Spent most of the morning buffing up the brass work in the engine room while the captain mumbled and grumbled her way through Safeguarding. I kept offering pertinent and useful comments from time to time but I don't think any of them ended up in the final report. I still don't know why.
Just after midday we set off towards Cosgrove.
Quite a few new houses alongside the canal since we were last here.
We got a good mooring opposite the Barley Mow. Just before everyone else decided that lunch at the pub was a good idea.
Managed to get a table in the garden, the last one going. We had the homemade chicken curry with locally made chutney. A tad hot for the captain but we got through it OK.
The row of cottages opposite the pub are all relatively new but blend in well with the older properties in the village.
To get back to the boat we have to go through the horse tunnel - you can see a boat on the canal above.
And a view looking back up the road but from the other side of the canal.
We set off after lunch intending to turn round just before the lock. However, just before the lock the canal was blocked by the fuel boat topping up one of the cruise boats, we were being followed closely by a hire boat and someone else was coming out of the lock at the same time. A bit of Piccadilly Circus and Keystone Cops. So I decided to go through the lock and turn round in the official winding hole. Unfortunately, the hire boat wanted to take on water just at the point where a day boat was waiting to come into the lock. So the hire boat went out first, the day boat came into the lock beside us, we nipped out, did a splendid turn round and back into the lock with the day boat but now pointing the other way.
This is one of the locks that still has the remains of the tracks used when loading and offloading the boats.
The bridge over the canal is, unusually, very ornate. There is no obvious reason for this style of bridge. On other parts of the canal it would have been to appease a reluctant landowner to allow the canal to be built.
Anyway, we retraced our route back past Thrupp Wharf and the Navigation Inn.
It was busy both times we passed. It's good to see the pubs being used again, also the care that they are taking to keep everyone safe.
We stopped in almost the same place as when we came up. Supper outside with us only coming inside just before 9 o'clock.
Oh, and here's a sunset from 2 nights ago that I forgot to post.
Sweet dreams.
.JPG)
No comments:
Post a Comment