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Where East meets West…. Midlands.

I can walk to Warwickshire and back again in about 8 minutes. The county-line is a stream that runs down the hill behind Braunston playing fields into the canal.

Braunston

Has a history as a boating town. It was once served by two railway lines. One station close to the marina in Wolfhamcote, and the other about a mile up the road in Willoughby.

It’s somewhere I’ve moored a few times over the years.

Facilities include:-

• 4 pubs. The Nelson, The Wheatsheef, The Plough, The Boat
• 3 Chandlers of sorts. Midlands Chandlers, Braunston Marina Chandlers, Tradline (rope and fender).
• Butcher.
• Post Office & Convenience store.
• Hairdresser.
• Fish and chip shop.
• Knick & knack and icecream shop.
• Broadband that works. At different speeds depending on where you moor up.
• and other numerous other small business concerns around the local environs.

Due to this, and it’s location on the convergence of the Oxford and the Grand Union main line make it a favorite stopover for boaters, even if it is just for one or two nights.

The stop house is the toll house for the canal in the area. It now houses a small canal museum.

Also, it’s home to the CRT East Midlands enforcement crew.

Last year I dropped in here and picked up a Cruising Record, a log of all the locations that the CRT had logged for my vessel.

Oxford Branch

Like on the underground Oxford Circus.

Not really though…

The thing that makes the most noise round here is crows.

There are lots of rabbits in the field opposite.

All I need is a shotgun, and I’d be entirely self-sufficient.

The double bridge above was commissioned by Thomas Telford in 1834.

Lost village of Wolfhamcote

Second deserted Northamptonshire settlement I’ve come across. The first being Muscott about 2 hours cruising down the canal. Like the settlement in Muscott, the previous villagers have up’ed sticks leaving nothing but the grand houses of the landowners and it’s occupants to reflect on what went wrong.

To be fair, Wolfhamcote has retained it’s church, now funded and maintained by the ‘Friends of Friendless Churches’ fund.

I walked through there the other night.

There ain’t a lot to see, but the signs of a previous settlement are obvious.

There are some other house, notably the farm house and it’s surrounding out-buildings.

Mandala bay

Or is it Mandalay Bay? Anyway, foreign thing I picked up in Nepal.

This is a 4,000 year old design penned in gold by a Buddhist master calligrapher over the course of 4-6 months.

There was a fair selection of this type of ascendancy depiction focused on the three states being.

In Buddhism, man exists in three states passing from the lowest, like an animal, to the highest, like god, with a ‘human’ state in between.

You can pick up Mandalas like this around the area called Durbar Square in Kathmandu. Kathmandu is the best place to buy Manadalas in Nepal. You will get the greatest selection at the best price, and you can pay with your credit card.

So many different designs and different styles to chose from.

I chose this one because I liked the colour. I liked the background. I liked the level of intricacy in the Buddhas.

I got it framed at Apple Frames in Daventry.

It cost me £100.

I dealt with a guy called Paul.

I would recommend them.

I did some previous posts on Braunston.

Here’s some pictures from them.