16th and 17th November 2015. Gusty winds and choppy waters but we make it to Milton Keynes.

The winds dropped a bit on Monday morning and we set off, stopping at Leighton Buzzard Tesco's for provisions on the way. You can bring your trolley right to the boat, so very convenient for heavy stuff like dog food and wine! The rain blew through quickly, leaving a washed out blue sky by the time we reached Leighton lock.

Evidence that Jo can operate locks and even cross lock gates (so long as the drop is not too deep)!

We spotted a romantic tree and a man (a busy boater we suspect) picking sloes with a special  hook for holding the branches down.

 

 

The leaves are nearly all off the trees now - just a few remain clinging, like those on these oak trees along the towpath.  

 

 

Gradually the skies darkened again and we moored just passed the Soulbury three locks, which we went through with the elderly crew of Just Perfick III. We have met them several times over the last couple of weeks as we are both heading for Gayton Junction. As it was pretty isolated, Robin took Scooby for a 4 mile bike ride along the towpath and he slept soundly on the bed for the rest of the evening (Scooby that is). A nice mooring but no 4G and poor phone service.

 

 



On Tuesday, we set off in rain which continued on and off for the day. Of course, this made it essential to do laundry, and 2 loads were washed and hung about. We stopped at Fenny Stratford for water and to empty the loo and then continued on to Milton Keynes. We found a mooring near the park and town centre where we moored last time, by which time we were glad to stop as the wind was blowing a gale and the canal was positively choppy! 

 

We'll stay here for a couple of days and plan to live it up by going to the cinema. Something more cheerful than Macbeth this time, though.