Saturday 11th July; bridge 39 to Pat’s bridge, Foxton
Last evening’s breeze had cooled the boat to a suitable temperature for sleeping so we had a much better night. At around 8.30 we were pottering along enjoying the morning sun and lovely surroundings when the engine note changed, just a bit, for a second or two. It did it a bit more as we passed North Kilworth marina, where we bought Bonjour. It’s Saturday, so the chances of an engineer working at the marina weren’t huge, but at North Kilworth Wharf John the owner was hosing goose poo off the wharf so we pulled in for a chat.
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| Interesting, erm, houseplants across the way …. |
Andy the engineer came and had a look and a listen, and initial thoughts were it was something we could probably get to Great Haywood with, maybe the drive plate beginning to need attention, but as Dave put the boat into gear to set off again the noise was louder and in reverse it was worse still so I quickly stepped off again and pulled him back in. Andy decided to investigate the gearbox, thinking the O-ring might be leaking. After our last engine service, which was before our previous trip, the engineer had left the floor in the engine bay rather messy so Dave had given it a good clean, but there was no apparent leak of oil then or since. But when Andy checked the dipstick in the gearbox, there was no oil. We had some on board to top it up and off we went again, having put a container under the gearbox for daily checking. We will get it looked at when we leave the boat in the next marina. What amazing luck on a Saturday morning that they were there, could sort us out so cheerily and send us on our way so quickly!
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| Andy on the left, John centre |
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| This is apparently known as the Ghost Ship. There is supposed to be more about it on John’s YouTube channel @WharfDiary but I haven’t found it yet |
It was lovely weather for cruising, hot but with enough shady spots for comfort. Just after Husband’s Bosworth tunnel there was considerable repair work going on where there had been serious damage to the bank, reportedly by escaped cattle.
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| Several workboats with equipment were tied up and new piling going in. But not today as it's Saturday. |
Someone had put a plank over the large crack in the towpath and as we passed a dog walker crossed it. We were at a loss to know why the whole stretch right up to Stink Farm Bridge had been closed. The towpath was narrow and very sloping – I wouldn’t like to walk it in wet weather – but no further damage by cattle or anything else was evident. When we got to the Laughton Hills the towpath was level and in good shade so Dave and Jess had a walk and I enjoyed the beautiful views as I steered. Then we were on the approach to Foxton locks, and boats started to come towards us.
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| The sun filtering through the branches gave the illusion that the boy and horse were moving. |
Dave barely had time to pull the boat onto the landing above the flight before the first volunteer was beckoning us forward to enter the top lock. It was very hot indeed, but with plenty of help from volunteers and the very interested and willing gongoozlers we were down the two staircases within an hour.
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| The lady on the bridge was filming our descent, but was delighted to open a gate for us |
The volunteers were kept busy answering questions and engaging with the visitors, and doing sterling work for CRT. We tried mooring in the semi-shade of the 24-hour spot at the junction but the signs were too confusing so we went on under Rainbow bridge.
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| Multi-purpose space - 2 boat lengths- for lock waiting, water point and 24 hour mooring. Not for us - the potential for embarrassment was too great! |
We found a good patch of shade between bridge 63 and Pat's Bridge 64, had lunch and then walked back up the flight for an ice-cream.
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| Shady, and no noise from the pubs either |
10 locks (the two Foxton staircases), Husbands Bosworth tunnel, 9½ miles.
