Sunrise to Sunset

We rose at 0420 as the light was just filing the eastern sky.

Sunrise was at 0444 and we let go at 0447 heading under cloud but in warm conditions. The temperature was about 11 deg C but the coffee that I had put in a thermos mug was still very welcome.  The cruise to Marton Doles was uneventful and very quiet. The scenery along this serpentine top level is beautiful and there is a wonderful vista across the Warwickshire plain at times.

Spot the black sheep

The sheep graze ancient ridged meadows ignorant that the scarred earthworks and heaped piles indicate that HS2 will soon be hurtling across the country side toward Birmingham and Manchester. 

We also passed others who enjoy the peace of this location. A narrowboat on its own pond in a field! Teepees for glamping with their wood fired hot tubs.

We filled water bottles at Marston Doles and then started the descent of the  Napton flight at abot 0730. I walked the first section from Marston Doles Locks 16 and 15 to lock 14 and was saddened by the state of the tow-path: soggy and overgrown. The canal was right to the edge of the narrow footway and the path was collapsing into the canal in places.

At lock 12 Alex was amused by CRT signage which asked us to wait on the towpath for an escort.

There was no work being done and it was thirty feet from the lock on the off side!

We had to be very careful at lock 14. A mother duck was fretting about three of her ducklings who were trapped in the lock chamber.

We used one bottom paddle and kept the ducklings in the bow triangle on the other side of the lock to ensure their safety. There was one duckling floating outside the lock who had already perished, sadly. 

Between lock 10 and 9 we met Sarah and James, on nb Nook and Cranny, returning from two weeks away from Tooley's boatyard. Good to meet friends.

After the locks we cruised to Bridge 113 where we moored for bacon and eggs for a very deserved breakfast at 0900.

Breakfast over we set off again. The next obstacle was how to join in with a conference call to the NABO Council meeting. I got on all right but amused the meeting as Alex impacted the bridge at Wygrams turn while entering the Warwick and Napton canal part of the Grand Union. (It was his first time doing this turn on his own.) I got off the boat at Calcutt locks with phone in hand and tried to continue the conference and work the paddles and gates. It was not very successfull as other boaters kept talking to me! At the middle lock the locking bracket would not stay on the spindle square so I had to hold the windlass and phone to prevent the paddle closing. All fun to be a boater. I soon lost signal all together and had to leave the meeting.

We caught up with another boat at Stockton Top and partnered Daniel and Ella on nb 23a all the way to the Blue Lias where they stopped for lunch. We had a good time together. These liaisons teach us how small the boating world is. They moor at Mid Warwickshire Boat Club and we have friends, who they know, there who also serve on the BCF Executive as do I. 

Having parted compoany with nb 23a we were on our own to The Two Boats where we moored and lunched on Kentucky Fried Chicken and chips left over from the night before. Delish.

After lunch we kept going. Bascote Staircase gives us no problems. There are instructions on a sign board there. However the only ones we saw were for going up and we were going down!

And so we soldiered on. We had small assistance from oncoming boats enabling us to leave gates open at a few locks but in the main we had to do all the work. We stopped after Radford Simele bottom lock and cooked pizza to eat on board. Where could you get a take away with pepperoni, "magharitta", bacon and anchovies? No only available on board!

After dinner all we had was flat water all the way to a mooring, on ring and piling, opposite Kate Boats.

We closed up and rang for a taxi! It started to rain!

Birds had been singing all day and we caught sightings of several birds of prey and heard a skylark on the Napton flight.

Total distance:  21.1/2 miles       Locks:32    Bridges:60    Elapsed time:15h39m48s    
Average speed:1.34 mph (3.38 lock/mph)