Sunday 16 Jan 2011

Last night we ate onboard with an Indian takeaway from Southam which was quite enjoyable and not to oily. The night was very blustery and we both woke several times, the only one to get a good nights sleep was Magic who spent the night down the lounge. We were nice and warm as the BMC stove was still burning when we went to bed.

We set off this morning a little after 10 am in sunshine and wind, but quite pleasant, a boat had come up just before we set of but even so nearly all the locks were against us, we did meet a hire boat half way down the flight, they pulled into the lock moorings as we arrived at the top but showed no interest in locking up, eventually they walked up the lock with their dog but no windlass, so Diana turned the lock, when the lock was a little over half full one of them went back for their windlass and then they watched as we locked down chatting to Diana, they indicated that they had not had any lock instruction at all. We left the lock and they made there way up. As some walkers had told them we were on our way down they had not only left the gates open on the next lock for us, but also all the paddles up.

We stopped at The Folly to fill with water, so now we can shower in the morning and not use canal water to flush the loo. There was only one boat on the Folly moorings, I think that is the quietest I have ever seen it. We carried on to The Bridge where there were no other boats moored at all and stopped for Sunday Lunch, it was still early at 12-30 so they only had another 3 tables taken and some people in the bar but it probably picked up later.

We just came through Nimrod Bridge 108 and caught up with a boat going at slightly over tick over speed, a short way ahead of him/her was another pair of boats, one towing the other on about a 50 foot line but with no one on the boat being towed so it was going everywhere. I followed these 3, they were all together an tickover speed to just past bridge 103 where they met a couple of boat and all ended up on the bank, I took this opportunity to pass them as the obviously had no intention of letting me by. Shortly after this we had very light drizzle for a bit. We continued on to moor at what felt a slightly more sheltered spot just through bridge 99 at 3-15 pm.

BW have made what looks to be a good job of repiling in the Napton flight and also in front of The Bridge Inn almost opposite the winding hole, the end of the piling had been sticking out here for some time and could have caused serious damage to a plastic boat.