Tuesday, 6 May 2025

To Crick: Day 3

Lots more sunshine this morning.  We set off at about 8.15, with me walking down to the lock and Adrian bringing the boat.  



The top two locks both needed filling before we could go in, and then below the second one we stopped at the water point.  We hadn’t filled for a week so we knew it might take a while, but it was quite a fast tap.  We got the washing machine going too.  Just after we’d finished, someone started emptying the lock above.  We thought there was a boat coming down, but it was actually someone from the Stone boat yard running some water down.  We discovered this when we got to the next lock and were asked not to fill it, as they were having trouble getting a boat out of the dock because the water was a bit low.


We waited until they were able to get the boat out, by which time a boat was also wanting to come up the lock.  It was a bit chaotic above the lock by now, because the boat that had come out of the dock was winding, his mate on another boat was also there, and a boat had arrived to go into the dock.  The boat that had come up the lock was asked to wait until the boat was in the dock.


Eventually, we were able to go down, and then conveniently swapped with a boat at the bottom lock.  I stayed on the towpath so I could take our rubbish to the bins, which are quite a way down from the lock.  We also swapped with a boat at Aston Lock, where someone has added a word to the lock’s stop planks.


We turned into Aston Marina for diesel, the price having dropped again to 89.3p.  At Bridge 88 we always seem to see animals crossing.  Sometimes it’s cattle, but today it was sheep.

We carried on to between Bridges 85 and 84, and moored in a nice sunny spot.  After lunch, we had a walk along to Sandon lock and into Sandon village, where the shop on the A51 had ice creams.  Outside the village hall was a VE Day display, with an air raid shelter set up.


We came back through Burston, where there’s a lovely big village pond, which they seem to call The Pool, and some nice houses.



There have been quite a few boats past, many of them at quite a speed.


4 miles, 5 locks.  (12 miles, 15 locks)

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