Milton Keynes

A wonderfully sunny and warm morning heralded another fruitful "counselling" session prior to tackling a double lock without problem. We seem to have perfected our double lock routine, the two way radio's playing a significant part in avoiding frustration and anger. The day's locks were generally isolated and on their own, but also well spaced to allow physical recovery, with the exception of "three locks" ( the name says it all ) where we had the assistance of a whole posse of CART lock keepers to assist. The oddest lock ever encountered on British canal's can be found at Fenny Stratford, but having encountered it before posed no major problem. It is a strange combination of a very shallow lock and a swing bridge which both have to be operated simultaneously. Fortunately it is on a very quiet road so there is no pressure to operate it quickly. For first timers a CART lock keeper would be a useful addition. We were lucky meeting a seasoned boater on our first encounter, but having a pub terrace overlooking it must be a gongoozler's delight.

Attempting to avoid mooring in the less salubrious area of Milton Keynes we ended up at the same spot as last time, near a golf course and "Gullivers Land",where we had a very peaceful night.