Day 3 – Crick to Fleckney

It’s another cool grey morning when we set off. Heading into Husband Bosworth tunnel the air feels suddenly warm. Bob’s reactor light glasses don’t react, mist over and he’s completely blinded. I dive down into the dark cabin and grope around for a replacement pair but when he puts these on they mist over as well. Somehow, despite the blind driver, the boat doesn’t crash into the sides. I take over the steering while he clears his glasses. When he can eventually see again he decides that the tunnel light is pointing in the wrong direction (even though I’m quite happy with it where it is) and walks off along the gunwale to move it. The C&RT guide-lines for passing through tunnels says, ‘keep arms and legs within the confines of the boat.’ It doesn’t say anything about walking along narrow gunwales to fiddle with headlights, presumably because they don’t expect anybody to be stupid enough to do that. He manages to get back to the stern safely and we emerge from the tunnel as the sun is breaking through the clouds. I hate tunnels.

Onwards to Foxton Locks through quiet green countryside. There are banks of yellow flag iris and straggles of wild roses and masses of elderflower along the canal-side. At Foxton we will have a two hour wait before we can go down so I make a visit to the Canal Museum. I forego the interactive device that shows me how locks work but there are some interesting facts about the canals. Both Watford and Foxton Locks, with their staircases and side pounds, are wonderful feats of engineering. Evidently it was a devised by Leonardo Da Vinci. Or was it the Chinese? Or was it the Romans? Ten minutes after leaving the museum I can’t remember what I’d read.

It’s a glorious evening as we leave Foxton so we carry on, even though a visit to the pub Bridge 61 is tempting. Bob does the locks, I drive. I scrape walls, prang gates. Then I empty the cupboards and tip the TV onto the floor when I try to stop the boat by tying it too abruptly to a bollard. It’s a bit upsetting really, I used to be able to handle a boat.