Blue Lias

Last night we moored up at the right time.  It started raining, heavy rain, and it carried on all night. It was still raining when we awoke.  Thinking that we might use the nearby water point, I made the necessary arrangements and moved the boat back.   I had forgotten that this waterpoint has a very low pressure and after taking the TV aerial down and thinking about the low flow, decided to abort and carry on to Braunston given that there are maintenance works going on between the top lock and tunnel which have led to big hold-ups.  Other boaters have told us of boats queuing up in the tunnel.   So we set off.  We passed a historic boat on its way to Stoke Bruerne Canal Museum gathering and then a boat took off in front of us.   Two BW flats were blocking the last bridge hole before the tunnel and had obviously been torn from their mooring by passing boats.  The boat ahead of us and one blocked coming the other way joined forces to move then aside with poles and we carried on.  Another historic motor and butty going at full chat passed us in the tunnel and we emerged just as BW maintenance staff were coming on duty, so no problem with hold-ups there.   The top lock has some paddles raised with notices saying "Leave the paddles, letting water down".  So, joining the boat that had been ahead, we entered the lock and went down, carefully replacing the paddles in the same position as they were originally.   In the next pound we met a young blue shirt who was affronted that we should have come down when there were notices on the locks and told us to wait until he told us to continue.  We waited for 5 minutes and then saw boats coming up and boats behind us coming down, so we carried on anyway.  Our partners peeled off at the junction for Hawkesbury.  We turned left and found ourselves behind another boat with which we joined forces for Calcutt Locks and Stockton.  The massive new marinas around Calcutt foretell of massive queues as peak times in the future. The newest is still not open, but looks nearly ready and in water.  The weather thus far had been scattered cumulus, hot sunny intervals and little wind.   We arrived at Blue Lias just in time for some heavy showers turning into more persistent rain.   Eating out tonight!  No digital TV here and only GPRS.