Bugbrooke to Blisworth

We stayed a few days in Bugbrooke, the only downside here is the noise from the Virgin trains as they hurtle by, but you do tend to get used to it. It's been quite a windy few days but luckily no rain which meant James could get on with a few more pens ready for the Blisworth Canal Festival. 

I do like the walks around Bugbrooke, they are well signposted and the farmers do keep the footpaths very clear. They seem mostly crop fields here, the occasional one with sheep but no sign of cows, as much as I love cows I don't like crossing fields with them in. 

This path took us under the canal aqueduct, it was dated 1809

We moved off yesterday with the wind quite strong which made it a bit tricky, we stopped at the facilities wharf at Gayton Junction, Olly on Queen Mauve passed by, a few minutes later he sent James a Facebook message saying he had spotted us but it was too windy to slow, I don't blame him we had fun and games reversing back out and on our way again.

Olly took this photo of LJ as he passed 

Nick, the boat organiser for the Blisworth festival had told us roughly where our spot was and that they had marked them all out, we arrived and found it fairly easily. Nick popped over in the evening to introduce himself and say hello. So first impressions are nice, friendly and organised. I'm now just waiting for my Tesco delivery.

Our spot marked out

Just need to get the banner and bunting up now

4.5 miles and 0 locks

TOTAL 385.5 miles and 379 locks

Whilton to Bugbrooke

Yesterday Glen of Elite Furnishing turned up, did a final measure up, we re-checked the fabrics and the sofa has now been ordered. Only problem is we have to wait 6-8 weeks as they are made to order. Never mind, as the old saying goes ... Good things come to those who wait ... 

This morning before we set off I took Dudley for his morning stroll back up to the locks, a hire boat had past us yesterday and gone up the locks at 9:20pm, it was almost dark and not a good time to be starting a flight, they had left the top gates open and due to leaky bottom gates the pound between 12 and 13 was very low, the lock was only half full and at times yesterday we had noticed water coming over the gates so a lot of water has been wasted from the pound. I closed the gates and walked to the next one, the level wasn't too bad here so the gates were obviously not leaking as much. I didn't go on any further as we wanted to be away early.

This was full yesterday

Hopefully won't take too long to refill 

We passed a few boats on the move, a couple of them typically at bridge holes. We stopped off at one of James' timber suppliers who are actually just off the canal, so we had a nice stroll up there and a good look around. James was also after a particular wood which they didn't have in the shop so they went to their workshop and cut some for him, very helpful.

In the workshop

I noticed this old post box on the way back to LJ

After a bit of lunch we continued the short way to Bugbrooke. The moorings opposite the pub were full so we stopped just after, there are only two other boats here, when we've been down this way before it has always really busy.

Love this tent

Moored at Bugbrooke

7.5 miles and 0 locks

TOTAL 381 miles and 379 locks

Cafe, bilge, painting, CaRT... Oh and Stan (pt 1)

I like Bugbrooke. It's a quintessential Northamptonshire village full of honey coloured old houses and a community spirit where every one knows everyone else. In the doctors (regular prescription time) locals are greeted by their first name, the rest of us greeted with courtesy and friendship. We were also made to feel at home again for our second visit to the community cafe.

We arrived a little later than our breakfast visit in May and found the cafe busying up with holidaying parents and child minding grandparents bringing rugrats to a breakfast play date, luckily with the beautiful weather they all decided to head for the outside tables. Ron had been out breakfasting with his daughters and visiting granddaughters. It was Ron's 90th Birthday, he returned my salute with a smile and said out the corner of his mouth 'I think it's going to be a long day'. His obligatory oversized badge pulled down the lapel of his now oversized blazer. He took it all in good spirits, realising, I think that the day was as much for his family as it was for him.

Church opposite the community cafe

Apart from the reason of supporting the community you should visit the cafe on your way through because of the great food at minimal prices. I treated myself to a second steaming mug of tea for 60p. A fry up for Deb, scrambled egg bacon and toast for me and plenty of tea all for about £6! Back at the boat I get on with the polishing. The T-cutting was finished so just half a side to polish up. Everyone that passes stops to chat, at times I was having conversations on the towpath and canal simultaneously. I met the mum/mum-in-law of the owners of Hayford Fields marina. 'I went out on my daughters boat last week, lovely weather, she married a local farmer and they built the marina'. Mum of marina owner used to live in Gayton 'born and bred', but moved to Bugbrooke because it was so much busier. Apart from the doctors and community cafe, it has a pub and a post office...oh and a bus stop.

A couple few miles up the cut is a wood yard (who would have thought I would have walked a six mile round trip to look at some off cuts of wood?). A proper job one where they cut logs into planks and machine them down into the size you want. No soft wood here it's all the hard stuff. I rummage through their off cuts bins and buy some ash, oak, mahogany, sapele and a small piece of zabrano  along with a length of beech for a little woodwork project. The off cuts are a bargain at £2 per kg. The length of beech and other cut woods are charged as points of a cubic metre ranging from about £1400 to £5700. So if you've ever wondered how much a cubic metre of mahogany costs (no, me neither) it's about £2496. If you are ever approaching Nether Heyford and wonder what the Victorian manor house is up above the railway on the left, now you know because that's where the wood yard is, alongside a farm shop, apple orchard, livery, and seller of logs as part of the Jesus Army commune. They also own a couple of very nice cottages at the bottom of the hill (I scrumped some apples so Deb could make an apple and blackberry crumble) and what looks like an old art Deco cinema in Northampton (there's money in that old religion malarkey you know).

Coal yard on the way to wood yard - that would do us for winter

Whilst we were close to Northampton Deb arranged an updated hearing test. Her Otoscleroisis won't improve. The results indicate further damage to the cochlear. An operation to replace (or sometimes install a micro prosthetic piston in) the staple works to a greater extent and is an inevitability but hearing aids programmed to the correct frequencies (base sound go first, so I have to talk high pitched first thing in the morning) can help a little. We were shown a great selection for a mere £240 per month on a payment scheme. Next stop NHS. Just for info the bus trip was £11.20 for us both, it was about three miles away. We enjoyed a pizza at pizza express using tesco vouchers before heading back to LJ.

We were moored in front of Dylan's dad. He used to run a trip boat from the wharf, and had a restaurant boat too! He's a cheery chap, he knocks on the boat and tells me that tomorrow he will be making a bit of noise with his power tools. He needs to route out a rectangle on Dylan's bench for a plaque, not brass but a painted ceramic canal scene. Dylan died in hospital when he was 27, Dylan's dad moors up here for a couple of weeks when he can to remember the good old times. If you take a stroll to the cafe have a rest on Dylan's bench...