It doesn’t do to be too squeamish

Monday 22^nd August; Calcutt marina to Napton, bridge 109

Monday is not a good day to travel up from Devon in the holiday season.  Traffic was very heavy on the M5, and it was raining, but as soon as we got off the motorway going across country towards Stratford and Calcutt the weather and traffic improved.  We were just thinking we would pay for the mooring and get going straight away when the rain we had outrun caught us up!  Rather than get soaking wet going up the locks, we stayed put and hauled the mattress off the bed so Dave could get to work replacing the carbon filter on the pump-out tank.  Luckily he had put a bucket underneath – the old one had disintegrated (presumably as a result of our failure to realise the tank needed emptying, and overfilling it).  Here he is cleaning out the housing.

A bit messy

It took a little while to make sure it was clean and dry.  The new one was easy to install.

Not sparkling, but new

As he was replacing the cap, Dave realised that it hadn’t been fully tightened when he removed it to replace the filter – has it always been loose, or does it gradually undo itself with engine vibration, like the multi-plug behind the engine?  The debris was soon wrapped up in newspaper and put in the skip, and by 5 o’clock we had paid the mooring fee and set off.  As we neared the exit, we could see a boat was waiting below the bottom lock – what a bonus.  The crew had gone ahead to let water down, as the pound above was low.

Mind you, there was plenty of water in the channel. We were soon in and going up, and with two crew and a helpful couple of walkers to help with the gates the work was minimised.  We continued to the junction and turned right towards Napton.  Dave had asked in the Calcutt office what the situation was on the South Oxford, and they said there were no problems cruising, just to be aware of the lock restrictions in force, which we knew about anyway.  We moored just past Napton Narrowboats.  Dave took poor patient Meg for a much-needed walk, and while the sausage casserole for tea was cooking I started work on the curtains.  We noticed after a couple of days on our first trip that the heading tape on one set of curtains was coming apart, so I took them home and replaced it.  On our second trip we realised the others were following suit so three more pairs came home with us.

Just a bit of camera shake

 I hadn’t completely finished the work though.  What with catching up with jobs around the house and garden after our last trip, and then grandparent duty for a week with lively 3- and 5-year-olds while Dad worked from home and Mum worked from Mum and Dad’s, I had just managed to get the new header tape stitched on.  But all the sewing in of loose ends and replacing the curtain rings was waiting to be done.  Just one pair tonight, so at least we have curtains on the towpath side.  Dave got on with replacing the fuse for the bow thruster batteries which had prevented the batteries from charging.

Once darkness fell and cars stopped tooting before they went over the humpbacked bridge 109, it was quiet.

 1 and a half miles, 3 locks.

1½ miles, 3 locks