6th July 2019- Long Itchington
So after a lovely day in the shade on one of the prettiest parts of the Grand Union we set of fo Long Itchington. There are quite a number of Locks to get through and I am keen to reduce the amount of work Wendy has to do to the absolute minimum. Unfortunately, she is still not confident enough driving the boat to take on getting in a out of locks, but that will come with time. So, I get us into the lock then clamber out (we are going up so I have to climb out of the lock when the boat is stable) and then close doors and wind up the gates.
We quickly learned that it is best to open the gate on the same side as the boat, otherwise the in-rushing water really can slam the boat to the opposite side and its impossible to prevent it with just the middle road. Being only two of us we cannot tie up the front and back. Anyway, a pretty slick system emerged as we tackled each of the locks.
Parts of the Grand Union are quite overgrown, especially as you approach Long Itchington, as you can see from this photo. We will stay here tonight and the next day and get a Sunday lunch at one of the many pubs.
Artful Dodger 