We continued to head North along the Grand Union today, with a break not just for tea, but also for Paula to visit a thrift store. The goal for today was to escape Milton Keynes. Oh, I know, it presents a leafy enough face to the canal, but rising above the tree there are occasional glimpses of architectural atrocities make Barad-Dur look like an amusement park. Why does a factor need a fifty foot tall guard tower? Why is that tower block covered in antennae?

Anyhow, we made it. Across the canal from us now is a field of cows. Of course, soon after we turned up, they all got together in a group, and headed for the opposite corner of the field. I’m sure they are plotting something, but whatever it is, I doubt if it is as bad as Milton Keynes.

Usually roads go over the canal when the meet, but sometimes the canal goes over the road.

Sometimes the canal goes over rivers, as well.

I’d just like to point out that I can now steer along a narrow aquaduct and take pictures at the same time. Note the lack of any safety rail, so you can step off your boat and dive straight into the river forty feet below.

Interestingly, back when canal boats were horse drawn and the tow path crossed from one side of the canal to the other, sometimes horses had to cross under the canal.

The horse tunnel is cosy, less than six feet high, and about eighteen inches wide at the base.

I thought this boat was cool. There is a liftable mast and a leeboard, so that it can get under bridges on the canals, but turn into a sailboat on open water.

We have a minor drain leak under the sink. When I texted Clive to mention it and schedule a maintenance visit, he warned us that there is a broken lock gate on the Grand Union in the direction we were heading, so the canal has been closed.

I’m hoping they get it fixed soon or we may have to turn around and go back through Milton Keynes…