Known but nice.

 We got underway at about 09:30 and within 15 mins. it was spotting with rain, and within another ten it was chucking it down. It soon stopped though. This stretch of canal is well known to us but usually quite nice, other than at the height of summer when it is stacked out with moored boats and others searching for somewhere to light the barbecue.

On the stretch between Napton and Braunston Junctions there are several blind corners as the canal passes under roads or disused railways. This is the one where the canal goes under the old Weedon to Leamington. This was the line built from what is now the West Coast Mainline at Weedon Bec through to Leamington Spa. This originally was to get Daventry connected to the railway system and the line opened from Weedon to Daventry in 1888 by he LNWR. The line was extended through to the LNWR line between Leamington and Long Itchington in 1895. This is the line with station at Braunston, Flecknoe, Napton and Stockton and Long Itchington.

Once the rain had passed there were flashes of the sun and with the black clouds behind the hills the flash of light on the waving fields called for a photo.

The sun is trying here as we approach another blind bend. Just round the corner there was a boat moored I wonder how often they had a boat land alongside as they have to go full astern as they meet another boat coming round the corner.

I think this is Bridge 99, but maybe wrong. It was from a distance so that I could get the reflection in. It is when I miss the camera.

We approached Braunston Turn after meeting around 8 or 9 boats, but although one boat came out of the Grand Union canal, and one passed from the Oxford up to the Braunston Locks we had a clear passage through. There was a small boat on the water point that did a great job of providing a chicane to negotiate.

They are busy putting in a short length of Armco here, but mainly I think to protect an over spill to a stream, or similar, 

We got to the top of Hillmorton Locks just as one was coming out so could more or less straight. After passing comments about the lock Helen said never mind there aren't any for a good while now, and they seems surprised, as if they didn't really know where they were. I hope they enjoyed the rest. He did say that they would take the rain with them too. There was a voluntary lock keeper at No.2 who was working like the conductor of an orchestra standing between the locks, opening and closing paddles and gates with gay abandon, speeding everything on there way.

We stopped at the bottom for a top up of water and then went to look for somewhere to stop. We didn't go far and moored up to the rings on the visitor moorings. Done for the day.