Barby (Stayed put because of the ice)

We expected the canal to be frozen on Wednesday and we were proved correct.

The darker patch of ice at the bottom is the water from Karen’s shower she had in the morning.  The water had frozen on the ice by the time I got up!  Oh, and we do have a blue roof really

Buddy and I took a walk into Hillmorton in the morning and didn’t see any boats on the move.  Not surprising really as the canal was iced over the entire way.  By lunchtime, parts were defrosting in the sun so I thought a boat may appear during the afternoon.

Sure enough, at about two o’clock, I could hear the distinctive sound of a boat breaking the ice as it came towards us.  Once he had passed a flurry of boats came through. I suspect they had all been waiting for someone to go first and take the most damage to their blacking.  In the end six boats went through and the ice soon dispersed into much smaller sections.

It can be deceptive though, because the ice sometimes drops to an inch or so below the water so you think the way is clear but then you realise you are still cutting through the ice.

By the time we got back from our afternoon walk all the frost had gone where it had been exposed to the sun during the day and it felt like it shouldn’t be such a cold night.

Doubly reflected sunset on Wednesday evening

My plan for Thursday is to carry on towards Hillmorton and spin the boat round at a convenient point to head back down to the Grand Union.  I suspect I’ll stop at Willoughby which is before Braunston but does have a good lay-by for Karen to park in.  The reason for turning back on ourselves is that we want to get back to Flecknoe for the weekend - Judith and Nigel are coming up to stay and it's a much better location than here at Barby where the M45 traffic can be heard constantly.

Karen had been in Manchester for the second time this week so when she got home we tried the Arnold Arms in Barby for our first time.  We have always given it a miss as it looks a bit plain and 1960s but has had good reviews recently and does take dogs.

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