Northampton

After our adventures of Thursday we moved the short distance to the moorings at Cotton End, although these are hardly scenic with a housing estate overlooking them and the Carlsberg brewery visible through the trees they are surprisingly quiet. Possibly the fact that the housing appears to be slightly upmarket flats means that they are occupied by singles and childless couples, creating a more peaceful atmosphere than is usual when moored near estates.

I walked into the center of Northampton for shopping on Friday and found it very familiar after 28 years. Some of the shops have changed, but little else. The market still offers excellent value on fruit and vegetables. There are some shops closer, including a Netto supermarket and a retail park with B&Q and the usual electrical and furniture stores. I looked at possible moorings closer to the town but those at Beckett's Park are currently overlooked by construction work and the moorings I could see at Midsummer Meadow were only a short length, probably two narrowboats, and were already occupied.

It is difficult to consider sightseeing in a town you used to live in but I may be tempted to visit 78 Derngate on our return journey, the house interior was remodelled by Charles Rennie Mackintosh and I love his work.

We spent  most Friday and Saturday doing things around the boat, unfortunately the satellite dish needs to point directly at the flats and the aerial doesn't seem to have recovered from being dropped in the canal, so no TV. Which means we missed qualifying for the Australian Grand Prix. Hopefully we will find somewhere to moor before the re-run of the race on Sunday.

Yesterday's journey 1.7 miles and 1 lock.
So far we have travelled 58.8miles, 82 locks, 3 swing bridges, 1 lift bridge and 1 tunnel