Wednesday 3rd April
Today has been bright and breezy, sometimes a bit too breezy but nonetheless we have had a pleasant trip. We have travelled 6 miles from Braunston to Napton and are moored between bridges 110 and 111.
I didn’t actually spend a lot of time outside with my dear (frozen) husband this morning because I had to clean up several days worth of accumulated dried mud from inside the boat! The towpaths have been so bad just lately that even if you moor up in a relatively mud free place, once you start walking anywhere it’s like wading through a quagmire. I did ply him with coffee and soup between all the hoovering and mopping though.
Having moored at Napton we set off to The Folly Inn, about 30 mins walk along the (sometimes muddy and subsiding) tow path. It gave my new walking boots a work out to be sure. Just round the corner we saw Millrace, a boat which we know from Thurmaston, moored up. We found a coolie hat on the tow path which had blown off the top of the boat. As we put it back on the roof we realised someone was in so we started peering through the windows (as you do) and waited for Big Geoff to come out. However, when the occupant emerged it wasn’t Big Geoff, it was someone we didn’t know at all! Apparently Geoff sold this boat last year and bought another one, oops! We did a bit of explaining and continued to the pub.
It was lovely in the pub having been blown there by the wind and we sat near the fire. The bar was full of cyclists having lunch, all tight lycra leggings and huge curly shoes! We partook of the Old Hooky and jolly good it was too.
The wind had really got up by the time we came out of the pub and the canal had become reminiscent of the North Sea! Hopefully it will calm down a bit before tomorrow as we have 9 locks to do on our way to Fenny Compton.
