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.

Crick to Welford Junction

With yet another sharp overnight frost the canal was frozen again this morning, about ¼" thick when we set off, but it soon thickened to about 1" for most of the journey. In all it took 6 hours and 10 minutes which normally takes us about 3½ hours, but at least we did sell a few bags of coal today.

Welford Junction - Crick

It has been a cold journey today, with a thin layer of ice on most of the canal. We did sell a lot of coal, which makes up for it.

Bridge 14 - Union Wharf - Welford Junction

Yesterday we moved from Bridge 14 into Union Wharf, where we winded before taking on water, emptying the toilet and dumping our rubbish, then moored up on the towpath. We both walked into town, Jo needed fruit & veg shopping, and Keith needed to return his laptop to the shop for repairing.

This morning we were up early as we had to take both Paddy & Marmite back to the vets for their 2nd set of vaccinations. Once that was done we set off for Foxton, through the locks and onto Welford Junction despite it being rather chilly it has been a pleasant days travelling.

Black Horse Bridge - Bridge 14

Following our Tesco delivery this morning and listening online to the auction in which I sold 2 Beatles albums for £35, we headed for Bridge 14 where we will stay overnight. I was expecting to get only about £5 for the 2 records, so a good result, and they have hopefully gone to a good home and someone will be able to appreciate them, rather than them gathering dust onboard.

Foxton Junction - Black Horse Bridge

We moved the very taxing distance from the junction to Black Horse Bridge, it took all of 15 minutes.

Foxton Volunteer Day

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This is the signpost at Foxton Junction, which I reported to BW, as the distances on 2 of the 3 arms did not match those shown on the original GJCC mile post next to it. The 2 arms in question have now been removed, as can be seen in the photo, presumably to be corrected, hopefully to match the original GJCC post, I will keep you posted so to speak!!

Today here at Foxton locks there was an open day for people to come and discuss about being volunteer lock keepers during the summer here, and at Watford locks and Stoke Bruerne locks. We both wandered up the flight to the top lock cottage vthis morning to see what was happening, and spent most of the day there, apart from lunch which was much needed hot soup, as it has been a tad nippy today. Quite a few interested people turned up and chatted to the BW staff. Only time will tell if this is going to be a success or not.

Foxton top lock - Debdale - Foxton Junction

With a further thin layer of ice on the canal this morning, we set off down through the locks and headed to Debdale Wharf to fill up with diesel. Whilst there we saw work being carried out on Large Woolwich Aber and very smart she is looking so far. We then returned to Foxton Junction and we will be here for the weekend.

Laughton Hills to Foxton top lock

Overnight frost had left a few patches of very thin ice on the canal this morning, but nothing to worry about, and we are now safely moored above Foxton top lock enjoying the warm sunshine today.

Welford to Laughton Hills (Bridge 51)

A misty and cold morning's run, and with the mist it made it feel even colder than when it was really cold, lol. At least we have a view today.

Yelvertoft to Welford

We had a pleasant journey this morning to Welford, the sun even shone for quite a while.

Crick to Yelvertoft

Having had a restful weekend at Crick we moved to Bridge 20 at Yelvertoft this morning. It is the 1st time we have moored here, so after lunch we are going to explore the village.

Welford to Crick

We are now safely moored at Crick and will be here for the weekend. It was great to see some of our regular customers and they were very glad to see us and our coal!

Foxton to Welford.

Hi Folks.

After the joys of escaping Market Harborough yesterday to head to Foxton, today we exceeded all our expectations and have made it to Welford. We had an ice-free run through from Foxton, and only encountered some very thin ice on the Welford Arm. Customers were extremely pleased to see us when we arrived and they are now topped up with coal. Tomorrow we will be heading for Crick.

On the Move at Last!

Early this morning, very early this morning, at 7:00am, halfway through our mushroom on toast, there was a knock on the boat, coal had arrived!

Following loading the 4tonnes of coal into the hold, Keith then winded the boat in the basin and we headed off hoping to get as far as Foxton. The worst of the ice was at bridge 14, the 1st winding point, but after going through the bridge 'ole the ice thinned and by bridge 13 had disappeared and apart from patches here and there we had a virtually clear run through to Foxton.

Coal delivery and a hope to move.

Hi Folks.

The New Year has now past and we have the desire that the ice will disappear quick smart so that we may be on the move.
Wednesday we are expecting another coal delivery at the basin in Market Harborough. Once the delivery is stowed in the hold we have every intention of trying to move, so that we can supply our customers. So if your reading this and you are one of our customers, please keep your fingers crossed. We will be heading your way.

We would like to take this opportunity of thanking everyone who has popped in to read our blog over the years. We see from the counter we have gone over the 100,000 hits. We now stand at 100427 and counting. That is truly amazing and we thank you all.