This morning is sunny but cold, so off we set and its a clear run of open countryside till we meet our first lock and then it is not to long till we reach the second,Grove lock with it pub right on the lock landing, a little bit of drama as my throttle controller, the thing that makes the boat go forward or reverse came off, so I had to switch the engine off, then I jumped onto the bank with the middle rope in hand and pulled the boat to a stop.Luckily it was only a screw that came loose so I tightened it up and we were back on our way.
We reached the outskirts of Leighton Buzzard, here we top up with water, and then paid a visit to Tescos for our weekend shopping.
We are on they move again and the canal enters the valley of Ouzel,and the canal now feels more like a river as it meander sharply,with steep hills rise on both sides as the canals continues its steady fall towards Bletchley.
We then reach Solbury three locks and luckily for us we meet up with the boat and crew from yesterday with so many willing hands these lock are easy and soon we are at the bottom of the flight were we moor up for the night
We pay a visit to the lock side pub, "the Three Locks" for a couple of shandies as we sit outside and watch other boats and there crews operate the locks. Old working boat people insisted the locks were haunted by a woman and her baby, and maybe on a still night you may hear the squeak of pram wheels as she walks by.
Also There is a public house in Soulbury called The Boot. Its pub sign features a boot of the Duke of Wellington, but the tradition of the Soulbury Boot is said to be much older than that. It is said that the Devil himself once came to the village, but the villagers came together to fight him off. One of them took his sword and cut off the Devil's foot and as it fell to the ground it turned to stone. The stone came to be known as the Soulbury Boot. This story is said by some to have been made up by a previous pub landlord in order to attract visitors.
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