The Globe, Linslade at night
On Bank Holiday Monday we left The Globe and picked up our friends Ant & Jo Cross at the Three Locks at Soulbury for a trip through Milton Keynes. The weather was bright and sunny.
On one of the bends on the Jackdaw pound (above Soulbury) we had an incident with another boat. For the first time in fourteen years boating we actually collided with another boat. I was steering. On a bend, a boat appeared so I moved over to the right expecting the other boat to negotiate the corner and it simply didn't! It just went straight on. They gave no warning at all and failed to take any evasive action. Despite selecting hard astern our bow fender hit their bow quarter. No significant damage was done to either boat. One of their crew was in the bows throughout the incident but he gave no indication that they were in trouble until after the "bump" when he stated that they had lost steering in the shallows. I also suspect that when they realised that they were not going to make the bend they slowed down and lost even more steerage. They apologised and continued on their way. The annoying part of the incident was that it probably could have been avoided if they had given me any sort of warning.
The decent of the Three Locks was interesting with one pair of boats leaving a bottom paddle up whilst filling a lock, and some crews having difficulties with gates. We saw Lavinia Maud Too coming up the flight. Until recently this was moored at Kingfisher Marina.
Jo & Ant enjoyed their trip through Milton Keynes. For those who drive through the New City on a daily basis the view from the canal is a revelation. We moored up outside the Black Horse at Great Linford for the night and had dinner at the pub. Good to see it has reverted back to its original name.
The Mural, Wolverton
Detail from the mural
The next morning we had a short trip through Wolverton and Cosgrove home. Working boats Nuffield & Raymond were moored up by the new residential developments (Royal Train Sheds)in Wolverton. The low bright sunshine on Soloman's bridge at Cosgrove highlighted its detail.
Raymond at Wolverton
Solomon's Bridge, Cosgrove
