Braunston and Beyond

Last night, as predicted, we had a great evening on board ‘Chance’ with Irene and Ian from nb Free Spirit - with a few glasses of wine and a good chat we had a lovely evening together.

James, Irene, Doug and Ian on board ‘Chance’.

Nb Free Spirit  leaving the mooring this morning.  Great to meet you both at last, although having followed your blog for the last few years, we felt we knew you already!

We left the mooring soon after ‘Free Spirit’ and got through Hilmorton locks easily, even though there were major works in progress.  The works gave us the chance to see parts of the lock system which we would not normally see.

The approach to the top gate of one lock without water.

The sluice (which lets water into the lock) with paddle and paddle winding gear at the top.  It’s very interesting to see these details which would otherwise be hidden by the water.

We arrived in Braunston by lunchtime and took a walk into the village to get a few supplies.  We had no sooner had lunch on board and a text came through from Adam, (nb Briar Rose), asking “were we near Braunston?” – he was in Braunston himself and must have been reading our blog as we were moored opposite the Boat Inn!  (Adam arrived within 10 minutes for a chat and a cup of tea – it was great to see him!).   He stayed on board while we winded ‘Chance’ at Braunston Marina in order to get back to the junction and continue our trip on the Oxford section of the Grand Union Canal.

Adam and James on the rear deck of ‘Chance’ in Braunston.

We dropped Adam off at Braunston junction and he kindly took some photos of us starting the Oxford section.  Here we are with the famous junction bridges in the background.  Photo courtesy of Adam.

We carried on for almost an hour and moored just before bridge 100 in a lovely quiet spot.  We spent the afternoon doing jobs on board (Doug cleaning windows and James doing some varnishing) before settling down for the evening.

Our mooring tonight viewed from Bridge 100 – quite a long shot of us but it shows how peaceful and remote we can often find ourselves.  Lovely!

A closer view from the opposite bank  – there are two young swans on the far right, mottled brown but  almost in their full adult plumage.  Another beautiful end to a lovely sunny day.