The June Rose: Thursday 8 and Friday 9 October 2015

After discovering our oil leak from the gear box on Wednesday we didn’t go anywhere on Thursday. We spoke to Richard the mechanic who was on holiday but said that we should drain the gearbox oil out of the gearbox and replace it with engine oil. We decided to call RCR – River and Canal Rescue as we have membership (it’s like the AA) and you are allowed four call outs in a year and we haven’t used them yet.

We were told somebody would be with us at 2pm and at 3pm they still hadn’t arrived so we phoned and were told another two hours – not a good first impression. Eventually Tom turned up at 5.30pm – really nice young chap who said straight away that this type of gearbox should always have engine oil in it rather than gearbox oil as it is what is recommended by the manufacturer! I should have married a mechanic!! He also said that if we had called them when we first had the problem they would have replaced the gearbox, drive plate and engine mounts all for just our £50 excess as we have replacement parts cover and have been members for longer than six months....that would have saved us just over £1,000! Live and learn.

So Friday morning we got going at 9.30am – beautiful crisp cold bright sunny morning. It’s funny to think that in April we went from Gayton Junction to Simpson in one day – it has taken us three and half days this time, well I suppose you can’t really count the one we spent standing still. The one thing that really struck us today was how many boats there are moored everywhere. Lots of people have been telling us, including the boatyard where we stopped for diesel the other day, that all the youngsters are buying boats from up North (because they are cheaper) and bringing them down to live on in London – it will be interesting to see if we can get moorings the nearer we get.

Having spent the last six months cruising we also now feel much happier about mooring in certain areas that we didn’t before, although we will still probably book into the marina on the Paddington Arm so we don’t have to stop in Acton or Camden etc.

We have passed through more lovely countryside today and there are lots of bits that we don’t remember! We have seen plenty of hire boats today – they start the weekend lets on a Friday afternoon. After we moored up in Linslade, just north of Leighton Buzzard we walked along the canal to the boatyard that we are booked into tomorrow and could see all the hire boats coming out with someone on each boat from the yard showing them how to moor, tie the boat up and operate the lock.

We are off to the Golf Club for the weekend as our friend Andrew is taking over as Captain this year and it is his drive-in and Captains Lunch so no blog until Monday!

The remains of St Peter's church (in the field just to the left of where we were moored.

View from bridge 75.

Bridge 75!

Great day for a balloon flight.

Friday morning sunrise.

Must be a bit cold for whoever is in the tent!

Setting off - the mist has almost cleared.

First of many herons seem today!

R.I.P.

All sorts of businesses are run from boats on the canals - this one offers tattoos and sign making!

Now there's a fine idea!

Haven't seen donkeys before!

My old friend Sarah Boydon - she is Sarah Thomas now and has lived in New Zealand for about 12 years - must send her a text today - we started infants school together.

We don't seem to be able to pass an emptying and filling station without stopping!!

I have seen so many pictures of this boat that I thought I knew it - I have been following their blog since we moved on board last September - they always seem to have just done the rivers/canals that we are on!