Smashing Easter... they wanted to 'do' the tunnel though!!

Fri 14th to Wed 19th – Cruising between Rothersthorpe Locks, Stoke Bruerne and Bugbrooke, about 7 miles 0 locks

But 2 tunnel journeys in one day!

A very eventful weekend spent with Wendie, Danny and the two girls.  They only decided to come on Sunday late morning, the grandchildren were well enough to travel.

While I was pulling out the bedding, Vic shouted from outside for me to come quickly.. a lamb had fallen into the canal from the other side.  I ran across the locks and scrambled down the bank to try and rescue it while Vic got No Problem’s engine going in case it swam to a point inaccessible.  The bank was steep, and trying to get a purchase and pull it out was going to be impossible.  I did manage to get hold of it, and it tried very hard to make an effort to clamber out, but I needed Vic’s help, and kept his head above the water till he arrived. 

He was a lucky fella as he ran away after his ordeal, and I was thinking as he paired up with his twin and mum, that in a couple of months time he might be on my dinner plate.. it’s funny really, there we all are happy to save these animals from drowning in our canals, when we are quite happy to eat them on our plates!!  Mad, mad world!!

Late afternoon the family arrived, and while Wendie sorted their bits and pieces out, I took to girls to have a look at Rothersthorpe Locks..

Party time again then on Sunday night.. and just a couple of bicardi and cokes made me brave enough to say “Yes” to the request to go through Blisworth Tunnel in the morning!… Gawd, Easter Monday, Blisworth Tunnel!

I felt quite brave on Monday

Four boats I passed, but I caught up a slow boat in front of me… oh why oh why do people go through tunnels on tickover, then stop when a boat is coming the other way.. never mind, Stoke Bruerne it was, and everybody enjoyed their day in one of the most famous places on the waterways.  I celebrated with a couple of glasses of wine at the Navigation.. well the Boat Inn was jam packed.. so when someone said..

“It’s a bit busy here to stay the night, lets go back through the tunnel this evening or drop down the locks” .. I could have said that two glasses of wine meant that I couldn’t skipper No Problem through the tunnel, but it made me feel brave, I might not feel so brave in the morning!!  Anyway I didn’t fancy the locks… the top lock was absolutely awash with gongoozlers…

So back through the tunnel it was, bit quieter on the way back, passed just two boats and nobody in front of me.  In fact it took 10 minutes less going back!  We settled just north of Blisworth for the rest of the evening, the dogs Lucy and Tilly enjoyed..

But hey, look at this.. here is Buddy a pup to keep Tilly company.  Another lab for Wendie, and at just 9 weeks old, already he is a ‘canal dog’ already, testing out what is, and what is not possible..

They all left to return to Portsmouth on Tuesday… a journey of just under 2 hours, so not too bad, but not before the traditional ‘Easter egg hunt’.. here the girls delighted to be going home with some goodies..

We will spend this week painting ‘gunnels to water’.  We are at Bugbrooke this evening.. it has been raining today, but we did manage to rub down all the blue from the gunnels down in between the showers and get some red oxide on.  Hopefully before the weekend we will have both sides painted and blackened.