Nearly there and an amazing stroke of luck

Sunday 11^th June; Grand Union bridges 31-32 to Gayton Junction turnover bridge 47

It wasn’t too hot overnight as the boat had been in shade from 6 pm.  This morning it was pleasantly cool as we would be in shade till after lunch, and as we haven’t far to go now we got on with some jobs.  But first we admired the Brandy Bottles opposite our mooring.

Dave went up on the roof and used the dry mop to get the collected hawthorn blossom to the edge where it was easier for me to sweep it off with dustpan and brush, before he got a bucket of water and mopped down the roof which had become revoltingly sticky after all that mooring under trees.

Just like aphid-infested plants in the garden, the roof was on its way to becoming black with the sooty mould that grows on the honeydew excreted by the aphids.

Yuk!

He washed and rinsed the roof, while I swept through the inside of the boat and the stern deck to get rid of yet more drifts of blossom.  There are fewer May trees round these parts and the blossom has mostly gone now so I hoped I wouldn’t have to do it again!

Dave then moved on to wash the port side of the boat, while I followed with a cloth to dry it and hopefully prevent streaks.  Before we left we were visited by a nosy swan at the open side hatch.

Weed all over his face

The cob then attacked, or perhaps just tasted, the left hatch door, so I pulled the doors shut to discourage him.  Before we left I snapped the reflections opposite the boat – just a shame the top of the pylon didn’t appear too.

We set off at about 10.15, making for Gayton junction as tomorrow we will be going into the marina.  It was very hot, but with just enough breeze to make cruising comfortable and highly enjoyable.  We passed a few interesting things along the way; a couple of beautiful old boats, the motor I think called Caashman, though I couldn't find any information with a quick glance online.

Large tin of Brasso for all the brasswork

 

 

 

 

A nice project for someone?

 

 Hello nosy

Running in this heat?  Perhaps he is training for the Marathon des Sables (across the Sahara)

Then we passed a field with a strange crop in it.  We saw more like it on the Leicester line – what looks like whiskery barley surrounded by wheat.  Why would this be, or is it due to a mix-up with the seed?  Perhaps my farming correspondent can find out!

A mystery crop

We were approaching Gayton junction by lunchtime.  The visitor moorings looked pretty full on both sides, and were in full sun, but there was just room for us behind the short stretch of permit mooring on the west side of the canal just past the turnover bridge.  At the bow I shared the first ring with a permanent boat, and Dave banged in a couple of pins for the stern rope.

The sun was nearly behind the trees as we arrived and soon we were in cool shade.  But as we were still mooring, someone stopped to chat, as you do.  His name was Phil and he had two boats on the visitor mooring, one to live in and the other was an ex-hire boat which he had stripped out and was doing up.  His father was a boat engineer and he has spent his whole life around boats, owning one at least for many years, though strangely hadn’t done much cruising.  Anyway, when he heard Dave had to negotiate public transport to Calcutt tomorrow, or pay for a taxi, he offered to give him a lift as he was going to Daventry anyway which is only 5 miles from Napton!  How lovely!

The afternoon was extremely hot and cloud began to build up.  Even in the shade we were very hot, even with everything wide open.  We had hoped to be able to walk down to Blisworth village hall for the Mikron show this afternoon, but realised yesterday that we couldn't possibly leave Meg in the boat in this weather so would have to miss it.

Will there be a storm?

Around 4.30 there was a rumble of thunder, but no rain. Then very suddenly a while later, the rain started.  The porthole glass was out and the hatch open, so they had to be sorted first, and by the time the cratch cover was down and zipped up the well deck had got quite wet.

Although there was a lot of thunder, thankfully it was never close enough for Meg to get upset.  When it stopped the air was a lot fresher and cooler.

5 miles