17.06.16
We had to hold out at an odd angle between moored boats at the top of the Napton flight, this a first in all the times we have done this stretch. It is extremely busy with summer traffic, all seeming to be going in our direction so that queues for locks are inevitable. The elderly gentleman tidying his roof plants on the moored boat next to where we joined the queue invited us to "hold alongside if you wish" which was charmingly polite, contrasting with the gypsy boat which then pushed on past, its owner apparently completely unaware we were waiting. I alerted him to this and he acknowledged us, then found a mooring further towards the lock gates as someone vacated the waterpoint. He and his little dog honoured the queue however and we went ahead of him. He and the other man could not have been more opposite characters but equally courteous and respecting of the unwritten rules of the waterways.
We only did 3 locks today. Moored up and walked down to The Folly, a favourite pub, where we had a drink in the garden sunshine. A gentle collie amused us with his stick game, dropping it and lying in wait for you to throw it, watching very carefully, eyes to you, then the stick. If you dared to put your hand towards it, it was snatched up. The only way of getting it from him was to kick it away first. It wasn't until we watched him play this with several people that we realised the first people we had seen him with were not his owners. We later found out he is the farmer's dog and is obviously part of the pub and towpath life. (We saw him again the following day up to the same game with a young boy by the lock.)
Again we thought the sunshine would last long enough to sit on the bank for a while, but were wrong as the rain fell once we were back on board.
We had to hold out at an odd angle between moored boats at the top of the Napton flight, this a first in all the times we have done this stretch. It is extremely busy with summer traffic, all seeming to be going in our direction so that queues for locks are inevitable. The elderly gentleman tidying his roof plants on the moored boat next to where we joined the queue invited us to "hold alongside if you wish" which was charmingly polite, contrasting with the gypsy boat which then pushed on past, its owner apparently completely unaware we were waiting. I alerted him to this and he acknowledged us, then found a mooring further towards the lock gates as someone vacated the waterpoint. He and his little dog honoured the queue however and we went ahead of him. He and the other man could not have been more opposite characters but equally courteous and respecting of the unwritten rules of the waterways.
We only did 3 locks today. Moored up and walked down to The Folly, a favourite pub, where we had a drink in the garden sunshine. A gentle collie amused us with his stick game, dropping it and lying in wait for you to throw it, watching very carefully, eyes to you, then the stick. If you dared to put your hand towards it, it was snatched up. The only way of getting it from him was to kick it away first. It wasn't until we watched him play this with several people that we realised the first people we had seen him with were not his owners. We later found out he is the farmer's dog and is obviously part of the pub and towpath life. (We saw him again the following day up to the same game with a young boy by the lock.)
Again we thought the sunshine would last long enough to sit on the bank for a while, but were wrong as the rain fell once we were back on board.
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