Did e know that today be talk like a Pirate day! It also be the celebratin' of our courtin'. 41 years o' it. So we had a very special day. It started with scrambled eggs, smoked salmon and champagne and finished a few hours and a few adventures later with this:

A shared pudding.

After settling down at Braunston overnight the canal this morning was like the M1. We joined a convoy of boats after our relaxed breakfast who were all heading for the flight of 5 locks and then into the mile long, 2-way tunnel. 

As we queued up to enter the first lock there was suddenly a roar of engine noise from a nearby field and rising from behind a tree right in front of us appeared an Air Ambulance flying backwards. Never found out why, but it was in a hurry to leave. We hope whoever was on board is now on the mend.

Air Ambulance lifting off backwards.

It took quite some time to rise through the flight but we accompanied another Sea Otter and went through 2 by 2. We had not seen another Sea Otter all the time we had been out but now as we queued at lock 3 we spotted Sea Otter number 3.

 3 Sea Otters together. Green 'Little Jem' is just ahead of Tempranillo with 'Maggie' just emerged from the lock.

Side by side through the locks.

Sue had an easier day today as two guys from Little Jem worked the locks most of the time.

I was a bit more confident in entering the tunnel this time than on the outward journey which was just as well because we met three coming the other way. My main fear was meeting an oncoming boat at 'the kink'. (see Thursday 5th Sept.) One of the approaching boats had a tunnel light so bright I was convinced it was the sun shining in at the end of the tunnel. So it came as a bit of a shock when the 'sun' suddenly got closer quicker than expected.

Believe it or not, two boats can pass in this tunnel.

By the time we had negotiated all the locks and Braunston Tunnel it was lunchtime. As it was our anniversary we were looking for somewhere to enjoy a long lunch. The waterways guide book showed The White Horse Inn at Welton as having a restaurant open all day so we decided that was the place to be. It was 3/4 mile walk from the canal so I tried to telephone to confirm the information contained in our book but was not able to connect. We decided we needed the exercise so off we set. It turned out to be at the top of a hill in a delightful village and we were well hungry and ready for a drink by the time we arrived.

Disaster! The pub had just been taken over by new owners and was not serving food yet. However the new landlady could not have been more helpful and sympathetic after our mountain climb. Sue discovered a new local cider. Vale of Welton, Poachers English Cider made using apples from an orchard just up the road from the village. It says 5.5 % but the way Sue 'rolled' down the hill back to the canal, I would say it was a little more potent than the label suggested! 

The landlady very kindly insisted that we have a bottle on the house as compensation for our wasted walk and directed us to another pub that definitely was serving food all day. We had to pass Tempranillo on the way and the open bottle of bubbly from breakfast was enticing us. So we stopped off for a 'rest'.

Later that evening after another couple of long walks, too much food, more alcohol, a large pudding (see top of page) we arrived back at Tempranillo to settle down for the night.