Leaving Northampton? Our shortest journey ever!

Moored at Northampton Town Quay

The weather forecast being none too good we had decided to stay in Northampton for the day as our moorings at Town Quay were conveniently close to the town centre but did not appear to present any security problems.  So first thing in the morning we shopped at the nearby Morrisons for most of the provisions we will be using for the next 7 days, and later in the town centre for the few things we hadnt found at the supermarket.   After lunch on the boat we decided to move on a short distance out into the countryside - the forecast rain hadnt appeared.

Moored at Midsummer Meadow, Northampton

Going through the Becketts Park Lock it is apparent we were no longer in CRT waters.  To operate the lock one had no unlock the padlock securing the gates using the EA (Environment Agency) key.  This took some time as the key had to be wiggled a bit to get it to undo the padlock.  Then raising the paddles and opening the gates was straightforward.  The EA rules are different to CRT ones in that there is no requirement to close the gates after use.  Then down the river for a short distance before the rain started.  Fortunately we had only just passed another set of moorings so we turned the boat around and tied up.  A total of 0.4 miles and 1 lock.