Crocodile spotted in Grand Union Canal

Jan was steering the boat along the short pound leading to Stoke Bruerne Top Lock. She looked round to see me closing the top gate of the previous lock ... and saw that she was being chased by a creature in the water.

As I came up I saw it swim away. I thought it might have been a dog, but then it came towards me.

Yup. A crocodile. But who was that sitting on the opposite bank? And what was he holding?

Could he be connected in some way to the scaly swimmer?

Ah yes. By remote control. The radio controlled reptile was causing heads to turn, but the only snapping was from cameras by amused onlookers.

Back in the real world ... we navigated from Old Wolverton to Weedon Bec via Gayton Marina for a top-up of diesel. At Cosgrove we passed under the ornate Solomon's Bridge.

Tomorrow we should make it to Crick, where we shall be for the boat show this weekend.

Would you paint your boat like this?

The artwork on this boat, seen opposite Gayton Marina three days ago, is unconventional ...

… and certainly eye-catching. The boat is on the market; I wonder if the paintwork helps or hinders the sale.

Fuel theft closes Northampton arm (again)

We noticed this morning that red and white stripy tape had been stretched right across the Northampton arm by the services block at Gayton Junction (but allowing boats on the main line to use the services). On investigation we found a police and fire service operation in progress.

What appeared to be a CRT man at the junction (he was wearing a non-hi-vis lifejacket) said that overnight someone had drilled into a pipe crossing the canal to steal fuel from it, and that a lot of fuel had leaked into the water.

The bridge was closed to traffic, but I was allowed down onto the towpath.

Booms had been placed across the canal to contain the spill. A number of small absorbent pads were floating on the water, achieving little by the look of them.

Two pipes cross the canal ...

... there is a damp patch at the foot of one of them.

Notices on the pipes seem not to have deterred the thief.

There was a very strong smell of fuel, but it didn't have the familiar diesel whiff.

A news report from two years ago describes an earlier attack on the fuel pipes where an astonishing 50,000 litres of fuel escaped. The fuel was named as kerosene, a fuel used in aviation. That must have been what I smelled today.

I sent photos to a former colleague at BBC Look East, who already knew about the story. It sounded like he was going to run the item and promised me a picture credit. That will surprise a few more former colleagues - I can imagine them saying, "I thought he left four years ago!"

There has been a lot happening today; the rest will have to wait for subsequent blog posts.

Route planning to take in painting at Gayton Junction

I have now planned our schedule for the outward "half" of our Easter cruise. "Half" in inverted commas as the outward part is shorter (in time, at least) than the return part.

The trip takes in a four hour stop at Gayton Junction to assist with a work party painting the service block and associated railings etc. I saw the briefest of items in Canal Boat's "diary" section and had an encouraging response from an e-mail I sent.

The above photo shows the former BW yard, now occupied by the Grand Junction Boat Co. Were the areas separated by brick walls originally coal bunkers?

Here is the route plan:

Mon 7th April: Thrupp Wharf Marina to Stoke Bruerne or Blisworth
Tue 8th April am: Stoke Bruerne/Blisworth to Gayton Junction
Tue 8th April pm: Gayton Junction to Weedon
Wed 9th April: Weedon to Crick
Thu 10th April: Crick to Foxton Top Lock
Fri 11th April: Foxton Top Lock to Market Harborough
Sat 12th April: Market Harborough to Debdale Wharf Marina

The stop at Foxton coincides neatly with a talk entitled "Foxton Locks 1814 - 2014" which starts at 1830 in the "Canal Museum" and ends via a treasure hunt at the Bridge 61 pub (can't wait!) (Another diary entry in Canal Boat magazine).

The planning stops at Debdale Wharf Marina as that is where Jubilee's bottom will be spanked blacked. The boat will be removed from the water - or the water from the boat - on the following Monday, but we need to be there early. We are told that the boat should be back in the water on the Wednesday; I shall plan the return trip accordingly.

If any blog reader would like to make themselves known to us en route we should be very happy to see them. There is plenty of tea and coffee on board!