Buckby Lock Flight between road and rail

11th Nov - Norton Junction to Whilton, Grand Union Canal, 1.5 miles 7 locks

After packing away the groceries we started a very sedate drop down the Buckby flight. 

 It's amazing when you are steering the boat how different it is to being the one on the towpath hurrying to the next lock, winding paddles, shoving on heavy gates.  I wonder do they notice what is going on around them?

There is not much else to do when confined to the rear of a narrowboat except to do the very important job of making a cuppa for your hard working crew member (AKA Vic, the chief cook and bottle washer!) toiling away ahead of you, while you let your boat 'drift' down the canal.  It's quite a skill you know, making a cuppa in a lock pound.  You have to be very aware of your surroundings, and look out the windows at all times while putting tea bags into cups.  You have to know your angles, and take special note when the boat isn't going exactly parallel with the towpath.  Sometimes you get a second or two while the tea bag is stewing, to quickly hop back on deck and just straighten up a bit before diving back down inside to rid the cup of that bag and presenting the two hot perfect cups of tea to the cabin top, hoping that it won't be too long before that lock gate is opened and you can present your steaming presentation to your hardworking other half.

There is another delightful aspect of being alone with nothing to do between locks, just look around you, it's amazing what you notice in this sort of situation.  Today I was particularly distracted most of the way with the M1, extremely visible about 200 yards to the left of me, and the main line railway about the same distance to my right with virgin trains charging up and down the line, sometimes no more than a minute between each one.  They do go fast, I know that because I was on that very line only a few weeks ago.  I very much doubt that anyone on the M1, nor anyone on the virgin trains could see me, well when I was on one of those trains in the very same place, I didn't notice the canal here.

I was thinking how sedate we all were, two boats and the four of us locking through, we were in no hurry, the canal carefully and slowly making it's way to London, the road and the train track making other people move as fast as possible to the same place.  The canal almost seemed to be making a statement "I might be slow and you two almost got rid of me, but I am still here!  "  How true, and how glad I am of that. 

It's been here a long time too, here is a snap shot I took part of the way down.  There used to be side ponds here by the look of it, I must read up a bit of history.  Here are remnants of the old side pound paddle gear, the date reminds us of just how long this canal has been running South :)