25
May to 5 June 2005
Calcutt to Market Harborough & back
via the Crick Show
(78
miles, 52 locks, 44.4 engine hours)
This may look like rather a long trip to do a relatively short distance, but from 26 to 31 May we were stationary at Crick Marina. Per Angusta was on show as an Exhibition Boat for our builder Darren Aldridge. I've written a separate entry about our time at the Show - click here to read about our thoroughly enjoyable Show experience.
So what about our actual cruising time? We left the marina at 9.55 on the 25th as we were expecting it to take us a couple of days to get to Crick; we had been warned that there would be a lot of traffic all going that way and Watford Staircase Locks could take us a long time to get through. Our first stop was at Wharf House Narrowboats at Braunston in order to pick up some paint - after all we would want Per Angusta to be in her best colours for the Show. Then up through the locks and into Braunston Tunnel.
Now I have a confession to make - I don't get carsick, travel sick or sea sick, heights don't bother me and I really enjoy big dippers etc at fun fairs, but going through tunnels in a narrowboat makes me feel really nauseous so usually Ian has to do tunnels without any help from me - I turn on all the inside lights and try and keep busy making beds, putting things away. However, this time I was needed outside to try and help us get past the the hire boat we met coming through on the wrong side. Once we were past that we then met another two boats coming through - suffice to say that the passage was a bit bumpy.
After the tunnel,
we had a nice gentle cruise up to Norton Junction where we turned 
onto
the Leicester Section of the Grand Union. We got to the bottom of Watford
Locks at about 6.30. There was a boat ahead of us - Jilly's Dream - which
was just about to start going up. I went to find the lock keeper to see
whether or not we could follow her up. Steve, the lock keeper agreed that
we could go up and I chatted to him as he helped us go through. Steve
had only been in the job 5 weeks, after waiting a long time to get a job
as a lock keeper. He told me that it was his dream job - he loved the
canals and was very keen to share his enthusiasm with children. Steve
believed that the canals provided a wonderful opportunity for children
to learn about nature, engineering, geography, history, etc. He was planning
to come to the Crick Show to look for someone to build him a widebeam
boat so we made a date for a cup of tea sometime over the weekend.
Left Jilly's Dream at the top of the locks taking on water; I really liked the 'aside' below the boat name - It ain't why... it just is - and we carried on cruising til gone 7.30 when we moored up just before Bridge 9. We had got a lot further than we thought we would so reckoned we would be able to have a lie in the next morning as we couldn't go into Crick Marina until mid-morning. Wouldn't you know it, we were awake bright and early so decided to do some of our polishing. I started on the brass on the roof and Ian got the paint out to repair some of the scrapes we had pickd up along the way. We set off at about 10.20 and when we went through the Crick Tunnel - this time, I sat in the centre of the front well and told Ian when we seemed to be moving too close to or too far away from the side. It worked well and we got through the tunnel without a problem and without me being sick. By 11.20 we were in Crick Marina and moored up on our pontoon, where we would stay until Tuesday 31 May. Click here to read about our time at the Crick Show.
Tuesday
31 May and we were ready to depart for Market Harborough but at a leisurely
pace not departing from the Marina until 1.25. The weather was fine to
start with but by the time we got to Foxton Locks it was gently raining.
There were lots of boats waiting to go down the staircase and as I was
walking down the locks to find the lock keeper, I saw a familiar figure
- Lynda Hine - who features in my Crick report. Lynda has subsequently
been a visitor to the Per Angusta web site and has left a nice message
in the Guest Book.
Had a good chat
with Lock Keeper Terry - but more of him on our return journey. Waiting
for us at the bootom of the locks were Carol and Martin on Countess Rose
II, who we had been moored next to during the Crick Show. We all set off
down the Market Marborough arm but the rain got heavier and heavier and
in the end we had to give up and moor up for a while. When the rain let
up we continued on into Market Harborough. 
You
are not allowed to moor in the basin (which has been nicely done up and
has BWB pump out facilities which cost £6.30 - good value compared
to the usual £12 to £15 at the marinas). We had to go quite
a long way up the cut to find a mooring - Carol & Martin were on the
last bit of solid edged towpath - but that was very muddy and Martin had
slipped into the between the boat and the edge of the towpath. The four
of us had planned to go out for dinner, but his fall had left Martin a
bit out of sorts, so we agreed that we would eat aboard our own boats
and then meet up on Per Angusta later in the evening.Sufficient wine to
anaesthetise Martin's leg and plenty of good conversation rounded off
the day very pleasantly. We said good night and good bye to Martin and
Carol who were going to be leaving very early in the morning, and we were
going to be hanging around as we needed to go into Market Harborough itself
to do some banking and a few other bits and pieces.
In
the end we didn't leave until about 1pm on 2 June and took a gentle cruise
back up to Foxton Locks - it had to be gentle because there is an awful
lot of weed in the Market Harborough Arm. Got as far as Foxton Boat Services,
we moored up opposite for a chat with the Anna & David of nb Mehalahland,
another boat which had been on show at Crick. Unfortunately, Anna had
an accident with a windlass on the way down Foxton Locks and was very
lucky not to have had come away with a broken arm. After tea and cakes,
we left David to do an engine oil change and moved over to Foxton Boat
Services for a pump out; then took our place in the queue to go up the
Foxton Staircase. Although it was late when the last boat came out of
the locks, Terry the lock keeper said that we could go up. He helped us
all the way and he and I had a good chat. Like Steve at Watford Locks,
Terry was only 5 weeks into the job and thoroughly enjoying it. He too
sees the canals as a wonderful educational resource for kids. A chap out
walking his dog helped with the lock gates and had a chat with Ian who
was on the helm. Apparently, he had been through Per Angusta at the Show
and she had been his favourite boat. We got to the top of the locks around
7pm and I wished Terry a restful day off the following day. We moored
up a little way on from the top of the locks.
We
cruised very gently back to Calcutt over the next few days, trying out
our new tunnel technique with me in the bow passing instructions back
to Ian - what with Husband's Bosworth, Crick and Braunston Tunnels we
got plenty of practice. At Yelvertoft Wharf (by Bridge 19) there is a
BWB waterpoint and rubbish disposal which wasn't marked on our Pearson's
Guide, plus it is only a short walk to get the daily papers.
When we got to the Watford Locks, I was surprised to see Terry the lockkeeper from Foxton there. He told me that tragically Steve had died of a heart attack that morning. How sad that he had only 5 weeks doing the job he had dreamed of and that the waterways had lost someone who was so passionate about them. Our thoughts and condolences go to his family, friends and colleagues.
On our way down through the locks at Braunston, I got talking with the crew of a 70 foot boat - one of the girls had spotted our dogs on board and she told me how much she was missing her dogs who had gone into kennels whilst their owners did the Warwickshire Ring. As she talked about her dogs, their names seemed rather familiar and my brain began ticking over - 'Are you Lucy?' I asked. 'Yes - how did you know?'. It was the dog names - I had been looking at Stephen and Lucy's Web Page which contains wonderful photos of their dogs and also their travels on the canals and elsewhere - we had even been in e-mail correspondence regarding the best way to keep dogs safe when locking. Small world!
We got back to the marina on Sunday 5 June, having had a great time on Per Angusta - she has certainly lived up to our expectations and was very comfortable. The weather when we were travelling was not always kind to us, but it didn't seem to matter. The Crick Show was hard work but very enjoyable nonetheless. We met some great people who I hope we will meet again sometime on the cut.
PS: We were home for precisely 3 days before the withdrawal symptoms got too much. Ian took the boys up to the boat on Thursday to do an oil change on the engine and I went up straight from work. We stayed overnight and then I went into work the following morning whilst Ian stayed on board to finish off a few things.