Thursday - Day 17

8am in Blue Adeline and the Canal and River Trust rep was on hand to give the go ahead to the widebeam to enter Braunston Tunnel.  Blue Adeline followed, keeping a good distance as advised.  As soon as we entered, we were engulfed in almost complete darkness and a dank, musty atmosphere with water dripping from above.  It was disorienting, because in the darkness we couldn't easily gauge how fast the boat was going or how straight we were.  A few hundred yards in we really knew what "light at the end of the tunnel" meant.

Dark as the Styx…

Light at the end

We made it!

After the tunnel, a gentle potter west along a mile or so of the Grand Union Canal Main Line and then a sharp left turn at Norton Junction to head north on the Leicester Section of the Grand Union Canal.  The last phase of our journey.

Romajech had a gentle start watching boats emerge into daylight from the tunnel while supping tea on the stern. First a wIdebeam, checked through by CRT staff on walkie-talkies, followed by Blue Adeline. We all waved. Off through Norton Junction and headed for Watford staircase locks and the Crick tunnel. Went past a moored Blue Adeline just past Watford Gap motorway services. Jan and Denis were off to infiltrate the shops posing as motorists. They succeeded in their mission.

Romajech settled down to queue for an hour and a half for the Watford locks, which were organised by lock-keepers. The first was very helpful and organised but he went off duty and we were left with Mr Rush-Flap, who let a lock gate re-open after not closing it properly and opened a paddle when he should not have done. Romajech almost surfed backwards into the lock behind on a bow-wave. He also almost took the wheel off our bike when he did not watch what he was doing when he closed the lock gate too soon.

Very fraught, but finally managed the whole staircase and the final separate top lock. Stopped to empty rubbish etc. and saw a queue of six historic narrowboats and butties waiting to descend the staircase.

Set off feeling in need of some restoration ourselves.

Decided that things could not get any worse so we headed for the Crick tunnel, which was very dank, fume-filled and dripping, with no ventilation shafts. Not a pleasing 1528 yards of experience. Moored at Crick for a well-earned bite to eat and a couple of beverages at 'The Moorings': a licensed cafe with a cheerful and friendly waitress.  Slept well a little further up the canal.

The Moorings cafe at Crick - cheerful staff, good food

On Blue Adeline we also had problems at Watford Locks.  The lock-keeper seemed impatient and disorganised - rushing us through and giving contradictory instructions.  At one point, he raised a paddle on the staircase so fast that Jan struggled to control the boat.  What's the hurry?  This isn't technology built for express transit!   

A Dutch tourist watching, charmed but obviously slightly bemused as we went through, said "All the locks in Holland are automated".