I know I have only been posting once a week (and sometimes less) but I have now had my knuckles wrapped for not keeping the blog up to date twice so thought I'd try to do better. Funnily enough both parties chiding me have had police connections so perhaps I'd better do as I'm told!
We have completed our journey to Warwick and arrived here today (Wednesday) around lunchtime. We have had a great couple of days coming down the Grand Union and through all the locks and have met some great boaters.
Yesterday we came down 15 Stockton locks with NB Lysander, Cathy, Nigel and their daughter Helen. It was great to have the help especially as Helen was a very fit young lady who was running between locks to get them set up for us. It was also quite a coincidence as Cathy and Nigel had recently purchased their boat, an Aqualine (the same make as our old boat) from New and Used Boat Co (where we bought ours) and are mooring it at Blisworth (where our old boat was moored). We said goodbye to them after these 15 locks as they were travelling on but caught up with them again at the moorings outside Tesco today and then again when they had stopped for water at the Cape of Good Hope - (not that one!)
They were then going to attack the Hatton flight so we wished them well and we are now moored on the Saltisford Arm in Warwick. This arm has been restored by volunteers over the last 25 years and is now run by a trust. We are about 10 minutes walk from the centre of Warwick so plan to spend 5 or 6 nights here to explore the town and stay for the weekend celebrations they have planned. A bit of a holiday before we set off back to our home marina.
Hello Sarah and David (I hope I have remembered your names correctly!) We have been home nearly two weeks now so I thought it was time to find your blog and say 'Hello' - particularly since we bullied you into updating it :-)
ReplyDeleteThe rest of our trip after was most enjoyable and although the weather was not as balmy as during the first week, we got really wet only once. Hatton flight was a challenge but we had 'company' which was something of a mixed blessing, and made it in just under three hours which we were pretty pleased with. We said 'Goodbye' to Helen in Birmingham as she wobbled off down the towpath with far too many bags, to New Street station to catch a train home and then go back to work. I picked lots of brambles, elderberries and crabapples on the last day before we got back to Blisworth and have been making various jellies and chutneys ever since.
It was great to meet you both and thank you very much for all your help and advice. I hope we run into you again one day (not literally!)
My lunch break is over now so will sign off and read the rest of you blog later.
Best wishes from Cathy, Nigel and Helen of nb Lysander
Hi Cathy, how lovely to hear from you and to know that your trip around the ring went well. I can picture Helen on her bike, plus the bags!
DeleteThe berries this year have been amazing, so heavy that the branches were really weighed down, I expect you had good gatherings.
Ben, our eldest son, and his wife Jenny joined us for the last weekend before we returned to Yelvertoft. They joined us at Braunston and came with us to the marina. Great to have a crew for the locks.
We hope to be going south next year. Depending on the Spring, will we freeze or fry? Hope to set off in early April, returning end of October.
Back home now and getting to grips with the old bricks and mortar, strange feeling!
Stay in touch, it's great to hear from you.
Best wishes to you all from Sarah, David joins in as well.