Eight Locks times two plus one! 10th - 11th September

Monday 10th September 2018
Northampton Marina to Gayton Marina
4.75 miles, 17 locks

Today would see us leaving the River Nene and moving back onto a canal for the first time since the 8th May.  I am not sure that when we left home we anticipated spending 4 months on rivers, however we have thoroughly enjoyed them all.  I guess that is not completely accurate as we were on the Fossdyke in May which is a Roman Canal, but due to its lack of locks, it is more like a river.

Thankfully I was feeling better this morning and took Monty around Beckett's Park before the off. First out of the very secure gate

over the blue bridge and into the park where there are a couple of lumps of driftwood - if you go behind one of them it really does look like a prehistoric fish trying to bite at something in the air

It is a large park with many trees any one of which just might have a squirrel lurking in the branches.

We did spot a couple of of them on the ground - one legged it up the nearest tree and then froze

 it really did look like a nobbly branch from a distance. Fortunately Monty was on his lead

Other finds in the park - three local characters.

• John Clare 1793-1865. The Northamptonshire peasant poet concerned with the Enclosure Movement and Impact on English life and countryside.
• Charles Rennie Mackintosh 1895-1928 - a Glaswegian architect, designer and painter.  Remodelled Basset-Lowe's home, 78 Derngate in 1918.  This is now open to the public, an outing I missed, but Boatwif will tell all - SEE HERE
• WJ Basset Lowke 1877-1933 - Councillor, modernist and businessman famed for manufacturing model railways.

A decorated column with boots on the top - a tribute to the shoe manufacturing history of this town

Sadly looking a little the worse for wear.

A planter which looks okay from this side

but the boot used as a plant pot round the other side leaves a lot to be desired

Back at the marina, Sue was 'let out ' of the gate and I took both fobs back to reclaim our deposit.  We then headed off.  Ken stopped outside Morrisons to collect Sue who had gone to get the  papers. The sunken boat by Morrisons is not very well marked.

We went ahead to make a start on the 17 locks ahead of us today - so twice as many as Friday plus another one for good measure.  There was one big difference - these are narrow locks (our first since April), so just one boat at a time.

At the bottom of the flight there is a new edition  since we were last here in 2014

As a water saving measure since the 13th August this flight has been locked from 6pm to 9am each day - they don't mess around with flimsy locks!

All very scenic,

but we were not prepared for the weed - great mounds of it.  We were pulling out as much as we could before leaving each lock - it is heavy stuff!  Thankfully it got less as we went up.

And at the top of each lock a mural is set into the ground.  It was not until we were near the top that the penny dropped - they spell out from the top 'The Northampton Arm'!  We were going backwards, so perhaps I can be forgiven for being a bit slow!

When we were arrived at the top it all became clear

Another new treat as we ascended

With the explanation right at the far end. My apologies for the quality of the Great Fire picture - I suspect that is when I heard someone (who will remain nameless!) suggest rather forcibly that  I should be setting the lock rather than idling!!

At the next bridge yet more to look and wonder at

In 2014 the two figures were here, but the tents weren't.

It was certainly a heads down sort of day, but quite satisfying to get into a rhythm.  We nearly gained another dog - this one had gone off on his own - some walkers discovered he lived in the house by the top lock and they kindly took him home.

One of  the most prominent sights looking back down the locks is the Northampton lift tower 

still visible in the far distance - it is much more than just the largest tower for the development of lifts as can be found HERE

 At last the end was near - lock 1 - a welcome sight from the penultimate lock

It was pretty wild and windy up there, but the views were far reaching

We had had two boats ahead of us with Cleddau following us and three or four other boats behind them.  Everyone kept to the same pace, so no queuing.

We did not have far to go once we got to the top - just round the corner to moor opposite Gayton Marina.  A noisy spot, but there was method in our madness.

Tuesday 11th September 2018
Gayton Marina to just past Gayton Junction
0.25 miles, 1 lock

Yes a very long journey today!  First we pulled across to the marina as both boats were booked in for a service.  I cannot speak more highly of this marina from every aspect.  The engineer was prompt, did an excellent job in good time, the facilities (water, elsan and rubbish disposal) were all first rate and the staff were welcoming and very friendly.  The price was less than a quarter what we paid when on the River Great Ouse in Buckden.  Whilst all the work was going on I was not idle - I gave the galley a really deep clean, so we sparkle now - well we might for a day or two!

Both services were done before lunch so we headed off to the junction where we turned right

towards Braunston

and the delights of being back on the canals with boats all over the place!

One of the biggest advantages of being back on a canal is we can now say 'where SHALL we moor?', rather than 'where CAN we moor and will there be space when we get there'.  We were moored up just before the rain started - not torrential - just very wet drizzle.