Our moorings overnight at Wellingborough were nearest to the road bridge and were very noisy. Best to avoid if possible although one might be slightly closer to Tesco. It was a stormy night with gusting wind, though no rain. The forecast was for strong winds to continue through the morning easing in the afternoon. We thought about staying put for 24 hours, but decided in the end to make a late start and try and complete the schedule aiming for Thrapston with Irthlingborough as an option if the wind proved too troublesome. We made Irthlingborough without too much trouble and stopped for lunch at the extensive 48 hour moorings before deciding to continue on. At Upper Ringstead Lock we met our first "wheel". Get a good speed up on the wheel and the guillotine gate drops faster than the electric version, however, it is a bit tiring on the shoulders and perhaps slower to wind up again. Mostly the wind was at our backs and not too troublesome until, that is, we arrived at Woodford Lock where a strong crosswind made it impossible to get onto the lock landing having screwed up the approach. There was nothing for it but to jam the bows into the gate triangle and wedge the boat across the lock throat. Actually no problem but maybe a bit unconventional.
The moorings at Thrapston (on the Islip side) are tucked away in a corner alongside the bridge and with only room for two short boats and one narrowboat already there we gave it a miss. Past Islip lock there are some decent 48 hour moorings by the marina which did us fine. Wellingborough to Irthlingborough 2 hours and 4 more hours to Islip Mill
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