Thursday 6th June 2019 at Willoughby
A dramatic early morning sky.
The weather forecast promised a fine day, so we set off south towards Braunston. Since we last passed this way one year ago, this new marina has opened, Dunchurch Pools by name. We admired the beautiful cast iron bridge over the entrance and wondered if it were brand new or a restored original. Either way, it looks very smart and very much historically in keeping with the Oxford Canal.
It was lovely cruising in the sunshine.
A sad sight. This old signal gantry was the "Up Distant for Braunston and Willoughby" for the Grand Central Railway. It still stands patiently waiting for the Master Cutler express from Sheffield Victoria to London Marylebone that will never come again thanks to Dr. Beeching and the politicians of the day.
After only just over an hour, we arrived at Willoughby and moored up.
The canal village of Braunston was only a couple of miles away and, with the prospect of two excellent cafés, we set off on foot down the towpath. The walking was delightful, the sun shone and the canal banks were lush with vegetation. That is Braunston church in the distance.
R had discovered that there was a footpath that led from one of the canal bridges directly into the centre of Braunston village. We had never walked that way before and it was a very pleasant alternative to the towpath.
Finally in beautiful Braunston again, walking past the church and the old windmill, now a private house, and down to the community café run entirely by volunteers.
The local butcher's shop, next to the café, is held in high esteem in narrowboating circles. M, who is an expert on pork pies, has recently been asked for her opinion on the butcher's version, so a stop here was mandatory. We have previously acquired excellent middle-cut bacon from him but, sadly, he said that he can no longer get it. Then we walked down to the marina and visited the "Gongoozlers' Rest", the floating café outside the marina entrance.
Everyone at the marina seemed to be painting everything - all in preparation for the Historic Narrowboat Rally later in the month, which attracts large crowds and many famous names.
There were dozens of boats moored up outside the marina because the locks above Braunston have been closed since Monday for emergency repairs to the cill of Lock 4. The locks were due to re-open at 4:00pm this afternoon so that those queuing could get through.
On the way to Braunston, we had seen these two very small ducklings who seemed to have lost their mother. In Braunston, we had managed to acquire some duck food, so R stopped to entice them closer to feed them some.
Back on board, the duck food came out again when this family of swans came by. Once they had been given a taste, they made it clear that they were expecting more by tapping on the window as R looked out.
Other vistors came to supper too. Our friends Jan and Abbie, who live in Willoughby, walked up from their house to join us for the evening. We met them both at Mary Arden's Farm, where they both work providing the falconry displays every day and Jan doubles as "Master Palmer", head of the table, at dinner time. It was so good to see them both again and to catch up on news. We very much hope to get down to Mary Arden's again this year; we miss being 400 year old!
Today: 1 mile, 0 locks and 1.3 hours.
Trip: 68 miles, 25 locks and 30.3 hours.
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