Crick to Mountain Barn Bridge 27.

A cold and drizzly trip this morning. With the air being damp the cold edge to the wind made it feel colder, but we safely moored up and in the warm having lunch.

Downton Bridge 36 to Crick

Yesterday we moved to Crick where we will now spend the weekend.

Foxton to Bridge 36

A dismal smart gradually turned into a lovely afternoon, and we are enjoying the warm sunshine and fresh air wafting through the boat, certainly lifts the spirits.

Union Wharf to Black Horse Bridge

A very uneventful journey this morning, but our start was delayed as we had to go into town to change to a new dentist, as our other one was messing us about over appointments. Walked into the new one, sigend up and sorted no problem. A people say it is hard to get an NHS dentist, we have had no problem since we have been on the canals. Busy morning supplying customers with coal, just one more delivery after lunch, then sit back and wait for our Tesco delivery.

Foxton Junction to Union Wharf

A damp journey this morning, even seemed to be trying to snow!! Still time to dry out this afternoon.

Welford to Foxton Top Lock

A foggy start this morning, but cleared before Bosworth tunnel, but returned soon after the tunnel, even thicker than before.

Downham Bridge to Welford

A short run this morning, dull but not raining. We winded at the arm end and moored on the jetty to deliver coal then moved back down the arm to the visitor moorings close to the marina.

Crick to Downton Bridge 36

We headed off from our mooring at Crick and through Crick tunnel to the winding hole by the M1 motorway bridge just above Watford locks. Then we returned through the tunnel, and continued on to Downton Bridge 36, a new mooring for us, but a pleasant surprise as it is deep and has rings, ticks all the boxes, with excellent views across the Avon valley towards Stanford Reservoir and South Kilworth. The other side of the canal is the site of the medieval village of Downton, but no sign of Downton Abbey!

Welford Junction - Crick

We are now moored at Crick, where we have met up with Roy on Gerald No.13, we have some catching up to do with him over the weekend as we haven't see each other for nearly a year. No doubt he will have lots of tales to tell us.

Foxton - Welford Junction

Very low cloud gave a slightly drizzly journey, but not the rain they were forecasting, it was a shade foggy in Bosworth Tunnel, but I soon cleared that out of the way.

Harborough - Black Horse Bridge

Very pleasant trip this morning, almost springlike.

We are in the middle of trying to get Market Harborough voted to be twinned with Meerkovo as Meerkat Harborough. you can vote for us at http://apps.facebook.com/my-polls/poll-22536.


We need every note we can get to secure our one day of fame as Meerkat Harborough for the next commercial.

Foxton locks - Union Wharf

We are now moored on the towpath moorings just outside Union Wharf. It was a very blowy trip, but we are more sheltered here.

Pheasant for Dinner

Keith skinned and gutted his very first pheasant this morning, and it is now cooking slowly in the boatman's cabin stove. We are both looking forward to it, the pheasant that is!

Foxton locks

With very strong winds this morning we set off early down through the locks, so early the locky hadn't unlocked the top lock when we arrived there. Fortunately when Hadar is fully loaded she handles easily in the wind as she has a lot of boat sitting in the water, 2'6" along the whole boat, and as the sheeting is sloped, unlike the steep cabin sides, the wind just glances off it and over the top. We are now moored at one of our favourite moorings just through the foot swingbridge down the Harborough Arm. where we will be for the weekend.

Welford Wharf - Foxton top lock

We were up at 5:00am this morning to be ready for our coal delivery of 4.5tonnes, which arrived at 7:45am and took all of 35mins to load into the hold. After delivering some of this coal to 3 customers we set off for Foxton. For the 1st time there were no boats moored on the towpath opposite North Kilworth Marina, so we took the opportunity to stop and visit, and we got to chat to Jane which was good. We then set off for Foxton and have moored above the top lock. We had coffee onboard RoeHause with Ray and Jackie we had been following us, and moored up in front of us.

Welford Junction - Welford Wharf

The ice was still on the canal this morning, despite a brief spell of rain in the early hours. It was still about 1" thick from the moorings to the junction, but once into the Welford arm it thinned to about 1/4" and helpfully someone had travelled between the 2 winding points so had cleared most of the ice, which helped with the winding, which I had thought I wouldn't be able to do if it was icy. We are ready for our coal delivery in the morning, bright and early no doubt, but we will have to be up earlier, to get the hold ready.