It was a lovely morning. I was up at 5:30am.
I have no idea why.
Hallmark was ready to go at 6:15.
So I sat and had a proper breakfast.
We left Braunston at 6:45 determined not to get involved in the hire-boat turn-a-round at three hire boat fleets around Napton Junction.
The five mile length between Braunston and Napton is a remote piece of canal with the countryside falling away on one side and climbing to a ridge on the other.
We passed Napton Junction and completed the Warwick Ring.
What a great trip it was, although it was not part of the original plan.
It was Birmingham and back.
In to Birmingham and Worcester Canal and back out on the Grand Union.
On the run up to the Napton Flight we had a good view of Napton's famous windmill.
There were already plenty of boats on the move. The canal was crowded with moored boats and it tight when boats came the other way.
I arrived at the bottom of the flight of nine locks at 9:15am, a little later than expected.
There were no boats waiting and the lock keeper offered to open the gates, wind the sluices and give advice.
Climbing the Napton Nine could not have easier.
I never had to empty one lock and for seven Hallmark went in through open gates.
We were at the top in under two and a half hours.
It was a long run across the summit to Fenny Comption.
It was a good nine miles
At times it was dreamy and at others plain dreary.
It is only in the last few miles you begin to see animal livestock.
I was tired and took a 50 minute lunch break by Bridge 186.
I am sure this helped Hallmark's engine which seemed to be running hot.
Maybe I had been driving it hard for two days?
The weather did not hold and there were bouts of torrential rain.
We met a good number of boats heading for Napton.
Too many of them were going too fast and Hallmark was near to a couple collisions at bridge holes.
We survived!
At last the wharf at Fenny Compton was reached.
The moorings were busy and I had to moor Hallmark some distance away from the pub.
It was actually a good idea as there was a weekend music and beer festival.
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