Staying put

We decided to not move today because of the lovely spot we have here at Cogenhoe. We just have lovely views and it is so peaceful.. The only invasion we had was the cows poking their heads in the window and pinching our mooring pin covers, and a helicopter checking the powerlines..

It was a bit blowy today, so we were glad not to move, but the sun kept us warm.. We have seen no boats which is unheard of in the middle of August, in fact we only had one pass us late in the day while we were having something to eat.. Mmmm might be using this mooring again..

Another long day to the Nene

We were up at the crack of dawn with the plan to move, but drizzle in the portholes made us sit back in bed.. After a look at the weather it looked like it would brighten up a bit so we got up and soon set off. We thought we had better top up with water as we were travelling on new ground and didn't want to get caught out..

While we was on the services we were hit by two boats, one trying to turn and one guy who just thought he would moor along side us without asking, Wrong! bet he asks next time and has some manners.
We then set off up the arm and when we got to the first lock a boat was on the moorings and another was in front and had gone down one lock.

We followed until we got to lock six where they had emptied the pound so they could carry on. Don't worry about us! It would have been good manners to let us know so we could sit in the lock while they let water through. It took us 45mins to get water down and while we were at it CART turned up.

Slowly we got down the flight of 13 locks which are very pretty, and then went under the M1, not so pretty.

The next few locks we had another problem, weeds, good job we had the Axion and could shake most of them off. It is really narrow in some places and we could see why a lot of people are put off by coming down here.. We passed a number of boats coming up the flight and you had to pick where you passed.

In view is the Express lifts tower used for testing the high speed lifts and still called the Terry Wogan lighthouse and now a listed building..

We were behind time because we wanted to get through the dreaded lock 16 area where most problems seem to have occurred. Last story we heard was air rifles to boats. It was midday and we could hear kids in the bushes, but with Derwent6's quiet engine we passed through at a whisper. We soon got to the cotton end lock, with the smell of beer from the Carlsberg brewery.

Wow we then pulled out onto the Neen.
First impressions aren't very good and we felt we didn't want to moor on the Morrisons moorings so we carried on to the first lock. Another boat was waiting to go in and we joined them which made life a bit easier after the 17 locks we had done already.

As we got out of Northampton it just got better and better, even thought the lock moorings were very tricky and more paintwork will be required.

We soon got to our first guillotine lock and when you first see them they look a bit daunting, but you needn't worry as they are easier than you think, and electric with automatic opening. As you pass Northampton cruising club it gets quiet quaint, as the Nene twist and turns through the bushes on its way to Billings. Here they were still packing up after an American car and hot-rod weekend where Country and Rock and Roll were played on the live stage. We just managed to spot one of the cars as we passed.

Things got really pretty and we decided to moor up.

Sue and Vic on n.b No Problem had given us a tip on mooring here as it has signs up saying "Private property, no Mooring", but we took their advice and moored there.

It is a lovely mooring, but we thought we had better go and see the caravan site to check we were ok.. The reception and shop were closed for the day, so no luck there, but we tried..

So Del and Al are in the peace and quiet of the countryside again, and all on our own, just the church bells practice in the background, and the cows joining us, we love this life..

Up to the Arm

On Saturday we chilled and Del ended up going out on his bike to suss out the Northampton arm and the Nene.. It looked weedy but it sounds a plan.. 

Al read another book while Del was away.
In the morning (Sunday) we thought we would move, something we don't do on a weekend, and certainly not if its bad weather.. We pulled the pins and you guessed it, it rained..

We got in the lock and another boat had seen us draining it and followed us in.

We went through Stoke Bruerne and then entered the tunnel.. We were happy for having it drier in the tunnel but it still turned out to be very wet in there.. We passed three boats, but there is plenty of room for error in Blisworth.

Out the other side the rain had stopped and the sun was trying to poke out. We spotted a nice mooring just after the village and couldn't believe we hadn't stopped here before, till we found out we couldn't get a telly signal....never mind

We had some brunch and then took a walk round to Gayton Marina.. It had turned very windy and the dust was blowing up from the towpath in our faces. We walked into their reception and shop and picked up a new fender hook and the special key required to do the locks on the Nene.

We walked back and sat tight in the wind, but what we didn't think of was all the hire boats coming out with no tuition except a DVD to watch before they take the tiller. Yep you guessed it, we had two hire boats passing us. They panicked when the wind took them and BANG! we were hit by one of them on the port side, and while helping him push off (with a few choice words) the other one hit us BANG! on the stern.. (more words needed). We're sorry, but they just go too fast and can't stop in time, and when they do they are sideways on the cut.. As you know we are not ones to moan but because of the poor training from the hire company's it could ruin our national heritage as bridges and locks get smashed to bits and we all suffer. Rant Over!
We will be keeping a close eye on the weather tomorrow to see if we descent into Northampton or not. 

Back to Bruerne

Today we got up early as Al had arranged a Tesco's delivery at Stoke Bruerne locks, so we had a lot to get on with.. We set off at 7.00am and crept passed the moored boats and turned and then crept back again..

The lock at Cosgrove was in our favour and over the fence it looked like a manger with the animals looking at us in the stable..

We pushed on through the village and then into the countryside with a breeze in our face.

It was a bit chilly today with the cloud cover but still lovely to cruise.

We soon got to the bottom of the Stoke Bruerne  locks and pulled over to top up with water and we also carried out a manual pump out. We waited for another boat and then went in the lock with them.... we went up two locks and pulled over at the slipway just as Mr Tesco's turned up..

He wanted to chat all day about living aboard, but we had another boat behind us and knew we could share another lock. It turned out to be n.b Kala who we first met on the Grand Union when their boat was new and we helped them winding for the first time, they have followed the blog ever since....it was lovely chatting to you again.....

When we got to the large pound we departed and moored up with our day done..

We managed to get a tv signal, which is difficult here.  After our early start it was nice to relax together. In the evening we walked down to the navigation where a steel band were playing.

They were very poor I'm afraid, but the beer was nice..

 

Rainbows and Sunsets

So Al had stayed down in Kent while Del came back to Derwent6. Some jobs were done like a new valve again on the toilet. We seem to go through these every two years and we have tried everything to try and stop it sticking.. Its a small price to pay if we don't get any smells.. As you can imagine it's not a nice job and Al doesn't need to be around while Del does it! .. Del also sorted out the bilge and did some other maintenance jobs in the engine room, also clearing out the storage of bits and pieces..
Al on the other hand went to the hospital with her Dad and got the rundown on what happens next.. It turns out he will be having a course of therapy spread out over the next few months. She came back on the Tuesday night to a well earned glass of wine..
On the Wednesday we had a quiet morning, Del did the brasses while Al walked to the small store here at Cosgrove and topped up the things Del had eaten over the last few days..
At 4.00pm who did we bump into, Mark and Sian on n.b Utopian on their return journey. Good job we had eaten and detoxed a bit.. As soon as we did the meet and greet bit it was a quick shower and out.. First we went to the Barley Mow pub and tried their ales. Sorry about the pic with Del's thumb right over the lens, but we had been drinking..... excuses, excuses.

From there it was down to try The Galleon who advertised that they did a build your own burger with live music.. On our way down to it the heavens opened and we walked through a fantastic rainbow.

When we got to the pub we ordered some drinks and asked about the music.. "Oh they cancelled tonight, Sorry" we got.. Still we were damp from our walk down in the rain so sat and ordered our burgers.. Well as it was build your own it had to be good and Wow, we were taken back, they tasted superb.. So with no music and full stomachs, we were invited back to n.b Utopian where they said some beers had to be drunk. We reminisced with all the old music we had grown up with and played our first vinyl we had bought.......

We had a great night and a few bottles of wine and ended up leaving at 3.00am.
They had an early start in the morning and had at least ten hours cruising to do and Al was going back to Kent to help her Dad again with a few things..
In the morning it got to 9.00am and still no movement and then as we had breakfast Mark and Sian surfaced.. We all agreed on the great burgers and what a great night we all had.. Thanks again guys for your friendship and hospitality. Looking forward to seeing you again later in the year..
By the time they left it was 10.15am and Al got a lift down to the station with them..

Today it has been three years since Del lost his Dad, and it was nice to spend it on his own on Derwent6, there is not a day goes by without thinking of all his happy memories..

Al got back to Derwent6 at 8.00pm and on the way back got this stunning sunset. It was funny that on the day of Len's funeral we had the same sunset, something we all won't forget.

Comforting with friends and family

We were up early as Al had to meet her Dad for the results of his last scan.. She got on the train at 9.00am and went to Kings at Denmark Hill and Del went down later in the afternoon to meet them in Kent. The news was still not brilliant and it means more treatment is needed for the tumours he has.
We stayed with him that night.
In the morning Del had to go to the dentist and sort out a broken tooth he had from eating some chilly popcorn. We are now £135.00 lighter so our diesel tank will be empty for another month.
We then had a special guest turn up.

A girlfriend of Al's Chrissie arrived, who she has been friends with since the age of four and Chrissie used to spend more time round Al's Mum and Dad's then her own. Chrissie had come back from Wales to visit her Mum Beryl, and she wanted to see Pam & Alf, their house and the village where they both used to play for hours on end.

As you can imagine loads of tears. They then walked round the village going to their old haunts and even reminiscing on the bridge by waving to the drivers. They ended up in Ye Ole George Inn pub with some eats and drinks. They walked back to the house and Chrissie then departed later at the station with more tears. Del did a few jobs for Pam and Alf while his tooth came back to planet earth and Al was away. We ended up staying the night again.
The following day Alf was having a new back door fitted and we were up early again clearing the kitchen for it.. It was time for more jobs to be done around the house including the normal stuff like cutting the grass and cleaning the floors... In the afternoon we both went down to Terry and Ron's (Del's stepmum) as they were throwing a BBQ for us.

We were lucky with the weather as it had rained on the Friday and it didn't sound good for the Sunday.

They had a few friends going and it was nice to catch up with everyone... The food was fantastic.....

We stayed with them that night and got to bed at 2.00am..
In the morning the weather man was right and it poured down with thunder and lightening. Mmmmm good planning we all thought.. After some breakfast we left and drove back to Al's Mum and Dad's before Del set off to come back to Derwent6 and Al stayed for another doctor's appointment for her Dad. Thanks guys for another lovely weekend it is so nice to have the time to do all this..

Departed and Tanked up

We have had such a good few days with Mark and Sian on n.b Utopian and they had a good go at wearing us out. Today we were going to depart but we did promise them we would help them up the Stoke Bruerne flight of seven. We were all ready to go at 9.00am and a hire boat joined us so we had a crew of six people to help us. The first pound was a bit low so we filled it first before filling the lock.. We managed to get them up in record time and it was a sad moment when they had to go. Look out for them on their travels to Foxton. Thanks again guys for just a great few days and also helping us get up the Grand Union in record time. Look forward to seeing you later in the year.

We walked back down and then had breakfast and after doing a few jobs we saw Jooles the coal boat. Del picked up a gas bottle and changed it and then we waited till the boats here had calmed down a bit before we made our move to get diesel and water.

We then moored back up for a nice quiet weekend...maybe!