Don't worry Sue, we are also members of TUBA (Technically Unlicenced Boaters Association) despite personally presenting ourselves for a new Gold Licence on 22nd November at BW headquarters at the Grange in Watford. We were told that our application would be forwarded to Leeds and that our licence would take 15 days to issue, yeah right, it wasn't direct debited from our bank account until the 24th December and is still in the post so they say. As of today's date a total of 44 days and still no licence. However do they keep track of it all? Surely in this modern age of computers it should be easy to keep a database and follow it all through. Motor Registration can do it on the spot, why not British Waterways?
British Waterways ready to go tomorrow
This afternoon we made the most of another fine day and went for a walk back along the canal towards lock 20. All the boats in the pound below lock 15 have now gone leaving everything set ready for the closure tomorrow. On the way back we deviated off to where there had been an old clay quarry which had it's own brickworks that had supplied the bricks to build the locks and possibly the Blisworth tunnel. The site originally had its own connection with the canal and is now a nature reserve. A mole had been very active in the reserve and in his diggings we could see lots of brick chips. Prior to the locks and tunnel being built a tramway was used to transship freight up to Stoke Bruerne and then over the hill to Blisworth.
Site of Stoke Bruerne brickworks, now a nature reserve
877 locks, 1186 miles, 33 Tunnels, 40 swing bridges and 19 lift bridges since Nov 2006
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