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The Gift Shop Opens!!! Norton Junction to Foxton Locks (23 miles, 7 locks)

All winter we have been preparing for this moment!  The new gift shop on our recently stretched butty boat has been open this weekend!


The first effort at a display in the new gift shop.  More sprucing required!

A week ago we set off from Norton Junction to travel up the Leicester section of the Grand Union Canal.


Norton Junction looking from Braunston direction.  Left is Leicester, straight on is London!

The weather behaved as we slowly approached the junction anticipating the tight left hand bend with the butty cross-strapped to the stern of the 'big boat'.


Signpost at the junction


Under the bridge before the left hand bend


90 degrees and time to put the tiller over on the opposite lock


Straightening the tiller, we make progress under the wooden bridge and onto the Leicester section


Scooby and me on the butty doing a 'selfie' !  Look up Scoob!


Someone is having some work done!


Leaving Watford locks behind us, we head for Crick and the tunnel


Jams and preserves for sale at the side of the canal for boaters


Crick tunnel entrance and wow was it wet and dark and even wetter at the other end!

Mooring in Crick, we stayed for a couple of nights, visiting the shop and the garden centre, before setting off again with full watertank etc


Crack Hill outside Crick


Yelvertoft Marina, still looking half empty and windswept

We had to stop after a couple of hours because the going was hard work on this section.  It seemed very shallow and progress was slow.


Lots of calves around now

I steered the 'big boat' the next day reaching Welford Junction by around 10.30 in the morning and a warm welcome from Geraldine and Michael off the Cheese Boat.  They were waiting to go up the Welford Arm for their boat blacking that weekend.


Beautiful roses and lettering on this narrowboat

This time we were going to get to Foxton locks with the intention of opening the new gift shop for the weekend.


Richard having perhaps too much fun doing my job on the butty.  Suppose I ought to have dropped him on the long line and see how he coped then!  Not so easy!


Rolly hills just outside Foxton

Foxton was empty as we moored up above the locks.  We had a walk down the flight and the bottom was dead as well.  Canal and River Trust really have done a proper job scaring boaters away from this historic tourist attraction with their mooring restrictions and overstaying charges.  Well done!!!!!


The flight in a hauntingly underused state!  No boats, no tourists, come on CRT, you are killing businesses. It doesn't take a genius to work out what needs doing!


A quite but lovely weekend at Foxton with the gift shop open

Sunday seemed to attract a few boaters to moor up, but mostly on the 14 day mooring back before the bridge.  We moved this morning as we were on the restricted part, but our friends Gail and Trevor, on The Candy Boat planned to stay on the 14 day for a bit longer and we would meet up again next weekend when we return.  

Hopefully more boats will pass up through the locks and more people will come and we will be busy!



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