 |
| Our mooring for a couple
of days in Flecknoe – one of our favourites as no one else can moor near us and
we are in the sun all day |
After feeding Buddy
outside on Thursday morning I came in to make some coffee. Looking through the window I saw a cheeky,
young moorhen was pecking the grass outside the boat. I say cheeky because Buddy can only have been
a few feet away but too engrossed in his food to bother it.
 |
| Cheeky young moorhen |
We had decided that if the
weather was going to be okay, we would go camping for the Bank Holiday weekend
with my sister, Judith, and Nigel. It
would give us a chance to catch up and also get away from what would probably
be a busy time on the canal. We had never been away as just the four of us
without children before – apparently they feared for our livers! I had found
what looked like a good campsite about four miles from Ludlow. It was on a farm and the farmer’s wife told
me that, as well as having some brilliant walks, they were too far from a pub
so rowdy campers never used the site.
Mind you it didn’t stop us walking to pubs.
 |
| It really was a lovely
camp site – our view from the tent in the morning with the mist in the valley |
We had a good long walk
each day even though we kept getting rained on. I seemed to get the job of
going first because I had Buddy. It
meant I took the brunt of the wet leaves etc. and caught all the cobwebs.
 |
| Trailblazing in the rain |
 |
| Bemused sheepwatching us walk through their field |
In the middle of our
Sunday walk we ended up at a place called Richards Castle and the sun came out
in time for lunch and also most of the rest of the afternoon.
 |
| Deserved pints in the pub
garden in the sun |
As we walked through the
village I came across a Victorian post box and took some pictures in case it
hadn’t been recorded on the waymarking site.
It was a late example manufactured by WT Allen of London who made the
boxes between 1881 and 1901. When we got
home on Monday I checked and it hadn’t been recorded so I submitted my photos
and report.
 |
| The box showing it is
still in use and the Victoria Reign (VR) inscription |
 |
| The general location of
the box |
It was raining when we
packed up on Monday morning so it meant that we would have to dry everything
out when we got back to the boat. The
sun was out in the afternoon with quite a breeze so we managed to dry
everything in one day.
 |
| Towpath strewn with
some of the camping paraphernalia |
As it was Monday it meant
our two weeks mooring at Tomlow were up and I would have to move the boat on
Tuesday. The time had come to start
heading north in more earnest so we could arrive when the new boat was due to
complete. It meant we had to turn round
first and the next winding hole (turning point) was down a flight of 11 locks
which meant we would have to do 22 locks before even starting on the
journey. Near where we were moored is a
small private arm used by a company that trains helmsmen and sometimes the
entrance is not chained off overnight. I
walked down to the arm to check and fortunately the chain was off so we set
off. We winded successfully and headed
back to the same mooring so I could start the journey on Tuesday.
When we were winding we
saw our friend Craig and his eldest son chatting to some other boaters so we
stopped for a quick chat with them. Once
we were moored up again we had yet another towpath barbecue as it had turned
out to be a glorious evening.
Buddy is so silly as he
won’t go into the boat on his own and stay there if we are still outside
however much he wants to go to bed. He
is frightened on missing out on something and has to be extremely tired to stay
inside on his bed on his own.
 |
| Buddy imploring Karen to
come into the boat as it was way past his bedtime |
Tuesday was yet another
fine day so I got a couple of loads of washing done and then Buddy and I set
out on a cruise. It was fairly quiet and
we went up the three Calcutt locks on our own.
Well, there were people coming down the top lock when we got there so
they left a gate open for us and I did the same thing for them as we left the
middle lock. I then noticed that they
were opening the second bottom gate for me and I could not get them to realise
there was only one boat so would only need one gate open. It wasn’t worth getting upset about as it was
the last lock and it only meant walking round the other side to close it. It was strange, however, as when we passed
they said they thought I had two boats so would need both gates open!
 |
| Coming up Calcutt Top lock |
 |
| Taking on water with
another boat breasted up with us waiting for us to finish |
Whilst taking on water I
made my salad for lunch so I could eat it on the move. I may have mentioned before but we have salad
and fruit salad for lunch every day during the week and I always make the same
for Karen to take to work. Anyway, I had
lost track of time and started eating mine at 11.30 – I had thought it was
about one in the afternoon.
We made our way a few
miles to Flecknoe as it is one of our favourite places (see picture at the
top). The canal side is very overgrown
around these parts and I have to go especially slowly when on the non-towpath
side as Karen wouldn’t be happy if any of her plants were knocked off by
overhanging branches.
 |
| A blind bend – very popular
on this stretch of canal |
On Wednesday, Tim was
geared up to fit the solar panels on the new boat so Buddy and I dropped Karen
off at work at six and headed up north in the car.
 |
| Tim fitting the solar
panels |
The painting is
practically finished and the masking tape removed from the windows and coach
lines so it is now looking quite smart.
 |
| Looking from the front |
We are going to call her
Chalkhill Blue II and need to decide the font and font size to use and also
whether to have some small butterflies with the name in the name panel. We will ask our most arty daughter, Jo, for
her opinion. The font and size we chose
for the name on the current boat were too small in retrospect.
 |
| The name panel waiting for
Jo’s input |
We will also have a large
butterfly on each side as now and probably a few smaller ones too. It will now be full steam ahead for the fit
out now the painting is finished. The
ceilings have already gone up.
 |
| Ceilings are being installed |
 |
| Wooden formers for the
portholes |
 |
| Bookcase being prepared in
the carpenter’s workshop |
I would hope the inside
looks quite different the next time we visit.
No comments:
Post a Comment