A Looong Day!

Friday 29th October 2021 in Rugby.

On our first three days since leaving Aynho, we have dropped well behind the pace that we need to maintain to get to Aston Marina by next Thursday. So, we decided to do a long day today and started again at 7:30am just as it got light.

The sky looked forbidding and, with magnificently inconsiderate timing, the rain arrived just as we started down the nine locks of the Napton flight. It didn't just rain, it poured cats and dogs, rain of the icy kind which soaks you to the undies. We both got very wet indeed (and cross!), and M discovered that her new lockwheeling shoes are not waterproof!. So no photographs.

At the bottom of the flight, M had to go inside to change all her clothes - and the sun came out!! Well, this IS England, after all!

While M changed, R carried on up the Oxford and slowly dried in the sun.

This little bridge, No. 100, always looks a bit forlorn and sad. It could be so pretty with a bit of TLC.

Eventually, we arrived at Braunston Junction. Turn right to go through Braunston and down the Grand Union Canal, and left to continue up the North Oxford. We turned left.

With considerable reluctance, we bypassed Braunston and the delights of the "Gongoozlers' Rest" café boat, and headed towards Rugby.

At Hillmorton, we were lucky to find boats coming the other way in all three locks and so went through in record time.

Finally, we arrived into Rugby and found that our favourite mooring next to the park was free and so moored up for the night. Doing a long day like that really puts into perspective the even longer days that the "Idle Women" did routinely during World War 11. We did 30 lock-miles today, they would usually do 40 to 50 lock miles in a day with two fully loaded boats in very primative conditions.

Today: 18 miles, 12 locks and 8.9 hours.

Trip: 526 miles, 268 locks and 261.0 hours.