Napton and back today

Today we woke to a very clear and still morning.  Our view  out of the front of the boat at 7 o’clock provided us with a mirror calm canal and a  neighbour about 200 yards away through bridge 100.

We had a very quiet trip along towards Napton – very few boats around but we enjoyed the first signs of spring…….

the willow trees are now quite well advanced and there are new born lambs in the fields.

We passed by the tiny hamlet of Lower Shuckburgh which has a very imposing and ornate Victorian church well out of proportion to it’s size.

Lower Shuckburgh church.

We arrived at Napton about mid day, winded ‘Chance’ ready for the return journey and moored up.  Walking round the corner towards the lock flight we came across nb ‘Milli M ’and it’s owner and fellow blogger “Maffi” and his dog Molly who had also just moored up.  After chatting for a while we walked up the lock flight as far as Oscar could manage it and in the process helped a couple get their boat through the one of the locks.

A view of the bottom lock with Napton-on-the-Hill in the background and Napton windmill just visible above the roof of the cottage on the left. 

We called into the Folly Inn for a pint on the way back to the boat, again meeting Maffi and Molly,  so we joined them for lunch.  A  very nice meal we had too.

Getting back on ‘Chance’ about 2’sh we retraced our route today and are moored at the same spot by bridge 100 as we were last night.  We’re now about 1/2 hour from  Braunston which we’ll get to first thing in the morning as James has to get a bus to Rugby hospital to have his warfarin levels tested.

Another lovely, sunny day.