Our night at The Globe was largely peaceful except for the wildlife. At around 4 o'clock in the morning we woke to the "tu-whit-tu-wu" of an owl followed a few minutes later by a series of very loud unearthly shrieks. We couldn't identify it but searching on the web for sound clips of animal calls it appears to have been a fox.
We stopped at Tescos at Leighton Buzzard for supplies and water. It was quiet with no other visiting boats. The Wyvern Shipping hire fleet was nearly all back at their base and moored three deep across the cut. The ducks at Leighton appear to have multiplied enormously. It was bank to bank ducks outside Tescos, presumably because they get regularly fed by shoppers.
Ducks galore!
A new canalside business
Grove Lock was interesting. We photographed the silly inn sign that shows a traditional boat with twin exhausts(!) and a leaky lock, but then realised that just above the inn a new marina is being built. Unusually, it appears to be a lay-bay and not a basin. Part of it was in water.
Pub sign at Grove Lock, Leighton Buzzard
New Marina at Grove Lock
As we passed Church and Horton Locks we saw NBs Imagine and Soupdragon whom we accompanied on our Tideway Thames journey in 2007. Unfortunately, both boats had no crew on board so we couldn't say hello.
Some great traditional style signwriting
Near Pitstone and Marsworth we found there were lots of sweet damsons in the hedgerows. We managed to moor up at Marsworth by the Red Lion by a tree of damsons and picked some to stew for a pudding.
Damsons from the hedgerow
Our friends from Sheffield, the Winters, managed to join us, but not before they took an intersting tour of Bedfordshire by night. The fish and chips we had at the Red Lion were very welcome and delicious and Steve's London Pride was very tasty. Today we tackle the Aylesbury Arm.
