There were a number of changes to interest us along the way. The former railway bridge that’s now a footpath by the Black Horse pub is under scaffolding. There’s a huge building site just last Bridge 82, with a new little mooring basin. And there are lots of new houses just past Fenny Stratford Lock.
We’d been following another boat for the few miles to Fenny, so had hopes of sharing the lock. However, it turned out there was a boat in front of them, so they went through together.
It’s such a small rise that it didn’t take long before it was our turn, and the first boat had gone onto the water point, so they swung the bridge back for us. We caught up with the other boat at Stoke Hammond lock, where a boat was just coming out so we could both go straight in. Then we also did the Soulbury Three Locks together. The pub was very busy, and there was a barbecue and hog roast under way out on the side of the bottom lock.
There was a single boat going up ahead of us, and the pounds between the locks were very short of water. I ran a bit down from the top while that lock was emptying. We continued along to the Old Linslade winding hole, having lunch on the way, and turned around. We returned to a favourite spot just south of Bridge 109; it was around 2pm. It’s very warm; Adrian has had a little nap, and when it’s a little cooler we need to put some sealant round the rear porthole that’s now on the towpath side, as it’s clearly letting in water.
13 miles, 5 locks. (18 miles, 6 locks)
2 comments:
Mmmm, that section of the canal is familiar to us as my aunt lived in Soulbury (village, not near the locks.
What sealant are you using for the portholes, 2xA? Mick, of Unknown No 3, is doing some work on Waka Huia at the moment (replacement of oak-faced MDF in the saloon among lots of other tasks) and tells me that water is getting in around the portholes. We have discussed how to get the porthole frames out, or how else to seal them.
Looking forward to hearing from you.
M&D xxoo
PS We are heading over to the UK in mid-July
Hi Marilyn, this was a non-opening porthole, where whatever the glass is seated in has rotted away over the years. We just used a black outdoor weatherproof sealant between the glass and the frame. Hopefully it will work.
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