Encountered
Cleddau had turned back northbound after Slapton Lock 
– and credit must be given to the Monday team of volunteer lock keepers at the Soulbury Three Locks. 
“We’ll do it all – yes the Pumphouse has been cleaned up – you go and read all about it on the panels over there…” 
Had the passage down through the Soulbury Three ever been easier? (No!). 
Concrete cows and numerous roundabouts are oft-mocked features of Milton Keynes – but there are no sightings of these from the Grand Union Canal as it weaves its way through what was once prime Buckinghamshire countrysideThere is plenty of towpath mooring, particularly near road bridges and bus routes, but achieving a prime mooring spot can be a matter of luck.And luck was in when Cleddau and crew managed to moor at Campbell Park – twice… 
This spot gave direct access to the wonderful parkland as well as a series of uphill paths to MK Centre1. (And this open plaza at the top deserves further investigation: 
)Who knew that there was a fine cricket ground where local, county, national and international matches have been played? 
Up through the park, past water features 
and outdoor sculptures, 
through areas of grazing, 
spotting signs to a labyrinth and the Open Air Theatre. 
As you walk up, or down, the park, there’s a very distinctive feature, the Light Pyramid. 
It’s positioned on the end of the Belvedere, a grassy promontory, which can be accessed easily from the MK Centre level, or from gentle paths near the Open Air Theatre - or from steep paths for those who like a scramble. 
Whichever route is taken the views justify the effort…! 
So Campbell Park was a wonderful find – what else? On the southbound journey Great Linford Park had been identified as a good mooring point. The park looked friendly, inviting, picturesque even … 
Heading back northbound would luck hold out here too? There ahead was the delightful – and empty mooring. The boat was pulled in and while the Cleddau crew busied themselves tying up the ropes a crowd of schoolchildren (each one with a lunchbox) observed the operation closely. 
When the supervising teachers called them away 
Boatwif examined the fluttering notice – and then read the small print. This mooring, as of this very day, was reserved for the electric community trip boat Electra… 
Further south the new Campbell Wharf Marina had been seen 
– and Electra at her mooring. 
Now it seems she has a mid-week mooring too!Debate. Discussion. Might there have been enough room in front of the designated reserved mooring…? The area invited exploration. But rules are rules, and Cleddau was untied and pushed off to find a different mooring place.Jaq (formerly of nb Valerie) had sent a lengthy blog comment (see here ) with reminders of places to look out for. A mooring found to the north of Milton Keynes near Stanton Low was very worthwhile. 
Across the meadows is the atmospheric ruin of the medieval church of St Peter which had served the parish of the small village of Stantonbury. 
By the late 19th century the church was being neglected and by 1948 the roof was close to collapse.Within the large Stanton Low Park the ruins stand alone. 
An information board explains that Stantonbury Manor, a grand 17th century mansion had once stood nearby, though it had lasted only 75 years before it was destroyed by fire. 
Onward the next day, to make a shopping stop at Wolverton. It was while cruising past the Train Mural that hearty waves and weather comments were exchanged with a pair of sightseers. 
They were Peter and Beverley, over from Bermuda. Wolverton had been Pete's home town, (“The FIRST railway town,” as he emphasised) but he had joined the Bermuda Police Force in 1971. Bev was keen to explore her passion for canals. An avid watcher of canal-related TV and YouTube programmes, knowledgeable about routes and boat-related matters, she had never yet been inside a narrowboat.
She has now!It’s the time of year for outdoor activities, school groups being encountered in Campbell Park, at Linford Park, on Electra and on the move in various places. A couple of Duke of Edinburgh training expeditions were seen – and then there was an exchange with an advance lock keeper at Cosgrove Lock. 
“Oh, have we stolen your lock?” Boatwif asked.“No, no, they’re not here yet.” He was waiting for not one but eight boats. The eight boats had left Fenny Stratford Lock that morning (9 miles further south) and the crews were travelling the route between Twickenham and Rugby. They were all supporters of the Matt Hampson Foundation and escorted by towpath walkers all the way… The Matt of the Foundation’s name is a man who 20 years ago as a young professional rugby player was catastrophically injured while in training with the under-21 rugby team. Now his strapline of GET BUSY LIVING! has inspired a very successful therapy centre in Leicestershire. 
The charity event had been planned to the last detail – and The Barley Mow at Cosgrove were hosts that night to boat crews, walkers, rugby players, rugby supporters and Matt Hampson himself. Those moored not far away will attest that it was NOT a quiet evening…!This has been a cruise of reminiscence and also of spot the difference. Paddleboards weren’t seen on this canal twenty odd years ago. Now they are – and ducks obviously feel comfortably at home on them! 
Slapton mooring to Cosgrove mooring: 21¼ miles, 9 locks, 2 aqueducts, 0 tunnels, 1 swing bridgeCrick to Cosgrove via Slapton winding hole: 72¼ miles, 2 tunnel passages, 41 locks, 2 swing bridges2024 Totals: 163 miles, 10 tunnel passages, 89 locks, 2 aqueducts, 6 swing bridges*2024 Monkton Moments* (Monkton Moment*- a reference to / recognition of Cleddau’s Pembrokeshire connections) – now 13 (From passing boater: "Are you from Pembrokeshire?" Yes how do you know? "My father was from Pembroke.")Tudor Rose enquiries: 1. “Why have you got a Welsh name and an English rose…?” 1Replacement scissors for those lost overboard near Buckby Top Lock were sourced at Lakeland…
