Saturday 17th April
We are trying to split up the return journey to arrive back at Barby on Thursday, so today’s plan is for a 3 hour day aiming for Cropredy to give us TV time in the afternoon. First a quick visit to Morrison’s to get a paper - bit of a souvenir edition commemorating the Duke of Edinburgh’s funeral due to start around 14:30. Then Town Lock and the lifting bridge with the stiff hydraulics. MF was designated for that and yes it was stiff to lower the bridge but nowhere near as difficult as most of the bottom gate paddle gear. When we got to the next lock which was in our favour, suddenly there was a boat behind and one in front. So we racked up the pace slightly and went into max lock efficiency mode for the next two, but they were both in our favour too with downcoming boats to help and strangely, at Cropredy expecting the usual congestion, the lock was waiting for us with the gates open. No one in sight. Moreover, there was a 24 hour mooring for us close by. So all in all, our 3 hour journey took just two. After another freezing start, the day turned out quite warm with full sunshine.
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