So today we are indeed off!!!

We had planned to leave the marina yesterday, but when we got to the boat on the 16th we discovered that our central heating boiler would not turn on, but not until well after everyone who works in the boatyard had gone home.  Yesterday morning Chris went and had a chat with the boatyard mechanical team who are a good bunch of chaps and they said they'd attempt to have a look at it today once they'd sorted out the Friday renter switch around process.  They did indeed have a look and it needs a good few hours of effort which they can't schedule in for a few days - it being Easter and all.  So having survived a second rather less cool evening on the boat and hoping that the weather will indeed warm up as the long range weather forecast suggests, we have set off with no central heating.  Having said that, it's perfectly warm in bed at night, so that's a good thing! 

We've had a couple of goes at planning our route thwarted by closed locks under longer term repair than the Canal and River Trust would have chosen. But we have now determined that we can go from the marina at the end of the Northampton Arm at Gayton to Birmingham via Leicester, Loughborough, and Burton on Trent, I have arranged a face-to-face Committee Meeting of the Banjo, Mandolin and Guitar Federation at Gas Street Basin for the 3/4 May, so we need to be there by then which should be OK even though we have left a day and half later than intended. After the meeting we shall then come back to Gayton, so not a very long trip this year (so far!)

We know the route out of the Marina to the north well as we've done it a number of times as weekend trips out which have been fun.  In about 3 hours we have travelled up to Wheedon Bec. We travel along beside the route of Watling Street mostly on our right and the West Coast Main Line on our left.  The canal had a reasonable number of boats coming towards us, with a few hire boats on their way back to Gayton, and some other boat owners too. 

We had last come this way at the end of February and had been impressed by the new hedge laying that had taken place along quite a distance of the tow path. Today, it was clear that the plants were doing well and the leaves were coming out on the plants.  Chris and I had heard a radio program about hedge-laying which was very informative.  Chris looked at this hedge and commented that if he had been cutting it, it would have to be the other way round going from left to right!

Tomorrow we will set off from Wheedon Bec and go up through 7 locks to Norton Junction where we will turn right and go on the Leicester Arm of the Grand Union Canal.  We'll go through the Watford locks which can be seen from the A5 which passes very close by.