Excitement at Crofton

Mooring at Crofton is very special - or at least we think so. I am not sure if it is unique on the system but there cannot be many places where the old and its nemesis, which caused the canals first demise, combine to such an effect.

We were fortunate to be here again when the pumping house was in steam and this just adds to the atmosphere. The knowledge that whilst it is in steam it is doing the job that it was built to do in 1807 - 9, namely pumping water to the top pound of the K & A. The electric pumps are switched off and one's imagination takes you back to the days when the canal was first built.

The years of the Industrial Revolution eventually led to the development of the railway in 1841. The thought of the sight of the steam from the pumping house chimney, the steam from the steam engines passing on the railway and the working boats carrying coal and Bath stone makes me wish I was here to to see it!

Some of the restored boats can be seen at Hatton soon.

At the meeting we attended with Robin Evans a serious proposal was made that the BW restored working boats should make a trip to Crofton loaded with coal for the engine. Now that would be good to see.

We knew that Network rail would be working on the railway that runs parallel to the Kennet and Avon canal at Crofton.
What we did not expect was to be woken at 3. 30 am to hear what sounded like an enormous aircraft and very loud frequent thumps! Looking out the porthole this is what we saw!



A very long goods train carrying ballast and a "machine" that was doing all the work supervised by men with powerful torches! It had travelled from Reading and was going to Pewsey laying the track ballast and new rails (we think!).

All the work continued during Sunday and we took the opportunity to visit the pumping station again. More of this tomorrow!

Wooton Rivers to Crofton

3.39mls, 2hrs 34mins, 8locks, 4.43lmph

It rained quite a bit in the night but it was dry by morning. We set off about 10 as we had 2 more locks to do in the Wootton Rivers flight and then the 6 down to Crofton.

Approaching Cadley Lock

We passed Burbage Wharf with just of the stump of the crane left, it is being restored at Claverton. (See Claverton Blog); quickly followed by Bruce Tunnel (502 yards). The towpath goes over the top of the tunnel so walkers have a bit of a climb. Bruce tunnel was named after Thomas Bruce, Earl of Aylesbury. It still has chains on the walls that were used to pull boats through.

About half a mile later the Crofton flight begins, just after the imposing remains of an old railway bridge either side of the canal. We stopped just before the winding hole to hold the boat whilst John set the Crofton Top Lock (55). All the locks down to Crofton should be left empty and have really leaky gates. Two of them have interesting names – Adopters lock (57) and Sam Farmer Lock (58).




After the next lock we moored briefly to have lunch and cast off just before two boats began to descend behind us. This meant that they had to wait for us, or slow down a bit. There was a fairly brisk wind blowing by this time but the sun was out and it was very pleasant.

There have been a lot of walkers today – some of them serious hikers by the looks of their gear and also one group who were orienteering. We only passed two boats coming up and that was not until Crofton lock where there was a BW man helping boats through. He was quite chatty and helpful and as there was another boat coming up we John was able to leave the gate open.

We moored right down near the next lock (Crofton Crossing Lock - 61). There were only two moorings left!

Looking back from our mooring towards lock 60 and the pumping station

John then dashed off the catch the bus at Bedwyn a couple of miles away to go back to Pewsey to bring the car here.

Bus via Marlborough

We plan to stay on the 48-hour moorings then perhaps wind and go up a lock so we can stay here until Thursday. I shall go to work from here as Marlborough is not too far and I only have to go into Devizes on Wednesday.

Since we have been moored the boat traffic has been heavy – maybe because Crofton Pumping House is in steam this weekend. I can smell the coal smoke from the chimney as it blows down the cut – a very nostalgic smell!

It has been a lovely evening and as I upload this the sun is setting, but not such a good sky as they had a Wimbledon in the last few moments of the Nadal/Kiefer match!

The Weekend Starts Here - Narrowboats and Locks

3.77mls, 1hrs 48mins, 2locks, 3.19lmph

This morning dawned with a little drizzle, but nothing too bad. John had an appointment to give blood in the early afternoon so I spent the morning doing a bit of cleaning and then sat down with my laptop to catch up on emails and blogs. John was busy on his laptop too!

By the time he returned from the “vampire” having donated his pint of blood the rain had cleared. So after a sit down we prepared to “pull the pins”. We finally set off about 5pm as the GPS laptop was not connecting to the Internet, so John had to fiddle a bit and I had to be patient!

We went down to the winding hole as we are cruising towards the Crofton flight. Past the Pewsey Boat Club moorings, the private Wharf moorings, the 48-hour moorings and the boats moored after these! We enjoy looking at all the boats so never mind slowing down to tick over past lines of moored boats! They are part of the canal scene, they can be appreciated and enjoyed and the variety of colours, styles and state of repair makes for interesting comparison and comments!

The last time we saw this boat it was down at Bathampton – last September.



The outside belies the beauty within? I am not sure if it is still for sale.

Leviathan was a former Birmingham Canal "joey" or day boat and belonged to the Kennet and Avon Canal Trust, who used her as a passenger steamboat. When the Trust sold her in 1976 the steam boiler was taken out and put in Nb President. I am sure those who worked her would be more than surprised to see inside her now!

We had an email alert that there was a tree down at Wootton Rivers and spotted it just before the lock. It was passable with care as I got off to do the lock.



Above Wootton Rivers Lock (51) there are some 24-hour moorings but unsurprisingly they were full. I suppose we could have asked one of the boats to move to share a ring with the boat behind, and then we could have got in. But we decided to go on as we had had a snack of jam and (Cornish) cream scone each to keep us going until a meal. I made the scones this morning!

We went up Heathy Close lock and I spotted a 125 stopped at lights.



There must have been a problem on the line as it was there for at least quarter of an hour. (There was - near Pewsey) We saw a convenient mooring just after the lock landing. It had piling so we could use our hooks rather than getting out the mallet and pins.

So here we are for the evening, a couple of boats ahead of us, the railway line to our starboard (but not too noisy) and the wind gently moving us around – lovely.

Final Bits And Pieces From Claverton

The Pump House at Claverton has a roof on it as you will have observed if you have been following my ramblings over the last few days.



I am sure like us you have seen other water wheels that were not roofed over. Apparently the local Lord of the Manor did not want his guests to have to look at the water wheel from his windows so ensured that the roof was built!

The Burbage Crane was dismantled at the end of last year.



The volunteers at Claverton are in the process of restoring it. This is a model of what it will look like when restored - on display at Claverton.



Also they have bits of the restoration on display in the pump house.

Below was a donation from the "Service of the Canal du Nivernais and the ACN" and is a gate opening mechanism from Vincellotes in France - Lock 74. A bit different to our systems!



Other memorabilia at Claverton include old railway and road signs, tools and other bits and pieces related to the canal.

I found it very interesting to read a couple of the accounts of memories of living by and operating the Pumping House written by children of the men in charge. I wish I had written them down but you will have to go and see for yourself. Being in charge was a dangerous work at times and if Elfin Safety was around then the Pump House would have closed!

That completes my "tour" of Claverton Pump House. I do have some videos to put up which I will do once we have a decent signal for uploading.

Tomorrow we are pulling the pins for the weekend so I will have more to blog about I hope!

More To See At Claverton Pumping House

One of the jokes we have heard about the Kennet and Avon (and I suppose it can be adapted for any canal) is that if BW get too many problems and cannot manage the upkeep of the canal they could always pull the plug in the bottom of the canal. It was only when we visited Claverton Pumping Station that we realised it is a joke founded on truth!

At one time there were many drain plugs along the length of the K & A known as "Nine Mile Pound" This is the length between the top lock at Bath and the lock at Bradford on Avon. It was divided into convenient sections by means of stop planks and each section had one of these.



Drain plugs, operated by a windlass and attached chain, were used where the canal was higher than the surrounding ground and the water would drain through a culvert into the river below.

Draining the canal for re puddling and maintenance was a common occurrence before the restoration. Now the pound is lined with plastic sheeting and concrete and sluice gates have replaced the plugs, draining into the old culverts. This seems less interesting somehow but maybe in years to come others will feel the same way about plastic and concrete!

Claverton Pumping House is set in a valley between the canal and the River Avon (unnavigable). On the wall by the pit and fly wheels are flood marks. The most recent ones are small brass plaques but the oldest one is carved in the wall, along with the traditional builders marks which dot the wall.

March 3 1842

The highest flood was in October 2000.

30 10 2000

As you can see from this photo that was well above the height of the water wheel.



So difficult to imagine and what a nightmare to clean up afterwards.

There is still more to see at Claverton so more to come from this blog in the next day or so!

Another Engineering Marvel - Claverton Pump House

There are only two ways to get to Claverton Pumping Station, by road or by canal. Both can be done under engine power and I suppose by shanks pony too!

We turned down Ferry Road - the road approach - a very narrow downhill lane. There were no parking spaces left all the way down to the railway crossing. Then it is a walk across the crossing to the entrance. It was interesting to note that because of the nature of the site it is definitely not "disabled friendly".

So failing to park we thought we would explore the other side of the valley to see if there was access via a foot path - no such luck. Having explored a very narrow road we finally asked a farmer who told us that there is no river crossing giving access. So we decided to park at Dundas Aqueduct where there is a car park for the Visitor Centre and walkers.

After a quick visit to the visitor centre for a "comfort break" and an ice cream we set off on the towpath towards Claverton - approximately three quarters of a mile. A gentle walk at my speed!

The basin at Dundas was busy and this lovely boat was moored there. She is owned by the Royal Crescent Hotel, Bath and can be booked for trips.

The Lady Sophina

On our way we saw a number of boats on the move and this was the scene at Millbrook swing bridge (179). There were a lot of cyclists too!


After this there are some permanent moorings which were very empty. Maybe boats were out or maybe it is a bit isolated from amenities etc? We arrived at Claverton Bridge (180) which is the Ferry Road bridge just as a hire boat was mooring on the 24 hour moorings there which are only a short stretch.

So we wandered down the road, across the railway line to the entrance.



As we went in we spoke to one of the volunteers there who said they had been very busy for which they were glad as they have to have 9 volunteers on site when it is a pumping day - for the Elf and Safety regulations!

We were lucky to have one of the long term volunteers give us a guided tour which made the place come alive. We were fascinated. This is the plan of the pumping station.

The water wheel is 24 feet wide and 17 feet in diameter

It has been restored now in Iroko wood as the original elm doesn't like the alternating wet and dry conditions that occur as the station is only active a few times a year.

The Pit wheel and Fly wheel

Both are 16 feet in diameter and the Fly wheel drives two cranks which are attached to the beams engines above. One end of each beam is in Watt Parallel linkage providing vertical motion to the lift pumps. These pumps lift 50 gallons of water via a pressure vessel (the green thing on the outside of the pumping house). 98,500 gallons per hour - some engineering!

More details are here.

More photos to come in the next day or so - and more about what you can see at Claverton Pump House!

Sunday Jaunt to Claverton

Today was forecast as a sunny day so we made plans to visit Claverton Pumping Station as it was a Pumping Day. We have passed by on the canal a couple of times but always on the wrong day!

It was built by John Rennie in 1813 and worked continuously until 1952, pumping water from the river Avon into the canal. The building, beams and water wheel lay derelict for 15 years and was restored in the late 60s and 70s and finally opened again in 1978.


As we are members of the Kennet and Avon Trust admission is free!

So we jumped in the car, taking a picnic lunch and made our way there via Bathampton. The George was as usual "heaving", we know the food is good there as we have eaten there in the past.



But this time we ate our picnic on a bench by the bridge (183) watching the boats go by!

Once again, as we did on our cruise down here in September, we espied The John Rennie (Bath Narrowboats Restaurant Boat) passing as we arrived! We waved to the helmsman who acknowledged us and as John recognised him we hope he recognised us!

After lunch we wandered under the bridge but resisted a coffee at the Coffee Boat moored there (second boat back) - it looked as if it too was popular!



So back through the bridge, back to the car and on to Claverton - an adventure in it's self as I shall blog about in the next few days. It will take time as John (who was "photographer of the day" took around 100 photos, including some videos and it will take me some time to sort them out before I put a selection up!

So please return to see my own personal Lord Lichfield's pictures!

Friends "Oop North" on The Rochdale

We have some friends who are on their summer cruise. At the moment they are making their way North having cruised the T & M, Shropie and Llangollen, experiencing the Anderton Lift and the River Weaver on their way.

How we envy them as we are looking forward to cruising areas they we have never been. We have done chunks of the T & M, a large part of the Shroppie including LLangollen (twice) and really enjoyed our cruise on the L & L, it is beautiful countryside for most of it's length.

Strangely - to some, but not to us, we are looking forward to the Midlands and the Northern canals with great anticipation. Until them we enjoy them vicariously through bloggers and friends.

However as this extract from them shows it can be quite a challenge!

"We're on the Rochdale Canal .......... in the middle of the Pennines. Next we're due to make our way to Hebden Bridge, then Sowerby Bridge over the next few days. But with an average of three (very difficult and hard to work locks) per mile, and with rain forecast; we might just sit tight for a few days before setting off.

The scenery is fantastic around here, and for all its challenges, this canal is well worth doing. The Yorkshire end is better than the Manchester end for obvious reasons, but the passage through Manchester and its outlying bandit country is a necessary evil that is made up for as soon as the canal starts to heave its way high up into the Pennines.

We've had some real problems with water shortages and with faulty infrastructure, but with ingenuity and experience (not to mention the standard boaters' toolkit of a mooring pin and a big hammer) we've managed to cope with most of the tests this canal has thrown at us."

For more information on the Rochdale canal click here. You will also find there are links to other Northern canals.

It is good to know that BW help out but we are reassured that all things are possible with a little patience, experience and brain power!

Vanity Publishing?!

Have any of you picked up your June copy of Towpath Talk? It is usually found at Canal side pubs, cafes, marinas and chandlerys etc.

If you have have you spotted my "contribution"! Sometimes one just has to put pen to paper, or to be more exact finger to keyboard! This is the second time I have been "published" - the last time it was in Canal Boat a few months ago.

John managed to change the diesel filters and one of the fan belts today. The fan belt was squeaking, as my Father used to say - we had a birdie in the engine! It took him quite a time as it was still new to him! However he did a good job and all seems fine now.

Short, but I hope sweet, blog tonight. Our signal is not brilliant - maybe the weather!

Bishops Cannings to Pewsey, Recycling Enroute

11.8miles, 2 swing bridges, 5 hours 12 minutes, 2.27 lm/hr

To continue…
After lunch on Sunday we set off towards Pewsey. The weather held until we got to All Cannings where we dropped off the rubbish and plastic and cardboard for recycling. The occupants of one narrowboat gave us a filthy look as we pulled away – not sure why. We did not moor and John just “hung around” but well behind them. We pulled away in our normal manner – slowly, so maybe they just didn’t like the look of us!

Our next stop was Honey Street – The Barge Inn has recycling facilities for glass and cans. So again that was a quick stop but nobody to upset there! We now have just the paper left, which I can do in Marlborough or Devizes sometime! Then the heavens opened and I went below to start the dinner!

The Enforcement Officer has been around – this boat does is not displaying a current license and may also be an “over stayer”.



Here is another photo of the poppy field near Woodborough Fields Bridge 122. Gorgeous!



Our penultimate stop was at Pewsey Wharf for water and the elsan, by now the rain had almost stopped. By the time we set off to Milkhouse winding hole it had stopped, the sun had come out and we had a lovely cruise up there, winded and came and back to our present mooring!

Pork Creole followed by Rhubarb Ginger Crunch completed the day and brought the weekend to a nice conclusion!

Today has been work for me as usual, the sun shone until I got home and now it is pelting down. The forecast for the week looks unsettled but lets hope for a good weekend again!

Evening At Bishops Cannings

Time to cruise back to base! What a wonderful 4 days we have really enjoyed it! Last night’s mooring was among the best we have had. We were a little back from the swing bridge - away from the landing and also the stand on the towpath! This was the view of the activity last evening from our bows!


John spent some of the evening trying to catch the swallows that were showing off their flying skills around the boat! He caught a couple of blurs! In the end he gave up and snapped this bee!



On the off side there is a small Caravan Club site and the caravaners often sit and watch the boats go by! There was a group from Norfolk there this time. However, it is not noisy and screened from the canal where we were moored.

John set of this morning to walk to church. I was looking forward to a quiet morning to myself but half an hour later he was back! The church website had not been updated with the service times and instead of 10.45 it started at 10.00! He has notified the vicar – by email of course!

After lunch we set off again……. More to come, It is Inspector Lynley time!

Farewells, Friends and Food

3.07 miles, 1 hour 20 mins, 2.29 lm/hr

This morning Nb Petroc left with it’s crew (Geoff, Gill, Emma,Ellie and Parga, also two friends another Geoff and Gill!). Parga is a chocolate lab as you can see!



We re-moored one space backwards (2nd boat back) and John chased after them to get a photo of them leaving the lock.

Gill was on the helm.

We then waited for our friends to arrive, nattering to our neighbouring boat owners who were livaboards from the Reading area.

With our good directions and with the help of Water Explorer Neil and Nella found us quite easily! If you click on Epiphany you can see exactly where we are!

After a coffee we wandered off to The Crown for lunch. The food was good and it was good to have their company for a couple of hours.

Once they had left us we decided to make the best of a sunny day so reversed to the winding hole, winded and set off towards Horton. John would like to go to church tomorrow morning so we are moored just before Bishops Cannings Swing Bridge (133). From here the church at Bishops Cannings is about a 10 – 15 minute walk away.

There is a lot of vegetation on the towpath side but we managed to find a good spot – must buy a bill hook like the one Geoff has soon! Am now blogging in the bow with the cratch cover up watching life go by on the towpath and through the bridge!

Fun Travellin To And In Devizes

9.94 miles, 4 hours 21 minutes, 2 swing bridges, 2.28 lm/hour

We left our mooring fairly early for us! It was a beautiful morning, a bit of a breeze and as promised a little cooler. We didn’t see another boat for ages!

The field before Woodborough Fields bridge (122) is full of poppies and a yellow flower we do not know the name of! Beautiful.



We carried on to Gibson’s at Honey Street for fuel – 95pence/litre, apparently the marina at Devizes is £1.05! Fortunately we were not completely empty so did not quite break the bank today!

Just past All Cannings a group of cyclists passed us, we managed to read their T-shirts – they were cycling for Cystic Fibrosis so we gave them a cheer!



This duck family chased us for a bit – did the mother have a visit from another drake?!



The Veg Patrol were out cutting and strimming the towpath – the bank needs it too me thinks!



Perhaps it was in honour of Robin Evans’ visit to Devizes this evening. More of that later!

The managed to avoid this family of swans though!



Yesterday and today we hit something underwater in bridge holes. Yesterday it was Bristow Bridge 115 and today it was Brickham Bridge 137. Both bridges that are a little remote from habitation so foreign objects can be thrown in without too much chance of being caught red handed. Some people! No damage to us though, fortunately.

So on to moor in Devizes. What a lot of boats. Were they here for Mr Evans’ meeting with “interested parties”? Was it Devizes Boat Club preparing fore their treasure hunt tomorrow? Maybe they were her for the twinning entertainment and market in the Market Square tomorrow or for another event in the Devizes Festival. Anyway there were no spaces. Good job we had friends who had already said we could breast up with them!




We received a warm welcome from Geoff and Gill and a really doggie welcome from Ellie! Petroc is off down the Devizes flight tomorrow with some guest crew and so we will pinch their spot!

We went to “meet” Mr Evans, and some of his staff at the meeting at the Bear Hotel. There were a few local boaters we recognised, representatives from hire companies and other boat businesses, notably Richard, John B and Tim from Bath Narrowboats and “Mr Sally Boats” from Bradford on Avon. The K & A Trust was represented and Parish Councils, as were trail boat owners, end of garden moorers and the Devizes Boat Club.

Questions to Mr Evans were wide ranging, including end of garden moorings, Cruiseway Status for the K & A, licence evaders, continuous moorers, decreasing visitor moorings, locking the K & A at night, lack of maintenance, slipways, funding and educational ideas for schools. It seems that BW has embarked on a 3 year plan to concentrate on continuous moorers and licence evaders on the K & A. This is the 1st year, and there are 2 data recorders recently employed to check and record boats who over stay 14 days and the distance they move. Apparently, this will give them solid data to take action where necessary through enforcement. They say they have invested heavily in this programme so time will tell!

I don’t think we personally learned anything new as we keep up to date via various websites, forums etc. However it was good to see BW challenged, hear Robin Evans hold his hands up to BW “mistakes” and lack of action. However we came away feeling that they are still scared of enforcing the rules, they are trying to prove they can be responsive to users, not everything is possible with funding as it is and that they are keen to work with the wider community that live on and around the canal. We will wait and see!

Cornishmen Afloat On The Kennet And Avon

1.99 miles, 1 hour 20 mins, 1,49 lock miles/hour

Yesterday Nb Petroc arrived at Pewsey. I wonder if Saint Petroc ever experienced an Epiphany! Well Nb Petroc’s crew now have, as they inspected our Epiphany! It was really good to see Gill and Geoff and Ellie!

John gave them lunch and then in the evening after drinks on Petroc we went to the Golden Swan at Wilcot for a meal.


It is to be recommended highly – very friendly proprietors, excellent homemade food and very reasonable price. Just moor at bridge 117 – Wilcot Bridge and walk south for about 100 yards! We didn’t see the one handed ghost though! We finished the evening with a nightcap at The Waterfront Bar. All in all a great evening – good company, Cornish reminiscences and good food can’t be beat!

Geoff and Gill left early this morning and this evening we followed in their wake! Although we have had rain today the evening turned out gorgeous – sunshine and warmth. We filled up with water at the Wharf and set off into the sunshine.

The trees are so green, there are lots of duck families and the canal was deserted! There are still lots of moored “long stayers” but wonder of wonders this boat has finally moved from All Cannings area to just before Wilcot!


As we went through the bridge a voice said, “how’s the boat going?” He was on this boat – note the intricate labour of love on the bow and below the gunnels.


“She’s a Bath Narrowboats boat isn’t she?” “Yes” we replied, “my sweatshirt is a dead give away!” I said, as I am wearing a BNB sweatshirt with the BNB logo on. I don’t think he could see that though. We think he knows Paul who is working P/T for Jon at the workshop in Sells Green – he lives on the cut and is working on a boat moored near here! Chinese whispers, grape vine whatever you want to call it is very alive on the cut!

We decided to moor at Wide Water, just before Lady’s Bridge (120). Here we are approaching Wide water this evening.


It is so peaceful and quiet here – a mini Tixall Wide! All we can hear is birds, we can see the birds in the trees, also fish, ducks, flies on the water and with the swan doors open we can watch the evening drawing in around us. Absolute bliss!

Change Of Direction And On Show!

Yesterday was a busy day for me - work wise. we held a strawberry tea party for our old folks and their volunteer visitors. It all went well but was hard work for a few of us! The trouble with working on a Saturday is it makes a short weekend. The compensation is I can have a day off in the week to add to my holiday entitlement!

It was a lovely evening and the day ended on a high as we had a short cruise! Very short - about quarter of a mile, down to the winding hole and back again! We turned the boat around as John is hoping to paint the black on the starboard side this week. We now face East, instead of West. He may also have a go at the handrails too.

Yet again today is a glorious one with plenty of sunshine - 26 degrees outside, 27 inside despite all the door, portholes and cratch being open! The wharf and towpath are very busy with plenty of gongoozlers. We are watching the tennis from Roland Garros and one passer by, admiring our boat said "they even have a better TV signal than I do at home!" It has now gone up to 27 degrees outside! I think Nadal will win the title as Federer is now "aging" and is not so good on clay. However he is still an amazing player.

Definitely salad weather this evening and I have made a scrumptious lemon tart for "afters" - a recipe that is tried and tested by one of my friends and is always a hit - yum! I think we will both avoid the scales for a few days!

From Mad Towns To Peaceful Canal

What loverly weather! Just right for cruising but, boo hoo, we had to stay put this weekend as we had to visit Swindon, work for me on Saturday and also for John on Sunday morning!

Swindon - Oh how we hate Swindon, I have yet to meet someone who doesn't! We were looking for Enterprise car hire to return the car I have been using whilst John was in Cornwall. Google maps route was hopeless and we had a very roundabout journey.

For those of you who know Swindon there is an unintended pun there! I lost count of how many we went around! Once we arrived we then had to find the Renault garage - again we got lost! However we got there on time and now have a new car key! These clever key cards are all very well until they give up the ghost.

So as a bit of light relief we decided to look for our friends on Nb Petroc. Guessing they might be at Great Bedwyn we drove there - no sign. There is a fabulous cottage just by the bridge over the canal, actually it must be more than one joined together.



A a passing boat told us he had seen Petroc at Hungerford this morning - so we set off a few miles down the road. Lo and behold look what we found opposite Hungerford Wharf,

on one of our favorite moorings!



Daft thing is if we had checked Gill's blog we would have known! No sign of life - again we would have known why if we had looked. We went for a wander anyway and had an ice cream sitting on the bench "watching over" Petroc.

Just as we were about to leave I saw Geoff coming over the bridge. Of course he didn't see us as he didn't expect us, but once we made ourselves known we received a wonderful welcome from him and Ellie. Ellie was so excited to have Geoff home, dentures intact! She also gave us a wonderful doggy welcome! Thanks for the tea and natter, Geoff, sorry to have missed Gill. To go to Bath they have to pass us soon!

John working on Sunday?! Yes he is "Vicaring" as a friend calls it! He is taking his first Sunday service since he retired - the local Vicar is on holiday. It will be like "getting back on a bike" I am sure.

This evening with all the windows, hatch and doors open it is very peaceful and we are enjoying the resident blackbird who sings his best song in the evening. A drink in The Waterfront Bar will complete a good day if I can drag John away from the cricket!

Hello Again!

I have been suffering from ISAS!
I am now cured!
What is ISAS?
I suppose the clue is that I haven't blogged for ages and now I am. I doubt you have missed me much though!

Internet Separation Anxiety Syndrome is something that John would feel more than me so I generously left him with the dongle when I returned home from our travels. He was then able to "dongle away" (sounds nasty or rude - sorry!) and keep up to date with all his interests.

Anyway we are now both reunited - John and I and so incidentally the Internet and I! If truth be told I haven't really missed it drastically. However it was good to catch up on other blogs this evening.

So after Crick we went to Oxfordshire - the nearest canal found us walking from Cropredy lock to Broadmoor lock on a fine Tuesday afternoon. Beautiful - all green from the rain and enough boats to keep our interest.

Then to the NW outskirts of London for a hospital appointment - all OK, "come back in 6 months" - yippee!

The final leg of our wanderings took us to Cornwall for an unexpected visit for a funeral. We had a fun journey as the A303 was flooded on Thursday evening - it was not traveling weather. Eventually we had to retrace our journey and go up to Taunton and down by the M5.

The clouds had a silver lining as we stayed with John's Mother and our son came down for a couple of days too. So a reunion and then a separation as Craig and I went our separate ways and left John in Cornwall.

Whilst there though we spent some time in Newquay and here are a couple of sea views! At least I am trying to keep to a water and boats theme.

A fishing boat picking up his lobster pots in Newquay Bay

Newquay Bay


The misty skyline of Newquay from St Michaels Church to Bank Street. Note one of 7 cranes in Newquay, building apartment blocks - they have "scat down" hotels for them!