As the weather looked promising we donned all our thermal gear and set off from our mooring early at 8am. There was a thin layer of ice over the canal in places, but no other boats on the move. The bottom lock was against us, but luckily all the others were in our favour.
I popped into the Boat Shop while Oakfield rose in the lock just outside it. I got milk and a freshly baked loaf which was still warm, mmm. We passed through the crooked cottage lock and could hear the squawking crows across the field in their newly constructed nests.
Some hire boaters who were moored above the top lock popped out to untie their boat to get into the lock as we came out, so we left the gate open for them. This smart plaque commemorates the opening of Braunston Tunnel in 1796.
This was the view from the kitchen porthole en-route while I was washing up and making coffee. You don’t get these wonderful changing views to enjoy if you live in a house, do you?
When we were approaching Norton Junction we saw this girl dancing about on the top of a hire boat, she must have been freezing cold! Anyway we turned left and carried on, taking turns at steering the boat. At Watford Locks we were able to go straight up after booking in with the volunteer lock-keepers. There were two of them on duty to give us a hand and chat about boating on our way up the locks. The M1 was then in close proximity to the canal for a short distance here, and the Watford Gap Services were very busy. The constant traffic noise was as loud as a large plane when it is taking off. Passing through Crick Tunnel was just like having a shower with all the rain and melted snow still filtering down through the brickwork. Luckily we had both tunnels to ourselves, which is just how we like it! The tunnel exit was adorned with some very thick, long icicles which looked quite pretty against the daylight as we came out. A ‘Perfick’ cruising day for us.
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