After nearly a week in Braunston we were glad to move on today. Yesterday we collected our voting papers from the Post Office and did our duty. We also went to Daventry again, picked up a few things from Tesco and also got some new speakers to go with the 12v tv. These are computer ones which don’t require 240v power to work.Useful as we now don’t have to run the inverter at all.
So we have travelled 6 miles to Hillmorton. As there were no locks for me to do I had an opportunity to do some much needed cleaning. We have been moored beside hawthorn hedge which was continually dropping its blossom. Also CRT came along and mowed and strimmed the verge. Large quantities of both blossom and cut grass subsequently found their way into the boat!
I also had a large load of washing to do and put the machine on just after we left so I could do a 2hr wash cycle. Ordinarily washing and hoovering can both be done quite comfortably on the generator at the same time. However today we were slowed down by a boat which pulled out in front of us and proceeded to travel at just over tick over. This meant that we were not doing enough revs to run both the hoover and the washing machine.
Not only were they crawling along but one of the chaps on board was creeping along the gunwales sweeping them with a broom (presumably he had the same blossom/grass problem as us) and then he started cleaning the bottom of his shoes with the broom as well!
Fortunately this boat pulled over after a while so we could speed up and I could finish my jobs. When we got to Hillmorton we stopped at Hillmorton Wharf for diesel (69p/l), then carried on for about another half a mile to a nice spot and moored up.
We walked in to the village and went to two shops before returning, via the local graveyard, to the Old Royal Oak on the canal at the wharf.
Tomorrow we are probably going to Newbold.
