Zander and chips!

Wednesday 7^th June; bridge 55 to Welford

Yet another cold and grey start.  It seems odd to be writing that now, as I’m sitting at home in the cool part of the house in the heatwave!  So we started wrapped up again, though not quite as thoroughly as previously mornings – no gloves.  Before we left, Dave refilled the stern tube, using a technique he saw on youtube.  He filled it from the other end, by that I mean he didn’t take out the bit you screw down after cruising, instead used the far end.  He said it was easier to get more in, and easier to close it up (and subsequently thought it needed less winding to get rid of any air).  Does everyone know this tip and we are just late to the party?  We set off at about 10, still with all our layers on, though the sun tried to break through after a while. 

Greylag geese

We were through Husband’s Bosworth tunnel in 13 minutes, having met one boat and not got wet.

It’s good to see some old signs are still surviving.  This one is high up on the offside, and perhaps gets concealed by vegetation to help it avoid being ‘updated’.  The weather was brightening up by the time we rounded Welford Junction, having first waited for a hire boat which had mistaken the direction they need to go – even so they managed to get round without hitting the bridge!

Welford Junction

I took the tiller for a while –Dave does most of the steering, as I tend to look around too much, daydream and forget to look where the bow is pointing.  But the arm was sufficiently winding and tree-lined that there wasn’t a great deal of wool-gathering to be done, luckily.  We arrived at Welford lock in the sunshine and finally we were down to t-shirts.

Welford Lock - the walker studiously avoiding Meg and her stick

We continued to the end and winded, before tying up at the water-point.  With a bit of collapsed towpath near the tap it was a bit fiddly to get moored.  It didn’t take long to fill – the flow was good and the tank not as depleted as we thought – and once again the water overflowed through the gap between the well-deck fitting and the tank before we could turn off the tap.  So a little while later, some more water had collected under the cabin bilge hatch, though not a lot.  We moved onto the visitor moorings opposite the finger pontoons of the private moorings for the rest of the day.  We would have liked to be just past the entrance to the little marina, where there is no footfall because the towpath is directed round the little basin, but that spot was already occupied when we came in.  After lunch Dave walked Meg to the village, treated himself to an ice-cream as the sun was out, and booked us a table at the Wharf for this evening.  I walked up to take a photo of Tyseley, which Dave had realised was moored right at the end when we took on water.

Tyseley

I chatted to Rachel, one of the Mikron actors, and picked up a copy of the programme.  We had hoped to catch them at Crick, but the show is tonight and we hadn’t planned ahead enough to catch the performance.  They will be driving in the van, of course.  But we will be in the vicinity of Blisworth where they have a show on Sunday, so fingers crossed for then!  Tyseley will be moored here till Friday, when she said there was a long day’s cruising to be done.  Back on the boat I made some cheese scones and flapjack, as the sun streamed through the windows.  Just a lovely temperature, nothing like the scorching days that were on their way!

We had a lovely evening in the Wharf.  There was a large party in, so it was a while before we ate, but the beer was good and we enjoyed nattering to a chap and his son on the next table.  The father lives on Emperor Ming, though he hasn’t had it for very long.  Finally our fish and chips arrived.  They looked the same – but mine was zander and Dave’s wasn’t.  He has eaten pike before (zander’s other name is pike-perch) and not been impressed.  But I was keen to try it and it was cheaper than the cod!  I enjoyed it and would definitely have it again, especially if the batter was as good as this.  I felt very virtuous, as the food miles would be quite low – zander are electro-fished on the Grand Union.  As it is introduced, and an invasive species (though whether it actually is ‘invasive’ is debated’), they should be removed when caught.  When we met the electro-fishers last time we were on the GU at Soulbury locks, all zander were being taken live to Southampton uni for study – now it is commercially available, though I don't know if it is stocked by fishmongers.

7 miles, 1 lock, Husband’s Bosworth tunnel.