Retirement with No Problem

6th Dec – Moored Nr Milton Keynes, Grand Union Canal
7th Dec – Cruising between Milton Keynes and Leighton Buzzard, Grand Union Canal, 6.5 miles 4 locks

Just come in from a smashing night out in one of the canal side pubs along here. Lucy was waiting for her normal doggy bag, and I was reluctant to leave much for her tonight so good was the meal. She got a good bag though!

Yesterday spent a very relaxing day moored not too far out of Milton Keynes. I would like to do a laundrette wash sometime soon, and walked to Willowbridge Marina to have a look at their washing facilities there. Well with one machine definately broken and pulled into the middle of the errrrrrr portacabin, yes the wash room was in a portacabin. Another machine stood with pipes all over the place and water everywhere, obviously that was out of use. The only machine that looked as if it might possibly work was so scruffy looking I decided I wouldn’t chance the £4.00 needed to try and make it work. There were no dryers at all…..

So a visit I think sometime to either Linslade or Milton Keynes’s Soapy Sues, or was it Sue’s Suds, which ever Sue’s place sounds very good!

Today we moved a bit, stretching No Problems legs, giving me time enough to bake a fruit cake in the bread maker on the way. Anyway would give the batteries a good charge with a longish run. I was most amazed by the sight of a cruiser style narrow boat on it’s winter hard standing with a huge ‘paddle steamer type’ paddle on the back. Unfortunately the batteries ran out in the camera (as they do when there is a good pic to be had), and by the time I had chucked the tiller to Vic, ran inside and put in new batteries, the shot had gone.

Stoke Hammond Lock here has a double arched bridge as you can see. There used to be two locks, the one we are about to enter is a double lock capable of taking two boats side by side, the other lock that used to be beyond the left hand arch was a single lock. This not only saved water if a single boat approached, but made life quicker for the working boats up and down this canal.

Solbury Three Locks were delightful, they reminded me of the locks up on the Leeds and Liverpool Canal. A beautifully rural setting albeit by the main road, and a handy pub to complete the scene. Today was very murky, I was surprised the pics came out at all. You can see the other locks ahead of us in the distance.

After moorning this evening, I managed to trade with a fisherman who had his rod dangling not far from the boat. I did well! I traded a cuppa and a piece of the still warm home made cake with a pint or so of live bait. It is very difficult to find angling shops along the canal, I have found this type of ‘trading’ works very well!

So I have a choice for tomorrow, fishing or washing….. wonder what I will choose?