Grand Union IV

The fourth stretch of our Welton to London walk begins with one of those adverts that appear regularly on narrow boats moored alongside the towpath.
A 'what'?  Clue below the price: answer at the end of this post.

One of the great joys of  boats on a canal is in their names and in the humour of the owners.




For example, I thought I hadn't left home when I read this:


and here is a slightly more elegant take on the same theme.






  Here is boating bliss of a different kind: his wife is the gardener according to him which probably accounts for his happy face and the garden!







As you may remember from previous walks, animals are in abundance along canals and it is almost a requirement to stop and talk to owners and their pets. In this picture of the other walker in this partnership the puzzle is to spot the cat while the walker discusses plants with the boat lady.
London seems a long way off under these circumstances!











We keep coming across the fractions. Today we saw these two but must have missed the one in between.

Gardens are important to narrow boats. Even the most humble of craft needs a flower or two, sometimes three, to brighten up the day.







But for real patriotic gardening you will have to go a long way to beat this

You do not need a fancy entrance: nothing more than an obvious way in that can lead to a garden designed for relaxation with a picnic table and a bottle of wine.


















Time for more animals. We saw these at the start of today's trek: look below the Range Rover!



Then of course there was the natural wildlife that had to give way to the lady driver; although I don't think the  one on the right would have moved.
Another puzzle to solve.





We walked through Northamptonshire; under the A5 at our start; over Bridge Street Aqueduct at Weedon Bec; under the A45 not far from our finish at Stowe Hill where we saw a Virgin coming out of the tunnel.

A5

Bridge Street Aqueduct

We even saw the English Test Team's transport,


 as well as passing close to Weedon Barracks, begun in 1803 as a refuge for George III should Napoleon have invaded England. If you have ever passed by Weedon at the junction of the A5 and the A45, you may well understand what an inspired choice it was as the last place Napoleon would have wished to visit.

photo by Stefan Czapski for Geograph website

Our destination  was The Narrow Boat at Weedon, or Stowe Hill to be exact on the A5, the garden of which is shown running down to the canal.

Only another 79miles 1¾ furlongs to go!