We left our moorings at Islip and headed upstream towards Northampton. The weather was bright, and the wind lower than yesterday, but clouds and colder weather were forecast. Close to Woodford lock we saw the local hunt out complete with hounds. As we were about to leave the lock NB Yarwood approached. We had a chat and decided not double up at the next lock because they had already agreed to share with a following crew. They did however help close the guillotine gate and gave us a useful tip - you can use a screwdriver to as a temporary handle, replacing those long since removed on spurious health and safety grounds.
Manually-operated guillotine lock
We haven't met many boats on the move but today at two locks we met boats going downstream. One when we unfortunately had already dropped the water, but the other luckily just as we were about to leave the lock.
As the day progressed, as predicted, the clouds rolled over and the temperature dropped. Close to Irthlingborough an aerobatic team were on a training flight, I had to be careful not to be distracted.
We moored up at the "Rushden & Diamonds" moorings again and had a late lunch. This was followed by a walk into Irthlingborough. It doesn't have the charms of Thrapston. We also had to walk past the disused Nene Valley stadium which reinforced our gloom about what used to be superb moorings. Having said that, the view across the nature reserve is attractive and there is plenty of room for boats.
