Today we were prepared for some hard work, as we had to ascend the 2 locks at Long Itchington followed by the 8 lock Stockton flight and with a push we could hve been able to complete the 3 Calcutt locks as well. How far we would be able to get would also depend on the forecast rain. However it all worked out far better than we could have hoped for.
We set off early at 8:35. Fortunately the first lock was aleady in our favour and once we had entered another boat turned up and we worked through both Long Itchington locks together. The other boat then stopped for water but a further boat, Slimline Tonic, joined us and together we worked though all 8 Stockton Locks helped very much by a CRT volunteer lack-keeper who walked on ahead of us to ensure every lock was open when we arrived.
After completing the Stockton flight Slimline Tonic left us to find some diesel. We carried on up the 3 Calcutt Locks. Again all the locks were in our favour being set by boats coming down.
We stopped at 12:30 having ascended 13 locks and cruised for 4.7 miles in just under 4 hours. We would have considered that a very fast speed even if we had not needed to travel cautiously.
But our day was not over. By 3pm we realised that the very gusty winds forecast for the time we planned to enter our marina could cause real problems. So we off again reaching the North Oxford Canal beyond Braunston at 17:15 after about 2 hours of lock free cruising. Fortunately the forecast rain never materialised.
Weather: some sunshine, but cloudy later on. No rain.
10.1 miles, 13 locks, 6 hours 10 minutes cruising.
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