After a quick chat with Allen and Guy we slipped our moorings and gently motored out of the marina, down the Grand Union towards Napton.  The sun was out but there were a number of grey clouds in the sky accompanied by the odd spot of rain in the air.  We were soon at the first of the Calcutt locks and starting to set the lock when we spotted a boat approaching in the distance so in order to share the effort and save water we waited for them to arrive.

As they came closer, we recognised the boat as one of the Ownership fleet, which was duly confirmed as Honeystreet glided into the lock beside us.  During the usual conversation that strikes up during the process of pairing up in locks we established that we were both heading to Napton for the evening but, unlike us,  Honeystreet had no firm plans for where they were going after that.  Having revealed our plans to head for Stoke Bruerne (we were only out until the Tuesday so could not go too far) the thought of cruising the Southern Grand Union seemed to appeal to them.  So as we waved them goodbye at the last lock we had a feeling that we would be seeing more of them over the next couple of days.

After a quick turn at the winding hole outside the pub we made our way along the canal towards Braunston.  The sun was now beating down, giving blinding reflections off the water and the trees casting strong shadows which made the scenery particularly picturesque and reminding us of why we like traveling the canals of Britain.

This section of canal has some awkward twists and turns some of which have the added complication of being under bridges and as is often the case, make popular meeting places with oncoming boats, still this does improve your maneuvering skills.  We had recently purchased a Two Way Radio Set and had the opportunity to test them for the first time the day before at the junction of the Grand Union and Oxford canals at Napton.  These were proving to be an excellent buy as they vastly improved the bow to stern communication which had previously consisted of much shouting and waving of arms that only managed to disturb or amuse onlookers whilst the crew were rarely any the wiser for the effort.

The twin iron foot bridges at the Braunston turn soon came into sight along with a large number of boats moving in all directions causing congestion at this busy junction.  We had planned to stop at Midland chandlery to see if we could buy a longer tiller in order to make steering more comfortable but with this much traffic moving around we decided to give it a miss and headed off towards the bottom lock of the Braunston flight.

We locked through the six locks of the flight with a couple who were out on their boat for the weekend and as usual crammed in as much of each others canal life history as you could in the time it took to complete the flight.

At the top of the flight lurks one of the other delights of the inland waterways and that's a tunnel.  The Braunston tunnel is one of the longer on the system and also suffers from some nasty kinks, which if not careful, can catch out the unwary.  This was our first journey through a tunnel on Kinver and we believe, here first trip through one as well.  he proved to have no difficulties in the tunnel and gave good illumination from her tunnel light and side windows.

Emerging from the end of a tunnel is always an interesting experience as you have watched that pinprick of light grow slowly bigger until finally you are flooded with daylight and warmth.  This was especially the case today as the weather was particularly good.

We planned to stop today somewhere around the top lock at Buckby so as to avoid too much of an intrusion from the adjacent M1 motorway.  Whilst there are a number of visitor moorings above the lock they were all taken when we arrived so we locked through the first lock outside the New Inn and found a spot just round the corner by bridge 12 which in our opinion is actually a nicer setting.

Brass cleaning was the final activity of the afternoon so we both set to with Brasso in hand, cleaning the mushroom vents, tiller and any other brass item we could find.  Tonight we cooked on board and decided from our available provisions that we would have Spaghetti Bolognaise and it wasn't long before the delicious smell of cooking was wafting through the boat.

We set off at about 8:30 am in the company of the smallest narrow boat we have ever seen.  ‘Along Shortly’ is a 25-foot, 5-berth (yes five-berth) traditional style boat that, as you would expect, could turn on a sixpence.  So not only did we have a locking companion, we had a reduced workload because being so small they could come in the same gate and easily manoeuvre alongside and exit after us in a similar way. 

As you lock down the Buckby flight you get closer and closer to the M1 and with a mainline railway just on the other side you have the fascinating sight of three ages and modes of transport running in parallel.  Whilst the railway is not that intrusive, the constant drone from the motorway can be a little tiring, so it is with some relief that a short distance from the bottom of the Buckby flight the motorway parts company to leave the canal and railway to have their occasional meeting. 

This stretch of the Grand Union is one of our favourites as it passes through a lot of open countryside giving you the feeling of being in the middle of nowhere, isolated from the hustle and bustle of urban living.  Occasionally civilisation meets with the canal producing some interesting canal side properties and we have often though how nice it would be to have the interesting outlook of the canal and the ability to moor your own boat at the bottom of your garden. 

Onwards we cruised with Kinver eating up the miles, which meant that we would have no trouble making out intended destination.  The bridge by the converted mill house at Blisworth always signals the start of our preparations for going through the tunnel, so doors and windows get closed, lights get turned on and wet weather gear is put on.  The latter of these is not always necessary but you never know when you are going to be drowned from a leak in the roof so it’s best to be prepared. 

The Blisworth tunnel is very long and when you enter one end the other is only just visible as a pinprick of orange light.  Today we couldn’t even see that because between the other end and us were five oncoming boats.  Fortunately we were able to pass all of these bar one in the new part of the tunnel which is straighter and gives the impression of more room.  One of the fascinations of this tunnel is that interspersed at regular intervals on the roof there are fluorescent direction arrows pointing to the nearest end.  These enable you to track your progress and it is always with some delight that you spot the marker with arrows pointing in both directions signaling that you are exactly half way. 

Immediately after you exit the tunnel you are at the Stoke Bruerne visitor moorings and therefore looking out for somewhere to stop.  However, today and surprisingly there were hardly any boats moored up so we were able to take our pick.  We had arrived here at about 3:30 pm and there were still quite a few people walking along the towpath between the lock and tunnel, which whilst you feel a little on display, gives you a feeling of pride when you receive admiring glances and comments about the boat you are on. 

So by 8:00 am we were once again heading into a tunnel.  This particular morning we followed a hire boat who were taking a little time to become accustomed to the darkness and unfortunately were weaving about quite a bit.  We all had to learn our tunnel craft sometime so we hung back to give them some room.  We didn't meet any oncoming boats this time so our passage was a little easier and after about 30 minutes we emerged from the other end ready to continue our 12 mile lock free journey to the Buckby flight.

There was little canal traffic around to day and with the sun shining through it turned out to be an extremely pleasant journey.  By the middle of the afternoon we arrived at the bottom of the flight and entered the lock.  We had noticed in the distance a couple of boats approaching and so duly waited for their arrival.  Shortly one of their crew arrived at the lock to announce that they were traveling as a pair and would therefore lock up together.  We then resigned ourselves to making our way up the flight on our own.

These locks are not the easiest in the world to operate, with heavy, leaking gates and being in a wide beam lock with a single boat can result in a lot of moving about if the paddles are opened in the wrong sequence or too quickly.  Eventually we emerged from the last lock of the day and moored up in almost the same place as we were two days previously.

Having completed the tunnel we were soon tackling the Braunston flight.  This time we locked through with a very pleasant and interesting couple who were out for two months with their four Scottie dogs.  We were again lucky with the weather and before long had completed all six locks.

We idled through Braunston with the engine at tick over because, as always, Braunston was congested.  Under the now familiar iron bridge at the turn and onto the Oxford canal with our Two Way Radio's again coming in handy for communicating the traffic conditions at the blind bends and junctions.

We only met a couple of oncoming boats on the stretch up to the turn onto the Grand Union at Napton and fortunately these were at easy passing places.  With the three Calcutt locks behind us we made the short journey to the marina.