Sunday 25th March 2007
Crick - Kicklewell Spinney Bridge (14¾ miles, 0 locks)
We had planned a leisurely day so we had a late breakfast and then walked down to the ABNB boat brokerage to have a chat about the pros and cons of everything from cratches to composting toilets. I was surprised to see that The Director's Cut was one of the boats up for sale, having followed the blog of its progress conception through to its continuous cruising of the canals and rivers over the past year. It appears its owners are now emigrating to Canada or the US.
The route north from Crick meanders through open countryside towards Welford Junction where there is a short arm to the village of Welford. We had originally planned to travel down the arm, but had seen the stoppage notice on Waterscape for the repairs to the lock just before the winding hole (pronounced as in the gusting wind rather than winding a clock). There was a tiny notice on the towpath which could not be read from the boat, so I wonder how many people had ended up reversing back along the two mile stretch.
We moored just past Kicklewell Spinney Bridge (Br 51) and took Tess for a run up the hill. She could run surprisingly fast in spite of her four inch legs.
The weather had been improving all day, with the next few days forecast to be warm and sunny. Then again, who believes in weather forecasts?