Can I Cheer Everyone UP?

I am not sure I dare put this up as so many of our boat friends are struggling with floods, closures and lack of sleep due to this. There is now a stoppage on the Kennet and Avon Canal - between Colthrop lock and Midgham lock due to a breach. Boaters are advised not to navigate from Newbury lock E to the River Thames.

However maybe our Sunday will cheer everyone up.

After the awful rain of Friday and drizzle of Saturday, Sunday dawned fine and gradually became sunnier and sunnier. So much so that after the Grand Prix we “cut loose” and took Epiphany out on to the cut. Craig was due to return to Lancaster Sunday morning but due to the floods is stranded with us! See previous blog showing Banbury station. It was great to be able to get onto the canal, enjoy the sunshine and the countryside again. We turned towards Honey Street.

There were so many boats moored, more than we have seen before.
Craig and I sat in the bows and I snapped away happily on my camera. There were some lovely reflections of the sky

and we passed some crop circles too.


There were a few boats moving towards us, the vegetation on the canal has encroached even more so passing was fun. We passed the Bruce Trust’s “Hannah”, another wide boat and also “Compass Rose”.
Compass Rose was fitted out as a studio for an artist and was at Crick, just behind the Bath Narrowboats stand. She was built by Barn Owl. We managed to snatch a photo of some of her owner’s art.


We passed Dave and Angie on “Angels Payment” at Honey Street. An idea struck – to save us returning during dusk; On Monday morning Dave could give one of us a lift back to the marina to pick up the car as he travelled to work at Bath Narrowboats. So we winded and moored a little way from them.

John went back to say he will hitch a lift, bring the car back and then I can go to work at the Marlborough office as per my diary.

We had a wonderful hour or so, eating the roast beef and trimmings I had cooked. John and Craig ate al fresco in the cratch. I stayed below with swan doors open. To top the meal off we had strawberries and Cornish cream – Rodda's of course, nothing but the best, available from Morrisons thankfully!

John and Craig will take the boat back to the marina (probably) unless there is still no news of trains running to Lancaster, in which case who knows where they will end up. I hope they will let me know so I can return to the boat on Monday evening!