We we started to get up this morning the canal was covered by a light mist - just a reminder (as September begins) that autumn is fast approaching.
As we set off the earth movers had already started their day's work on the development opposite were we moored. They really shift large amounts at a time.
We only had a short distance to travel to the bottom of the Hilmorton Locks - a boat came the other way so that we knew that the locks, closed overnight to save water, were already open for business, First, however, paused at the water point to top - the taps here are notoriously slow so we took on enough to compensate for a washing machine load, knowing that we can take on more at Braunston.
There was just one volunteer lock keeper on duty today, looking after the bottom lock mainly. At this stage in the day the traffic was not creating a backlog but the locks were on continuous operation, one up, one down.
At the top lock the original extra paddles to link the two adjacent locks together is still in place even if at the present its only use (apart from historical decorative) is to be a place to hang the obscurity chains for overnight closures! When operational they act as a kind of side pond especially at times when there are more boats in one direction than the other.
Forty minutes after entering the bottom lock we said goodbye to the top lock.
Not only was it bright and sunny today but also much warmer than of late. There was not much to report of the first half that we did not include last week. However, Mike took advantage of the blue sky to see if he could improve on some of his canal features library. It was not until later when reviewing today's pictures that he realised that he had caught this bird in mid flight. Now if we had tried to do this . . .
Christine took over the navigation as we came through Barby - the quick succession of boats coming towards us suggests that, unless some of them stop off before getting there, a queue will have develop at Hilmorton Top Lock. With only one lock in use there is around a 12 minute cycle time, even if boat crews know what they are doing.
There were even more of these coir roll patched that when we came up. At Hawkesbury we saw a notice that said that these rolls make life easier for water voles - which are currently in need of a bit of help to survive in good numbers. Lets just hope that the voles can read!
We were a bit surprised to see this wide beam boat shortly before Dunchurch Pools Marina. This is a narrow canal - at least the locks at Hilmorton can only pass narrow boats. However, as an early example of future-proofing, the bridges were built much wider. On the other hand, the standard for the maintenance of this canal assumes narrow boats and even then there are plenty of places where two boats struggle to pass, let alone beside a moored boat. There is some debate around this situation, especially when the recent licensing review took place, and there are those who want canals to be designated to have a maximum size boat that is permitted. On the other hand, our crossing of the Pennines last year was on the basis that we are longer than the official dimensions and can only pass the locks with care and one at a time.
This piling crew are gradually making their way along and have started another short section.
nb Derwent6 is on our blog list to the right of this page. They were busy avoiding various obstacles and missed us waving at them! Earlier a regular contributor to the Canal World Forum debates did spt us before we spotted them.
We managed to find a mooring just before the accommodation bridge before the start of Braunston proper. Christine had spotted that a footpath leads up the hill directly to the church and is one of the shorter routes to the shops and for tomorrow morning. As with a lot of the non-piled banks along here, it is not easy to find a way of putting in pins that hold when somewhat speedy boats came by. We had to re-do ours later in the evening when a passer by alerted us to the fact that our stern rope was dangling in the water.
After lunch we walked up this path and could see, looking back down, the patterns made by the ancient strip cultivation. It seems that there are quite a few fields around here where this can be seen.
In the wall outside the church we spotted this feature. We suppose that it was once a well for the villagers but there was no indication and the internet has not yet revealed anything.
We make no excuse for including another photo of the old windmill tower which was also showed back in May on our way to the Fens. However, this time we also saw an information board that records that "the windmill was the scene of a tragic accident when the wind turned the sails on which a workman who was carrying out repairs and he fell to his death".
We continued to thew shop where we picked up milk and a newspaper as well as a pork pie from the well-know butcher across the road. We came back via Midland Chandlers so that we could replenish our stock of Elsan Blue and a spare fender hanger to replace the one that broke as we came through Braunston Tunnel last week. The rest of the afternoon disappeared into idleness!
6.9 Miles - 3 Locks
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