Friday 18 March 2016

March Weekend - Day 1

We came up to the boat separately yesterday -- and both had less than satisfactory journeys. Adrian set off at nearly 3pm from Liss, where he'd been to a meeting; he eventually arrived at the boat at 8pm having suffered from traffic and road closures. I got a train after work, and everything was delayed because someone had been hit by a train at Cheddington earlier in the day; I got to Wolverton at quarter to midnight, with Adrian waiting to collect me.

Adrian had got the fire going when he arrived, and it stayed in well overnight. This morning we got ready to cruise, and slipped out of the marina just before 9am, heading south. At Cosgrove there was an interesting looking boat, apparently made from a shipping container with a hull welded on. The bow is a straight triangle, with no finesse whatsoever.

Cosgrove lock was the only one of the day. After yesterday's sunshine today was dull, cloudy, with a bit of drizzle in the air. But at least it wasn't windy. Through Milton Keynes there were signs of Spring, with some trees already having some blossom.

They're doing work to Bridge 67, and the workmen were grappling with what looked like a big pile driving machine. I'm not sure what they're doing, but the bridge does look a bit cracked in the middle. It possible needs work to stop it shifting further.

After Milton Keynes marina there's a new block of apartments, which looks quite attractive. This is where an office building had burned down, and then the new building seemed to stall. For a long time it was just a shell, but now it's finished with people living in it.

We had lunch on the move, then moored up at about 1.15 at Fenny Stratford. In the afternoon, we walked to the shops, mainly because Adrian wanted to get some new walking shoes. We also went to Ikea and got onions from Tesco, as he'd forgotten to get them yesterday. As we walked past the lock a single-handler was coming down, so we closed the gates and the swing bridge for him; as we arrived back, the widebeam hire boat from Milton Keynes was about to come through, so I waited and did a gate for them too.

12 miles, 1 lock.

 

2 comments:

Marilyn, nb Waka Huia said...

Lovely to see you on the move again, guys. Isn't overland travel a hassle that has the waiting at locks fade into insignificance?
Still warm and summery here although a short wet cold snap attacked in the week. Looking out at a clear blue sky this morning ...
Big hugs, Marilyn and David

Carol said...

Good to see you on the move again, any plans for summer cruising yet?