Leaving Northampton Marina
Bridge on the River Nene - we're heading for the middle arch
The Carlsberg brewery - previously Phipps - on the riverside
Looks like a tight squeeze
The clear water of the canal, full of fish (we think roach or rudd)
Denis directing eager volunteers - lots of passers-by stop to talk and offer assistance and children really enjoy lending a hand
... or if you're a swan, a dignified beak
Jan crossing the lock gate
A passing cyclist on holiday from Belgium - particularly interested in how UK locks work
Lock 12 with the bridge carrying the M1 above
Passing under the raised drawbridge to enter lock 10
Preparing to enter lock 4 at about 6.30pm we got a shock: the pound above it was almost drained of water and impassable. Advice by phone from the CRT duty officer was to open one paddle in each pair of gates in the four locks above us and wait until the pound filled enough to get the boat safely through. With some trepidation, we followed instructions, carefully closing the paddles again once the water level had risen.
A bit like the plug had been pulled out...
...but it refilled surprisingly quickly!
Climbing the rest of the lock flight as the light faded, we used the headlamp to illuminate the lock gates. It seemed to take ages but that was because we had to take everything really slowly to avoid accidents.
By the time we reached Gayton and moored safely, it was after 9 and moonlit... it's not recommended to boat this late, but we were keen to finish the flight to avoid getting stuck again
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