were SO many boats with each lock full of boats every time it emptied and filled, boats waiting in the pounds between and queues at the top and bottom. We got quite confused with crews, each boat having a tiller person and dumping the rest of the crews lock side with windlasses. We had great conversations, quite a few laughs and an odd moment of a boat going downhill getting caught on the cill. The tiller man sounded his horn, bottom paddles were quickly closed to stop water leaving the lock, top paddles opened to get the water level back up, the boat righted and all was fine. All in all, an eventful journey!

We moored up as soon as we saw a free mooring, our usual routine. We were east of Bronny centre just free of the lock flight and hire base in what we now know is Butlers Bridge area. We walked up to Braunston shops, then down the hill through the sheep, the to the pub and then home again. The candles are our nightly ritual - each one stands for someone or a situation and when we blow them out after we've had our meal with who they represent, we send light for that person or issue. For us, it is the light of God, for others it can be light into darkness. It's just our thing. And who knows - you who read may be one of the ones we send to.