Tuesday 12/5 Braunston Tunnel to Oxford Canal

Braunston Tunnel, dug by candlelight using picks and shovels, was completed in 1797.

The tunnel is lined with 3 rows of bricks, which are covered with centuries of soot, and is 2042 yards long and 16 feet wide, though it is narrower in a couple of parts due to wall bulging. 

It took 22 mins to get through.

Once out of the tunnel (hardly time for a pee) are the Braunston Locks (had to jump off the boat with the mooring rope still doing up my jeans).  6 wide beam locks carry the canal down to Braunston. 2nd lock down the flight and Aqualife is descending into the lock.

The Admiral Nelson pub in the middle of the flight

We worked down through the locks on our own, however boats were coming up two at a time, so the first 5 locks were in our favour with the boats coming up leaving the gates open for Lawrence and Aqualife. Only the last lock was against us so my time and workload was cut at least by half.

Braunston was a major centre and junction in the cargo carrying days of the canal and unlike some other major junctions many of the historic buildings still exist. The old pumping station (1897) at the bottom of the locks. Used in times of water shortage to pump water back up to the top of the locks.

Looking backwards toward the bottom of the locks.

1st stop in Braunston was for a water fill.  Our plans for showering whilst filling the tank were foiled when another boat pulled up in front of us also wanting to fill up. So, only slightly grubby, we moved on and passed a free mooring in front of the Boathouse pub. One look at each other, and we went for it. Unfortunately the wind wasn't having any of that, and as Lawrence tried to reverse into the free space the wind blew our bow across the canal, normally a boaters embarrassment and a gongoozler's delight. But L., cool as a cucumber, threw the boat into forward, gave her some wellie, and hauled on the rudder and we slide smoothly into the free mooring across the canal as though that had been the plan all along. This manoeuvre made up for his little bungle in one of the pounds on the locks, when refusing a mooring rope he tried to hover and was blown across the pound into a close encounter with some willow trees. The first I knew was when a locker coming up said 'your husband likes trees then' in a very dry voice. 2nd mooring in Braunston achieved we retired across the canal to the pub, a quick lunch extended into a 2 hour lunch as we not only had a good view

They had excellent internet access so L. Caught up with the Australian news and the latest budget, or should the be non-budget? While I did the mornings blog.

At Braunston Junction we turned left down the Oxford Canal

1st little bit wasn't too inspiring, past lots of long term moorings, some of them Longer than others

Am going to try sending this now before it is finished