The weather was not very good today, but we picked a gap in the drizzle to get down to the point just past the bridge nearest Bletchley Park where we could turn around. The was one lock, with a swing bridge across the middle of it, and a rise of only one foot, which Paula made short work of. There are not many places in the canal wide enough to turn a narrow boat around, and the one we were heading for was upon us before I was expecting it. I tried to turn the boat one way, and then noticed that if I messed up in that direction I would hit a swing bridge, so I went for the other direction. I did ram the bank on the other side from the swing bridge, which is OK, as narrowboats have big rope fenders front and back. With the bow firmly fixed against the far bank you can use the engine and rudder to bring you round, and I got us pointing more or less in the right direction. That was when the wind decided to intervene, and pushed us sideways into the bushes lining the bank. The boat was festooned with yellow blossom, which I thought was rather festive, but Paula hosed off as soon as we got back the lock at Fenny Stratford.

Anyhow, I was so excited at leaving the South behind (they talk funny here) and pointing the boat once more to the Midlands, that I went right past the bridge that would get us closest to Bletchley Park (BP). However, Paula was tracking us on Google maps and asked me where I was going. We moored in a nice wooded spot, only a little further from BP than we had planned. Drizzle and rain continued, so we are leaving BP till tomorrow. We went shopping this afternoon. Paula has been missing her power tools, so we bought a Black & Decker drill driver from Tesco, as well as two large umbrellas, and miscellaneous stuff for the boat.

Canal boat roofs get used as a combination garage and back yard. As well as TV arial and chimney, this one we went by has a herb garden, solar panel, firewood, life preserver, and storage units.

I saw one today that had a garden with three raised beds and a garden gnome presiding.