One-way weekend: Day 2

A much better day weatherwise today -- bright, sunny, and sometimes even warm. We set off at a little after quarter past 8. A little while later, Brian and Mike got off for a walk. They went via the little Tesco's express in Weedon, and caught up with us at Buckby locks. We went up alone, but met boats coming down at every lock.

We stopped for lunch just after Norton Junction. Epiphany was moored there, so I went for a chat with Fiona and John; it was good to see them, if only briefly. The stretch from the junction to Braunston Tunnel always takes longer than I expect. The entrance to the tunnel is very overgrown -- which became particularly obvious as a couple of boats came out as we approached.

We passed two boats on the tunnel, fortunately neither of them at the very uneven sections. We had to turn the top lock, where a volunteer lock keeper was in attendance. A boat which had gone gone before us waited in the third lock. They turned out to be a very nice couple, and the lady steerer and Adrian did some excellent synchronised boating between locks.

At the Admiral Nelson I chatted to a boater and blog reader who'd been perching on the balance beam; at the bottom lock, I popped into the shop for ice creams, and then walked down to see what the mooring situation was like. We squeezed into a space just past the first marina entrance that was about three inches longer than the boat -- but before we'd even finished tying, the people on the Rose hire boat ahead returned and headed off, so we were able to spread out a little. The fuel boat, Southern Cross, is moored just along, so we bought a gas bottle.

13 miles, 13 locks. (26 miles, 20 locks)