A mammoth day

The first time in absolute ages that we have boated for 10.75 hours - it was a bit necessity and a bit anxiety: Adam and Adrian from Briar Rose notified us a couple of days ago that there was due to be a closure starting on 27 Sept from Lock 38 to Lock 30, inclusive, on the GU Leicester Arm. Total buggeration, as we had intended a slow meandering pace back to Debdale at about 1.5 hours per day. But it was not to be.

So we have been moving at the speed of light, canal-wise over the last two days. But today we have swapped places with Mick and Julia as the Prince and Princess of Pace!

Double locks = 16; distance = 14.5 miles; hold-ups = one serious detritus removal from the weed hatch (a full extension cord, half of a sari, several rags, several plastic bags, some wire) just before Limekiln Lock plus a kids' watersport/canoeing expo with canoes, kayaks, rafts, paddle boards all over the cut, plus a serious water shortage between King's Lock and Dunn's Lock where it was imperative to stay in the middle of the channel; plus icecreams at one lock (no time lost as I got them while David was working the lock) -and icecreams are required sustenance and morale enhancer, don't you know...

And here we are now, illegally tied up**(see below for our escape plan) on the lock mooring above Dunn's Lock. We have eaten dinner (prepared while we were in a lock waiting for our locking companions Mark who is 6 days into the ownership of his fibreglass narrowboat and Will his beer-toting helper), we have had a couple of glasses of wine each and David has been woken from his sleep on the sofa to go to bed.

It has been a great day actually, apart from the anxiety about getting through the area due for closure. We have shown ourselves that we can still put in the hard yards when required. In fact Julia texted to say that we are now in the Leicester Arm Hall of Fame - praise indeed!

Before we had locking companions in Mark and Will on Mole, we met 8 year old Toby and his Mum Emma. Toby was dead keen to assist David, and loved learning about how the locks worked. It was lovely to see David's old teaching stuff come out: 'So, what do you think we need to do next?' And lovely to see Toby responding with excitement that he'd got the next step right. I had a chat with Emma about hiring a boat with friends to share the cost and having the fun that goes with it. Black Prince at Napton, stand by. I reckon she'll be hiring next season!

We also had a couple of helpers at another lock - two boys, I'd guess they were about 11 or 12. Happy to give a hand opening and closing the gates. And at one lock, a bunch of drinking guys let the off-side paddle down when David had forgotten it ...

I had the easy jobs really, steering, cooking, putting the rope over the hook David held down from the lockside, holding the rope in the lock. The most important job of the last hour and a half has been providing nourishment and anaesethetising (I cannot spell now, OK?) alcohol ...

Photos tomorrow - I am bushed and it is time I went to bed too - after all, it's 7.45pm and ** we need to get off this lock mooring by about 7am. That is less than 12 hours away.

By the way, we are heading for Kilby Bridge tomorrow. David says he is going back to bed after we get there. I will wake him up for lunch, and that might be at the pub ...