Monday 8th June 2009

For some reason we are waking up very early each morning and as we could hear that it was raining again this morning, we had our leisurely cup of tea in bed listening to Terry Wogan By 0900hrs it had brightened up, stopped raining and half anhour later we were on our way.
We knew it would take us quite some time to pass through Milton Keynes but were surprised at how pleasant it turned out to be. There is no evidence of the centre but the canal has been surrounded by parks and some housing and is very attractive on the whole. We didn't want to spend time exploring today but will definitely have a better look on our return journey, especially as it boasts one of the biggest shopping centres in Europe.

We came across our first lock of the day late morning but we were lucky enough to join another boat, especially as it had a swing bridge which looked pretty complicated to operate. Luckily a local man helped us out, and as a boat was coming in the opposite direction, we did not have to reset the lock.

We were now venturing out into the country again and our next lock, Stoke Hammond was so pretty that we had our lunch break just beyond it.

Striding out along the towpath

I had decided that I needed a bit of exercise so set off on the towpath for the next leg of the journey while Tom followed on the boat. All the towpaths so far have been really well maintained and easy to walk along.

By mid afternoon we came to Three Locks, supposedly haunted. I decided to take the boat through as you have to make sure you fill them properly so as not to waste water. They are alongside the pub garden but luckily I didn't have an audience as I didn't do it very well. There is a short pound between the locks where I found it really hard to control the boat due to the water emptying from the lock in front. I very nearly managed do a 360 degree turn. Poor Tom looked a bit panic stricken as he was powerless to help. Alls well that ends well and we managed to all get through in one piece.

We soon started to look for an overnight mooring as Tom had an online Spanish lesson at 1800hrs (hilarious - he sounded like Manuel from Faulty Towers) and have found a nice secluded bankside spot just outside Leighton Buzzard. I had a short walk and to my delight I found a Tesco, an Aldi and a Homebase right on the canalside. Can't wait to explore tomorrow!