Today we have only travelled 5 miles but we had the Braunston Tunnel and 6 locks to do as well. At the tunnel we had a ‘Twilight Zone’ moment. As we approached the entrance a boat which was moored there started to pull away. We thought they were going through the tunnel. However they proceeded to pull back in to the bank. We went past and they pulled out again.
Nothing unusual in that, many people like to follow another boat through tunnels. So we went in followed by them. Braunston Tunnel is two way and we met another boat coming the other way just a few yards from the end. We said there was another boat following and emerged into the sunlight. There was a further boat approaching the tunnel and we told them the same, there was a boat following us.
Shortly after the tunnel are the 6 locks taking you down into Braunston. We arrived at the first of these just as a boat was going down. The crew, a really nice family with two boys helping with the paddles and gates, said they would wait for us at the next one. While we were filling this lock we thought we should really wait for the boat which had followed us into the tunnel. We looked back but there was no sign of them!
We thought maybe they had been held up by the two boats going the other way. Some people virtually stop in two way tunnels if there is something coming the other way. We finished getting the lock ready and had to go down because the first boat was waiting for us. We never did see the boat which had been following us again. Spooky!
We finished the rest of the locks with this lovely family and found a nice mooring opposite the church and the manor. As we were sorting out our fenders a chap we know came along the towpath. We met Alan on the Gloucester and Sharpness in 2013 last saw him in Worcester last April. We had a bit of a chat then arranged to meet at the pub (where else) later.
After mooring we went in to the village for a paper. After this we went to Midland Swindlers, I mean Chandlers to look at the coal prices. While we were there we were drawn to the 12v tvs. They are so sophisticated now and have dvd players built in and you can receive a satellite signal on them and record on to a USB stick.
Of course these tvs are pretty pricy compared to ordinary ones you find in Curry’s but Midland Chandlers has one of its Freaky Friday events this week where you can get 20% off everything so we may have to hang around.
After the village we went to the Boathouse to meet Alan and had a very pleasant lunchtime with him and his mate Baz. It was really warm sitting outside there in the sun.
Tomorrow we are going to Rugby again. Ken needs new trainers and I just want new trainers!
