Day 103 and we’re making good progress back up the Nene, we paired up with the boat moored behind us called Chouette (Pat and Jenny), they were a bit distant to start with but slowly seemed to warm to us. It made working the locks a bit simpler as with two boats in we could fill them a bit quicker. Not so much of an advantage as often on broad canals as Nene locks are rarely set against you as you have to empty them when you leave them. Seeing a few more boats going the other way but  mostly locals. Moored on a bankside next to a marina so got charged which J thought was a bit of a nerve as the mooring really wasn’t that deep, although Chouette managed to get in we had to use the gang plank for the first time. J not happy as doesn’t like using gang planks. Really quite hot again and little shade to be had.

Day 104 and travelling with Chouette again, they seem to have decided we are alright 😉 Again a few boats coming the other way.  A lot of gongoozlers near Billing aquadrome, the camping fields there much busier now it is school holidays. River quite weedy but nothing needing a delve down the weed hatch. That is certainly something we won’t miss when we get back on the canals. A lot of gongoozlers at the last lock too, J had help with the gates in the form of small boys whose fathers then felt obliged to help. Moored overnight in the marina in Northampton as it was Saturday, met the lady we were moored next to last time on our return from our shopping run. I know I’m a real food snob but the produce at Morrisons is really isn’t good. Nice chatty neighbours two of whom were concerned about the noise of the cooling fan for our electrics and made sure they let us know. Better pontoon this time.

Day 105 and we finally leave the Nene and finish our tour of the Eastern rivers. A late start as D wanted to get a paper and we had to hand back the access fob so we had to wait for their office to open. It is a short trip up the Nene to the beginning of the Northampton arm of the Grand Union. The canal is very narrow and once through the first lock it was really weedy and shallow, so we were going really quite slowly. By the time we reached the third lock we had quite a collection of weed on the bow and probably also on the prop although it was hard to tell as it was so shallow. We were being caught by another boat which had a bigger crew. For some reason one of the restored lift bridges was down which is odd as they are normally up and, actually, don’t serve any purpose as they no long have paths leading to/from them – just more work to do. Got “helped” through the last eight or so locks by Leon (not sure it is his real name) a homeless Geordie who does odd jobs, it became obvious that he would want some cash but to be honest he really took the pressure off D on a horribly hot day so we didn’t really mind. moored near Gayton junction, noisy because of the A road nearby but we didn’t want to go on and through the Blisworth tunnel as we had a really bad experience going through there on a Sunday afternoon previously and moorings between the junction and tunnel can be really busy. Again really hot.

Day 106 and another fairly early start to get through the tunnel as early as possible. There were moorings nearer to the tunnel which would have been quieter. We have found out where all the water is – the tunnel was really quite wet. We didn’t meet anyone in the tunnel, just one boat coming out as we approached and we met two boats going the other way on the other side in Stoke Bruerne, this was good news as they had come up the flight of seven locks so they were all set for us. However they were pumping back so much water that the levels in all the pounds were high and the gates were over topping making them really hard to open. We were being caught by a couple of boats behind us which was adding to the amount of water coming down the flight. Finally met some other boats coming the other way at the last two locks. Steady cruise to Cosgrove and a mooring which gave us some shade later in the day so helping with the heat, however the cabin temperature still nearly 30 mid afternoon. Saw more moving boats today than we have seen for the last four weeks.