Whittlesey final arrival - 4th May

And so my crew finally bring my royal barge to Whittlesey.

At Old Crown Lane my court pays homage and swears allegiance.

I can return home to the West Country confident that my kingdom is secure in the East

And so to Fotheringhay - May 2nd

My subjects come to greet me.

We moor for the night at Fotheringhay.  The natives appear to be friendly.

My loyal subject hear of my imminent arrival and journey out to greet me bearing gifts of chicken and sundry other goodies.

However I learn that Richard III was born in the castle here and Mary Queen of Scots stayed here and neither of them had a happy ending, so I move on quickly.......tricky business this monarchy game.....I realise I must be careful with my confidences.

Wildlife of the Nene

On down the Nene

One of the essentials on any voyage for a King and Captain is to observe and bark at wildlife from the rear deck.  I even saw a wild otter but the crew were too slow with the camera.

Northampton to Peterborough - 29th April to 3rd

Curiosities of the River Nene

The guillotine locks that are needed for flood control.  OK but slow if they come with an electric power hoist for the gate, but very hard work on the ones raised manually with a large hand wheel.

User friendly gates in the lock compound fencing.

And pedestrians carrying giant bananas.

Northampton beckons - 28th April

At Gayton the Northampton arm leaves the Grand Union and descends through 17 locks to join the River Nene at Northampton.

I find it very tiring supervising my unruly crew and need well earned rest.

Braunston to Northampton continued

Weedon Bec

In the early 1800s when Napolean was threatening to invade Britain the government decided to build a second line of defence should he be successful.  They chose Weedon Bec, a tiny village in Northamptonshire, to build a large arsenal and also a royal pavilion for King George III since the Grand Union Canal now linked direct to London.  A canal arm led off the main line entering the barracks through a porcullis.  Surprisingly much still remains to this day.  I hope that when an enemy invades our country suitable provision will be made for King Charles Spaniels comme moi.

Braunston to Northampton - 26/27/28 April

Leaving Braunston I hide out in the mile and a quarter long Braunston Tunnel, but my crew are scared of the dark and we hurry through in 20 minutes.

Norton Junction 

At Norton Junction the Leicester Arm leaves the Grand Union overlooked by the former toll house.  This was the base for many years of the Salvation Army's  Major Fred Fielding and his wife who ran the mission boats Salvo and Aster ministering to working boaters families in the 1950s.

We continue down the Grand Union.