What next…?

Was the Crick Boat Show the wettest, muddiest ever? Some marina residents believed that to be the case. Three days after the Show a welcome email declared the normal car parks (all on gravel and small stone) to have reopened. The marina was still to be regarded as a building site (ie. CAUTION recommended) and a tow service was available for those vehicles still parked on the fields…A few structures still remained  and a wide beam boat was on the back of a lorry being transported away.  Faded grass and churned up surfaces provided evidence that Something Big had happened… Cleddau’s outings this year have been local jaunts for boat and crew (to Welford, to Braunston and to Market Harborough). Next up was to be more of a Proper Trip.Post-Show the boat escaped from Crick, took a left turn, trundled through the tunnel, met a workboat on a bend and then arrived at the top of Watford Locks. There was a wait of nearly 90 minutes before permission was given to proceed down the 7 narrow locks.  Leaky top gates in lock 5 sprayed the back deck and the steerer too… Onward, to arrive at Norton Junction, and for the first time since 2022, turn left, for the Buckby Locks and the Grand Union Canal (for Milton Keynes and places south to London).The afternoon was whiled away with jobs, both domestic and boat-related. Who would have thought that a simple rope splice activity would lead to scissors at the bottom of the canal, a sea magnet so powerful that it would latch onto the embanked steel piling, a fruitless prodding around with a boat hook and a sharp snatch on an extended rope eventually releasing the magnet…?The 7 Buckby Locks are double width and spread out over about a mile and a half distance. The gates are always heavy and the bottom gate paddles always very stiff. Would this be a solo descent or would there be a locking partner? Luck was in – on Saturday morning a Napton hire boat crewed by two parents, three boys, a small girl and two dogs appeared from behind.    A rhythm developed, smallest boy lock side with the mid-rope, older two boys with windlasses,  little girl supervising, mother with the dogs, father on the tiller.“We’re doing it to get the kids outdoors,” said the mother, “and when we get to the bottom we’ll have some lunch and then turn round and go back up…”There was a delay after the fifth lock, two boats ahead tied up in a queue. A lock keeper further down the flight was managing the excess water coming down the locks.Eventually the boats moved onwards and down to the bottom lock. Here was the toughest struggle with paddle gear. “Why would you want to go back up again?” the lock keeper asked the hire boaters, as if he’d forgotten the satisfaction and fun novice crew have in learning how to navigate through locks…While Eliana turned and headed back to the bottom lock to retrace their route, Cleddau continued south, crew keen to lose the sound of the M1’s traffic. Cow parsley, lupins,  a WW2 duo,   boats of varied shapes and sizes  and then a mooring at Weedon Bec. A preferred mooring is on the embankment above the church. Many of the buildings are constructed with that lovely mellow Northamptonshire stone and thatched roofs.    There’s a distinctly village feel in the One Stop shop and in the nearby local businesses.In the early 1800s the Ordnance Depot was built  at Weedon Bec in the centre of England, as far from the coast as possible. . Its purpose was to house a huge store of muskets, cannon and gunpowder during the time of the Napoleonic Wars. It remained in Ministry of Defence hands until 1965.In 2015 a security guard had allowed Boatwif and the Captain a quick peek at these magnificent buildings dating from 1802. By 2018 a Visitor Centre and small businesses had appeared at the Depot. How was the iconic site doing now…? The Visitor Centre has a video now to explain the Depot’s history, with re-enactors explaining their role.    A current display explains Weedon’s role in the D-Day preparations. To the right of the East Lodge entrance is Building 1, home to The Antiquarium on the ground floor (collectables, antiques, upcycled items).   Upstairs is The Reading Tree (home to hundreds of books and very good coffee). On a sunny weekend plenty of folk were visiting The Depot, but why so many motorbikes? A street of buildings at the far end of the Depot seemed to be attracting visitors.  An eclectic mix of vintage vehicles and kit cars drew admiring glances. Then, in an amazing ground floor space for Petrolheads, there was a half aeroplane, the tail of a USAF Hercules aircraft, computer simulator road driving games and a rather expensive Ford saloon (*see below for details). All very curious…After Weedon Bec, what next? Onwards the next day (about 7 miles) to Gayton Junction. Somewhere is a farm that seems to "grow" Portaloos...   2024's Cruise Plan A would have seen a left turn at Gayton, down the 17 locks to Northampton and the River Nene. Plans change…Now on Plan B Cleddau was to cruise further south, through Blisworth Tunnel (at 3,075 yards / 2,811 metres long it is the longest wide, freely navigable tunnel in Europe) to arrive at Stoke Bruerne, a location often described as a “canal honeypot”.More on “the honeypot” next time.

Southbound from Crick trip so far:  21 miles, 2 tunnel passages, 14 locks

2024 Totals: 112½ miles, 8 tunnel passages, 62 locks, 4 swing bridges

 *2024 Monkton Moments* (Monkton Moment*- a reference to / recognition of Cleddau’s Pembrokeshire connections) – now 7 (1 from a passing boat, I from a walker who grew up near Carmarthen.)Tudor Rose enquiries: 1. “Why have you got a Welsh name and an English rose…?”*Vehicle DetailsModel Variant: Ford A Primary Colour: BlackFuel Type: PetrolEngine: 3900 ccYear Manufacture: 1930Euro Status: N/AVehicle Age: 94 Years 5 Months