Starting Homewards

Well was that a long weekend? It certainly was a good break despite the on off weather. A friend emailed us to say that considering the recent weather our lifestyle choice was the right one! I am not so sure those marooned on the rivers would agree at the moment. It seems as if every river is on flood alert. I wonder how many holidays have been ruined. I suppose it is not so bad for those who live aboard on rivers or in marinas.

We watched Countryfile which showed the Oxford Canal off to advantage, it was great to see familiar countryside! Also some of the Historic Boat Rally at Braunston, including "President" and "Kildare" its butty.

We had coffee with Dot and Derek from Gypsy Rover this morning as they wandered down the tow path from Devizes Wharf to find us at the Black Horse pound. We had a good chat and enjoyed hearing about their plans for the next few weeks.

We then decided to lunch and watch the F1 Grand Prix in between the coming and going satellite signal. This variation was due to the wind, passing boats and the fact that we had our ropes so loose to counteract the up and down level of the pound, it is surprising what a difference this made. I suspect that the pound is shallow, however as we found out, it is easy to wind in.

All the locks back to Devizes Wharf were set against us and there were plenty of gongoozlers too. John brought her into Trust lock and then we swapped for the next two - he wanted the exercise! The blustery wind did not cause me too many problems and I was able to hang around in the pounds waiting for him to set the locks. I managed to keep the anglers fairly happy too I think!

The moorings at the Wharf tow path side are full, but we were lucky as there was a space actually on the wharf, where we moored a couple of weeks ago. Passing Derek on the 72 hour moorings we thanked him for keeping it for us! I shall go to work from here tomorrow and John will take the boat back to the marina. A new week begins. Keep reading as I shall upload photos of the weekend during the week.