The moorings at the bottom of the Buckby Locks are pretty noisy, with the M1 close on one side and the West Coast Main Line on the other. But the noise didn’t stop us sleeping; motorway noise is at least constant. And I’m glad we didn’t move up to the lock landing yesterday evening, because there was water pouring over the bottom gates all night, and that really was noisy.
We moved up to the lock landing at about 8.30, knowing that the locks weren’t due to open until 10. A boat was already moored there, but at the back of the stretch so we went in front.
At about 9.30 the boat started moving and it became obvious that a lock keeper was emptying the lock. I wandered up and helped him open the gates so we could start going up. I gave the boat behind a knock and they also abandoned their coffee and came into the lock with us. It was about 9.45 when we got going. The lockie went and lifted a paddle at the next lock and then disappeared (possibly to open up at the top), so I walked up to get the gates open.
At the fourth lock someone raised the paddles while we were in the one below, so it appeared a boat was coming down. It was too early though — only 10.15, and they couldn’t possibly have got that far if they’d only started at 10. But there was a boat, and as we passed on the towpath the crew said they’d spent the night in the long pound below the top lock, so had been able to get going early. We met another boat coming down at the fifth lock, and they had started at the top. Between that lock and the next one there’s a little fishing boat on the towpath.
The sixth lock had a volunteer there who’d been running some water down, but it was ready by the time the boats got there. He then went back to the top lock. By the time we were up, another downhill boat appeared.
The top lock was open and waiting, and we were soon up and saying goodbye to our locking partners who only bought the boat six weeks ago, and went down the locks yesterday so their son could have a look at the boat. We’d made pretty good time, but just as we got to the top there was a short sharp shower. We pulled onto the water point to top up the tank and deal with a load of recycling from all the parcels that Catherine and Nigel brought us the other day. We were now on the GU’s Braunston Summit, having climbed just over 120ft since Milton Keynes; it’s still not quite as high as the Tring Summit though (and isn’t really a summit, when you consider that the Leicester Line goes up from this level). Macc and I had been to check on mooring options, so we set off again through Norton Junction, staying on the GU mainline.
We moored up in a pleasant spot just past the junction, although not one of the prime spot with a great view across the valley. There were a couple more showers before it brightened up again. I took Macc for another walk after lunch, and then as we’d done the whole day’s cruising on electric the engine was cold so I thought I’d tackle a job in the engine hole. I wanted to put some self-fusing tape round one of the joins to the skin tank, where there’s been a slight weep of coolant. It’s in a very awkward place so I had to take all the boards from around the engine and then lay across it — and my arms still only just reached.
We’re also trying a new way of keeping the liquid container from the loo clean, a so-called green bleach made from sodium percarbonate. After it had sat for an hour or so, Macc and I walked the bottle along to the Elsan. But what to do with Macc while I did all the rinsing? He sat and stayed very nicely on the low wall.
2 miles, 7 locks. (186 miles, 130 locks)