Monday 22^nd October 2018

We had a bit of a lay-in. Thanks Harvey.

After breakfast we walked to the tunnel entrance and carried on up the footpath towards Blisworth that the boat people would have followed when walking their horses over. Quite atmospheric when you think of all the kids, as young as 4 years, walking a horse over, on their own, in the middle of nowhere. It was a lovely day and we feel quite privileged to have so much different countryside to walk in every day. We found one of the tunnel ventilation shafts sitting in a field. A circular, brick built structure about 8 foot in diameter and 8-foot high.

     

We returned to the boat and Brenda cut my hair. She does it with me sitting on the coffee table on the rear deck with no shirt on. While I was sitting there waiting for Brenda to come out and start, a woman walked passed. Her face was a picture. Seen from her perspective, she would have only seen me from mid-chest upwards and she probably thought I was sitting there on my own, naked.

We then walked up to Stoke Breune Locks. Rightly or wrongly, Stoke Breune is portrayed as the stereo-typical canal village. It does have a lot of canal interest. The tunnel and double locks, lots of canal architecture and buildings that would have been built up for the canal, wharves, a pub, stables and workers houses.

The wharf building attached to the workers housing, houses the Stoke Breune Canal Museum, one of the things Stoke Breune is well-known for. This holds a collection of artefacts collected by the last, full-time lock keeper. At one time this was called the National Waterways Museum but, with both Gloucester and Ellesmere Port also, being given the name Waterways Museum, the idea was for all four sites together, making up the National Waterways Museum. Stoke Breune were not happy with that so, Stoke Breune went alone and is just named the Canal Museum and Gloucester and Ellesmere Port, the National Waterways Museum.

The museum was very interesting, much to see and take in, but we had to go in separately because of the dog. I was able to get in cheaper on an over-60’s concessionary ticket, but they managed to screw another £10 out of us because we both had coffee and a scone while the other was inside.

Sitting outside the museum, there was a constant flow of water coming out of a sluice at the canal bank. As the ground around the canal is higher than the ground around it, I couldn’t understand the flow. We had seen the same at the Buckby flight at Norton Junction. I asked the guy from the trip boat. Apparently, the water is pumped from the bottom of the flight to the top and is regulated from one lock full per hour to four depending on the amount of traffic.

One of the attached houses used to be occupied by Sister Mary Ward. Sister Mary was descended from a long line of people associated with the canal at Stoke Breune. Her grand-father, father and husband each ran the rope-works here. Sister Mary became justly well-known amongst canal people as, although never a trained nurse, she administered health, midwifery, social care and counselling amongst a section of society that rarely had access to this form of care. She was awarded an MBE in 1951, and her life was celebrated on “This is your Life” with Eamon Andrews in 1959. She died in 1972.

     

     

We walked up through the village, a small, pretty place with lots of thatched cottages. Unfortunately, the church was locked, always a shame when you find a country church locked.

In the evening we went to the Boat Inn for our dinner. It is a big place with an attached restaurant, but the original bars are tiny rooms. The “main” bar, above 15 feet square, was heaving with people. All either locals or people from permanently moored boats. A really good, friendly atmosphere. However, by 9pm the place was empty. Apparently, they have “happy hour” from 6 until 9. Generous people, having a happy hour that lasts for three.

The Boat Inn has been owned by the same family, the Woodward’s since 1877 and the present owner is the fifth generation. His grandfather’s ashes are buried in the floor below one of the paving slabs with a plaque “stand here and have a drink on Jack”, his last wish.

    

Weather: cooler but still a lovely day.