Weedon Revisited
January 16th
While we were in Stoke Bruerne Diane
spotted what looked like BnB “apartments” along the canal. She mentioned to me
how nice it would be to rent one for the night and have a proper shower and a
bed where one is not pressed against the wall or having your knees, nose and
chin dangling off the edge. I mentioned
that suggestion to David so when we arrived in Weedon, he researched where we
might stay.
The first Pub/Motel where we inquired had
no rooms available. We walked down to a very large hotel complex and again, no
room at the inn. We sadly accepted the disappointment and thought we would try
again in the next village. We all felt we deserved some pampering.
On the tow path, David struck up a conversation
with a woman walking her dog and Diane asked her if she had any accommodation recommendations,
she told us about The Vicarage which was in the next village only about 2 miles
away. She called the proprietor who she knew quite well right there and then and handed her phone over to Diane. Reservations were made for two rooms, and Diane even arranged for the proprietor to pick us
up after lunch. Sweet!
After a generous and scrumptious lunch at The Crossroads, Trisha
picked us up baggage and all. Trisha and her husband, Jerry, had purchased the
property about 5 years ago and it is still a major work in progress. It was originally a farm house and then the local church Vicarage and then had
been the home for over 40 years for a group called Jesus Army. They used it as a
kind of commune or "cult headquarters". Trisha and Jerry wound up with 13,000 sq.
feet of mainly unlivable space with 11 non-working bathrooms.
We stayed in two lovely rooms in the
renovated stable. Just being able to run the hot water in the shower for as
long as you wanted to get the mud and coal dust off was reward enough. Trisha
and Jerry invited us for wine in the early evening and we were taken for a tour
of their “Winchester Mystery House” home. Much had been completed but oh, so
much more was left to do! I was overwhelmed by the projects that they faced,
and I wasn’t even responsible for them. The property had not been treated well nor
cared for, so the neglect had taken its toll.
The Vicarage was at one time the residence
of the Vicar of the local church and considered an historical building. The owners
are constantly doing battle with a governmental employee whose job is to
preserve the historical architectural integrity of the house, but her requests
are sometimes deemed unfeasible and unreasonable by the owners. It is sometimes
a battle of wills. It is a definite
money pit but a labor of love. We wish them all the best in their quest. It
would be fun to return in 5 years to see the progress made in that time. They
have big dreams.
They have a neighboring house called The
Flore House which is a magnificent mansion. Events such as weddings are held there,
and it is also a BnB. At the time of the Vicar, special permission was granted to
him to cross their property as a short cut to the church, this grant was later upheld in court. Today the path is cut
off and apparently, an ongoing revelry between these two
properties dating back to the Vicar days, is still alive and well. Jerry has
made complaints about the noise level during celebrations there. He called them his “bad neighbors”.
We went for a walk the next morning to the church and passed by the impressive Flore House. It is definitely an upscale accommodation. The Vicarage has great potential, but it will be a long road to completion. Thank goodness there are people in the world that appreciate history and want to preserve it.
We did some grocery shopping and then
headed out traveling 4 hours through 7 locks along the way to reach the
Leicester Arm of the Grand Union Canal. This continues to be all new territory
for Dave and me. It is a beautiful canal with miles of farms and meadows. The green rolling hills disappear into the horizon.
Dave is really good at researching places to eat, and he was determined to stop near Waterford Gap to dine at 70 ONE, a Bangladesh restaurant in the middle of nowhere. The website said it was open at 4:00 so we arrived very close to that hour. We found the doors locked, and we were standing outside when a gentleman opened the door to talk with us. We explained that we understood from their website that the restaurant opened at 4:00, but he informed us that on Sunday, it opened at 5:00. It was quite brisk standing outside so we asked if we could just sit inside until 5:00. He left to phone his manager. It a very short time, he invited us in and straight to a table.
The staff was so very gracious and
explained the menu to us making several recommendations. It was a non-alcohol establishment
so we ordered hot chai drinks that hit the spot. We asked about the significance of the name
and were told that Bangladesh won its independence in 1971. It had only been
open since November and they do all their promos on social media. They have
guests travel from London which is about an hour and a half drive.
We
were sitting in a large dining area and there was another larger room across
the way. Our waiter said that it was fully booked for the evening and that it be would be quite busy by 8:00. As we were leaving in our muddy boots and jeans,
very well-dressed families were arriving. Our host was probably gratified to
have us exit just in time for the arrival of his more sophisticated guests.
The food was a delicious discovery of
unusual dishes and explosions of flavor. We were so struck how welcome we were
made to feel and how attentive everyone was to our needs. We certainly want to
stop there again on our way back to the Oxford Canal. It was a fabulous find.
We tackled the Watford Locks Staircase along the way. You cannot go through them without a lock keeper's assistance and there are certain times the locks are open. It was the first time I saw a red painted paddle and we were instructed to open the red paddle first. "Red before white, all will be right. White before red, you'll wish you were dead." A catchy little ditty to help remember. The lock keepers left all the muscle work to Diane and me even though they admitted to having only 4 boats go through that day. Apparently, their purpose is to instruct not to demonstrate over and over again. Darn.
We moored far away from a town or pub last night so had an olive fest and chicken dinner on our boat. We have very friendly neighbors so invited them to join us. We also played a couple of games of cribbage. It can be a strange game for some, but Mike and Diane caught on quickly. We mixed up the couples for teams. We are 1-1.
The temperatures dropped dramatically overnight, and we woke up to an icy 21F. The canal was once again iced over. After discussing our options, we pushed onward. The engine on The Duchess was giving Mike trouble yesterday. It cut out twice in the locks at very inopportune times. Because of this, we had him lead the way in case anything should happen. He was our ice breaker. The ice was about ¼” to ½” thick. We made loud crunching noises as we pressed on. Snap, Crackle, Pop!
Broken ice along the canal
We were headed for Welford and before reaching the junction to turn, David checked to make sure the lock just before the town was operating. It was not. We had to quickly change course and continue on the Leicester Arm toward Foxton hoping to stop along the way for the night and a pub meal. We did choose to pull over to warm up about two hours into our journey. Our toes and hands were icicles. I was happy to call it a day settling into the warmth of the boat and pondering the idea of a long winter’s nap, but was convinced that moving on was the best choice. Our plan is to find moorage just after the Foxton Locks. Fingers crossed.
I stayed in the boat to work on my blog while David drove us along. We went through another tunnel which was a strange sensation with darkness all around except for my computer screen. I don’t like David to be alone on the stern so will join him as soon as I layer on the clothes.
Mike trying out his drone
I had camera battery malfunctions yesterday so did not get some of the photos I hoped to get. Luckily, we will be passing through the same areas on our way down the canal. Next time I will be sure to plug in the battery charger!
Boat Names:
Idyll Time
Going Nowhere
Comfortably Numb
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