Aldi panic buying because of deaded lurgy!

OMG! Aldi’s carpark is full. WTF is going on!!!!

I managed to get a space only after going into the over-spill carpark, a place rarely ventured.

Today, it was full!

All the toilet roll had gone!

All the handwash had gone, (I got washing up liquid)!

All the pasta had gone.

All the tins of beans had been depleted, and my favorite biscuits had been greedily stockpiled, and not by me! No doubt I’ll see them on eBay in the next couple of days.

I’ve never seen it so busy. I usually go on Monday to avoid the crowds. Today it was chaos.

Here’s a picture of the car-park.

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Gayton in the Fields

Sort of between Gayton and Rothersthorpe in the wilds of the Northamptonshire countryside.

Covid?

Close to the Evergreens Equestrian center. No doubt they will be feeling the effects the covid virus in the course of time. Usually, there’s parties of kids who learn to ride the horses in the gymkhana behind the boat.

Can’t see demand being that high whilst the specter of DISEASE stalks the British isles.

There’s hosses in the field right opposite and canada geese and swans that overnight in the field next to the bridge.

Generally lot’s of wildlife around here, which I’ve noticed before.

Choice spots

I suppose this is one of my chosen spots on the way out toward my new home.

This year, I’ve decided to move. This time in a northerly direction. I won’t be taking in every mooring stop and doing 14 days in each, just the choice spots on the route between Blisworth and Rugby.

Choice spot no.1

Today, it’s the first choice spot. Gayton in the fields.

I moved here today at about 7am.

I’ve been here a few times.

There are low hedges, and fairly good broadband, parking. Very peaceful. About 1 mile from Gayton and a mile from Rothersthorpe.

Get’s sunshine all day. When there’s sun to be seen.

Good for painting as the bank is fairly low allowing you to access the sides and hull without problem.

Also, being a 45fter, I can push it round with poles here.
Ta-da!

Here’s a picture or two.

Bridge 45 Grand Union - Gayton
Evergreens equestrian center

The Bonnie Lady

I’m trying to get round to adding the name to the boat, but it’s taking a long time.

I did a bit of bevel painting around the stickers we added last year.

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Top 10 Advantages of winter mooring in a Marina

Top 10 advantages of winter mooring in a Marina, on a narrowboat on the Grand Union Northampton.

Yup.

That’s it for me. I’ve done my stint and from this Friday, (7th March), I’m back on the cut. Away from the protected environs of the marina and back out into the wilds.

Horray.!

Is it better to over-winter in a marina?

Here’s some of my positive and negative aspects of choosing one, or the other.

Advantages of the Marina over the Cut

  1. Electric. Easy and probably the only single reason I’d pick a marina over the cut is the electric.
    It’s in abundant supply, you can use as much as you want of it, and it doesn’t cost very much.
    Contrast this to starting of engines of one sort or another, it’s a greener and more pleasant way to spend those dark nights watching telly or using the computer.
  2. Post. All post is delivered to the marina office. Around Christmas, this is a massive thing allowing you to shop with alacrity.
  3. Parking. No more parking on the road, it’s all secure. Need your keys to get in and out and a short walk to the boat.
  4. Shelter. The boat is slightly more sheltered on the pontoons than areas you might be located on the cut.
  5. No mud. Serious business when you’re coming home from work or doing the shopping and got the towpath full of mud. Not so bad here on the GU, but down on the Kennet, there were definitely areas where the towpath was impassible.
  6. Personal care facilities. If you so wish, you can wash and ablute using the marina’s facilities.
  7. Shop/chandlers. To drop by and pick up things you may need in the future for the boat.
  8. Water-point/Elsan. Is right there! No fussing and planning trips to the waterpoint/elsan. Waterpoints are at the end of the pontoons, and the elsan is about 25yards away.
  9. No passing boats. I’m not one of those people that complains a lot about passing boats, but in certain circumstances, they can be detrimental in terms of noise or wake or collisions or all the above. This simply doesn’t happen in the marina.
    There are no speeding boats. Although the boats do speed around the marina, it has little or no impact on your boat.
  10. Deep charge batteries. For 4 months 24/7, your batteries will be receiving full charge courtesy of the marina hook-up.
    By the time you leave, they will have reached the maximum amount of charge that they can receive.
    From there on in, electrons in your battery electrolyte line up, so they’re all uniform, and ready for action!
    This can significantly improve the performance/life of your battery bank.
Gayton Junction, Grand Union
Gayton Junction, Grand Union

Advantages of the Cut over the Marina

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Gayton Marina

Moving from continuous cruising to a marina for winter mooring. That’s right! Escaping from the cold this year in Gayton Marina.

Due to adverse weather conditions, expected, I’m moving away from the Continuous Cruising this winter, onto the Marina.

It’s the first time for years… The last place I moored at was Barton-under-Needwood over three years ago, when I was fairly new to boating.

Barton Turns Marina

Barton turns marina
Barton turns marina

Was where I used to live.

I always got the impression that Burton was full of criminals.

The marina was alright. I went out a couple of times to the bar and had a few meals in the restaurants. I lived there for about three months from May until August maybe.

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Worst in 30 years…

So the forecasters are saying.

It’s certainly colder on average than it was 12 months ago.

Dodford

I’ve moved down to Weedon area.

Through the two sets of locks at Buckby and Welton which I did at the weekend.

My bike got a puncture whilst I was at Longdown Lane.

Expensive journey

This must have been my fifth puncture whilst in the Braunston area, and this particular time, it meant I had to catch a bus and a taxi to retrieve my car which I normally do on my bike.

Bus was £2.20. The taxi was £16.20. For a 4 mile journey. The meter was going faster than I’ve ever seen in a cab.

Jumped out about 1/2 a mile away, simply because the taxi driver didn’t understand where I wanted dropping and I wasn’t about to pay him £4 per mile for the privilege of me explaining.

Cycling to Weedon

It may seem like a small thing, but the towpath is a lot less wild.

You don’t get brambles in your face to the same extent as you do in Warwickshire.

It seems better maintained, which probably explains why Northamptonshire C.C. has no money.

I’ll be here for a little while as there are a few stops which are within the Weedon area.