All the best laid plans etc….. We set off as planned timing out arrival at Debdale Wharf Marina for 9 am. And indeed, arrived shortly after. After a satisfying 103 litre diesel uplift we continued on to the bottom of the Foxton flight to find 2 other boats waiting. “An hour and a half”: we were told. Well at least there’s a little shop there and plenty of interest to idle away the time. Two Americans on a Jannel Cruiser arrived and we got chatting. It was their first narrowboat holiday and they were enjoying it. I explained the workings of the Foxton Flight as we stood on the bridge in the sunshine. I suppose the big thing about this flight of two 5 chamber staircases is that there is only room for one boat to pass in the middle, and when there is a lot of traffic the most expedient way of handling the traffic from a volume point of view is to let a squadron (collective noun for narrowboats?) of boats up or down alternately. This inevitably means long waits, but quicker for the majority in the long run. Otherwise there is nothing difficult about the technicality of working the locks provided one uses common sense. We reached the top at about midday, so no hope now of getting to the Watford locks at the other end of the long pound before they shut. So we opted to stop at Crick where there are plenty of good moorings thanks to the annual boat show, and good pubs in the village. We arrived at 6.30 pm and set off for the village as soon as the boat was settled. The first pub we came to was the Red Lion and what a lovely welcome! Firstly they have Marstons Pedigree on draught and secondly asked us if we wanted a tab as we were eating. No table numbers either, just a very friendly and personal service. The meal was excellent, so there is a strong possibility that it will get our best pub meal of the summer award.
Today, 23.3 miles and 10 locks, and 10 hours 10 minutes but that includes the waiting.
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