continuing the move of Willow to Northolt
passing a gas boat near Stantonbury
What's the difference between a bison and a buffalo?
My dad was actually enjoying this!
The weather just got better and better. It was sunny all day, as it was to be every day of our trip. Fantastic! We left Wolverton at 11:50 and continued the long pound around and through Milton Keynes to Fenny Stratford lock with its swingbridge over the middle. Here I very nearly left my keys in the bridge mechanism: there was a boat coming in to the lock as we were leaving, and, of course, I left the bridge open for them. As I walked to rejoin Willow the woman on the other boat went to the bridge and noticed my keys. With many BW key-operated swingbridges the key is retained until the bridge is returned to its original position, and I'd assumed that would be the case here. I suppose the relative novelty of meeting a moving boat distracted me. As it was, I was able to remove my key with the bridge still swung and feel extremely relieved! All my important keys are on that fob, and I wouldn't have realised they were missing until next we watered up - and then only if the water point was actually locked.
A horse and boats just south of Willowbridge Marina
We shared the three locks at Soulbury with Daffodil, a Wyvern Shipping hire boat. The family on board had come from Brighton for a long weekend: Friday to Monday. We were being held up by a pair of Wyvern boats full of schoolchildren ahead of us: they were slow going up the locks because the (young) crew didn't know about ground paddles! Yes, they were filling the locks using gate paddles only: potentially disastrous as the jets of water could have swamped the bow in moments, leading to a sinking.
Are plastic chairs what vandals turn to in the absence of supermarket trollies?
Here's one which hasn't (yet) taken the plunge
We reached that evening's destination of The Globe Inn, Linslade, at about 17:30. Willow really gets on with it: its owner says he was offered a bigger engine for the same price as a smaller version. I don't know if it's that, or the prop size, or, indeed, the smallness of the boat (it's 40 feet), but without any effort it'll do 3.5 to 4.0 mph. And with very little disturbance of the water. Obviously it helps that the GU is broad and deep for the most part. Even in tickover, at 800 rpm, the GPS indicates a speed of about 2.7 mph.
Willow tied up outside The Globe Inn, Linslade
The Globe Inn from across the cut
Willow at its mooring
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