Saturday
We planned to go up to one of our favourite spots today with FL.
We filled up with water by the café boat – I think they had too many
people on one side!
It was then a trip to Midland Chandlers so that Richard could have a
moan about our batteries. We had new
ones back in March and, in fact, we have only spent 68 days on board using
them. We have to run the engine night
and morning even if we have stopped cruising about 3ish. MC reckon we have a rouge battery or two and
gave us some suggestions for trying to find out which ones. The other way is to take two out and send
them back to MC to get them tested. MC
deliver to Ham Manor once a week so maybe that’s what we will do once we are
back there for the winter.
I love the bridges at Braunston Turn and photograph them every time we
pass!
It was then up to Chambers Bridge where we moored up behind FL.
I spent the afternoon trying to get to grips with crochet. I had planned to crochet a small blanket for
my new grandson. I’ve had everything on
board since the beginning of May and it’s beginning to dawn on me that he is due
in four weeks and I haven’t even started it!
Then I realised that I haven’t got the right wool. I bought it on our way to the boat back in
May and didn’t think that, even though the colours are right, the wool isn’t
the same and it looks and feels different.
I was able to start it but have now had to put it away until I can get
to Hobbycraft next week while we are home.
Sue and Andy came in for a drink in the evening – well Richard, Andy
and I had wine but I was very impressed that Sue only had water!
1.86 miles
0 locks
Sunday
We were going to move on today but a) the weather forecast was a bit
iffy b) it was Sunday and the Napton flight would be busy and c) the only boats
going passed us seemed to be hire boats and were probably going up with flight.
A nice lazy morning for me though Richard did some more work on the
side deck.
In the afternoon we all walked into Braunston to go to the Craft fair
in the Church. We walked along the tow
path to Bridge 98 and then on a footpath into Braunston. It was nice to walk through fields instead of
always walking the towpath.
We walked through the abandoned village of Wolfhampcote. The village was abandoned sometime in the
late 14th century and is classified as a deserted medieval village. Local
legend suggests that the village was wiped out by the Black Death brought in by
refugees from London, but there is no evidence to support this. It is much more
likely that a few cottages still remained after the great plague and after
struggling to maintain their land the villagers drifted off to more prosperous
places leaving the Lord of the Manor to clear the land for sheep grazing as
best he could. Today the only remains of
the village are a cottage, a farmhouse, and the old vicarage, located some
distance away. The most notable surviving feature of the village is the Church
of St Peter, which stands apparently in the middle of nowhere in a field. The
church has been restored on several occasions, most recently in the 1970s by an
organisation called the Friends of Friendless Churches. The church is today
managed by the Churches Conservation Trust and is used only once or twice a
year.
By the time we reached Braunston Church we were all very hot (the
weather forecast had completely changed from 9am when I checked it to 1pm when
I checked again). The craft fair was a
little disappointing but we had a nice cup of tea and a piece of cake.
On our walk back I found to course of the old Oxford Canal before it
was straightened.
Back at the boats we sat out on the towpath and chatted - Sue produced
some lovely Towpath Tapas. Thank you Sue
it was lovely.
There was an amazing sunset – my photo isn’t very good as the hedge was
in the way. I noticed that Andy and
another chap were standing on the roof of their boats so I bet theirs are way
better than mine!
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