By yesterday evening, the sun had come out and it was very pleasant — and Macc thoroughly enjoyed his evening walk which included a run about in the field with another dog who happened to come by. This morning was changeable again, so we put our waterproofs on just in case and set off at about 9 straight into the first lock.
There had been no update on the tree blocking the end of the arm, so our target was Circus Field Basin, the home of the Aylesbury Canal Society, where I was due to do some recordings for a future podcast. While there was a blue sky there was also a strong wind which had a real chilly edge to it.
The next locks come in pairs with gaps in between. At the second pair it got really dark and started to rain, and was quite heavy for a few minutes; but we could also see it was brighter up ahead.
Between Lock 13 and Lock 14 is a stretch of a couple of miles, and it’s both shallow and reedy with not much more than a boat width of water in places.
We came down Lock 14, which was the scene of the murder we almost witnessed last time we came down here. It felt a bit odd; we thought there might be a plaque or something but there isn’t. Once down the lock, I called the Canal Society office to let them know we were close, so the bridge could be opened for us.
Sure enough, Ian was there opening not just the bridge but the gates of the basin. It’s technically full at the moment as few of their moorers have gone out, but they’ve found space for us alongside another boat.
After lunch, Adrian went to do some shopping in the Lidl next door, and then went into town not least to pick up an Amazon order from Waitrose (which is right next to the town centre basin). On the way, he saw the efforts to clear the fallen tree; it looks as though the work will be complete some time tomorrow.
Meanwhile I did podcast recordings and had a guided tour of the fantastic facilities here, including a wet dock and a dry dock in the clubhouse building, the workshops beyond, and the bar and meeting room upstairs. The society also offers visitor moorings for free for up to a week, so it’s really a very welcoming place.
4 miles, 6 locks. (60 miles, 53 locks)