North of Watford

At very long last we are on the move and exploring new territories, which means I get to knit while we cruise. But sadly, we are still the official owners of a three bedroomed house, but not for very much longer. We signed the contract weeks ago but didn’t want to venture out of Bedfordshire, just in case the buyer pulled out. However, contracts were exchanged last week and our solicitor knows we’ve scarpered. We took a few pics of our journey through Milton Keynes and of the alpacas that live by Cosgrove lock, as we’ll probably not venture that far south for a good few years.

Wolverton

Cosgrove Iron Trunk aquaduct

Railway bridge near Watford Gap

So it’s fantastic being north of Watford Gap, the true north in our southern eyes!!! We had cruised to the bottom of Watford Locks many years ago when on holiday. We were 4^th in the queue for the 3 locks and staircase of 4 locks at Watford. There was an army of VLK’s that coordinate & help the boats through this narrow flight and also boaters that were 9^th & 10^th in the queue were up at the lock helping so the proceedings went smoothly and they didn’t have to wait too long. This was a practice run, as we’ll be going down Foxton Locks, next weekend which is a flight of two staircase locks, a 5 chamber drop on each. John learnt how to use these staircase locks (along with a rhyme) during his VLK training, the paddle gear are colour coded and so there’s enough water for the flight the side pounds are in use. The rhyme goes, ‘Red before white and you’re doing alright……..White before red and you’re better off dead’, although the lockies omit the last part so they don't make people too nervous. Needless to say I was so scared of getting the poem wrong I took the boat up & left the locks to John. We had thought about going to Watford Gap M1 services for a coffee as you can access it from the towpath, but we were only there a couple of weeks ago when we helped Ada & Dale move.

Queue for Watford Locks

 

Lock 1

Waiting for lock 2

1st staircase chamber

side pound filling, white paddle up

 

View from the staircase

Crab apples

 

Huge elderberries

We are currently moored in Crick a lovely little Northamptonshire village with absolutely no internet or phone signal, so this will be uploaded another day once we move. It appears Crick went all out with their Millennium celebrations by obtaining a wood and a field, which includes a footbridge over the canal to Cracks’s Hill where their Millennium beacon is. They planted lots of trees most of which have commemorative plaques celebrating births, birthdays, marriages, anniversaries and individuals, this was a pleasant change as usually trees are planted in memory of those passed. The young apple & pear trees were laden with fruit as were the established ones around the edges of the field. We took a few fruits from the young trees and lots from the damson, sloe and elderberry ones. John made a second batch of elderberry cordial and I made 6lb of blackberry and 3 types of apple (2 crab and a cooker) jam. We walked up Crack’s Hill which had a lovely view, but nothing quite like the height of The White Nancy, that we climbed when we were on the Macclesfield Canal.

Crack's Hill view, with boat going by

Cracks Hill beacon

preparing to dye

Before we left Leighton Buzzard I had a dyeing day. I had borrowed the Bedfordshire Guild of Weavers, Spinners & Dyers steamer which had to go back. When I was at Fibre-East a few weeks ago I brought some new acid dyes and I dyed the fibre I’d been given to use in the BritSpin, spinning marathon in October. In addition I made some iron transfers and put them on a bag for each of the team members. I’m spinning for the ‘Spinning in Beds’ team, may be not necessarily in Bedfordshire though. Also, we visited the Bedfordshire in Bloom exhibition at Leighton Buzzard library, all knitted.

All ready for Spinning in Beds