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The Scouts and
Explorers went to explore the Grand Union Canal. Here is
David's report of the weekend:
4 Scouts and 6
Explorers, along with Steve Richards (skipper), Chris Kinch
and David Ferrington, set off on a wet Friday evening for
Braunston on the Grand Union Canal. After a day of heavy
rain across the country, we were pleased to arrive with
clear skies and, much to our enjoyment, they stayed clear
the entire weekend.
You can't travel on canals in darkness, so we set off early
in the morning from Braunston for Stoke Bruerne; 19 miles,
13 locks, 2 tunnels, countless bridges and a good 8 hours
away. As we left the boat we were moored against, we were
pleased we had central heating; clear skies means zero
degrees and frost - yes, the ropes were stuck to the deck!
We arrived at Stoke Bruerne just before five o'clock, having
entered Blisworth Tunnel (steered by Steve) in daylight, and
emerged as night fell - yes its that long! Alex Richards
turned the boat around, not easy with a 22 ton, 72 foot
narrow boat in 76 foot of turning space. We moored up for
the night, ready for the off first thing on Sunday morning.
Everybody took advantage of the local hostelry - The Boat
Inn (yes, the Scouts drank coke!), then it was back to the
boat for another good meal from Chris, some board games,
cards etc and bed.
We left at 8.00am on Sunday, zero degrees, stuck ropes and
frost on the boat (despite central heating), to go back
through the Blisworth tunnel and retrace our wake back to
Braunston.
Everybody had a turn at steering the boat over the weekend,
we all helped with working the locks, and everybody had a
good time.
Here are David's photos from the trip
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Yes, TV on a narrow boat
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An early start to a clear day
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Frost on the unoccupied boat next to ours
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Ah, central heating - no frost
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The first bridge (actually Bridge 1 on the CUC)
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The Braunston tunnel
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A beautiful clear day
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Honest Guv, it wasn't us...
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Entering the Blisworth Tunnel
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The Blisworth Tunnel
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Another beautiful day
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The sun melts ice on the roof
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The boys enjoy socialising but is Alex (background) having trouble in the kitchen?
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Chris takes the tiller - look 1 hand
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Felix and Jon try to catch us up after a foray off to the local shops
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