A short trip north

At last the weather is fine and despite both being full of cold, we felt we needed to get out, so cast off early for the two hour cruise up to town. Here is the boat nearly ready to leave:

We had a lovely quiet trip up and the canal was peaceful, sunny and leafy:

 

 

There are some lovely open stretches too:

 



 

 

As we were coming into the city I was at the tiller and a lady was walking her dog along the tow path. She stopped and scanned boat as we slid by and as I came abreast of her she said 'That is stunning!' I felt very proud and thanked her and said that we thought so too! Our boat is very striking with the Osprey painting on the side which a good friend of mine did and it is lovely when people comment on it.

  

We arrived at the basin without incident and moored up close to the pub. It so happens that a boater friend of ours is moored next to us and we will probably fall into the pub later for a drink with her:

 



The only problem with being on the tow path,(apart from the mud), is the way people peer in at your windows as they walk past. Many boaters close their curtains on the tow path side and just leave the canal side curtains open, but I think this makes the boat too dark.

Anyway, it is great to be out and about and to spend a night on battery power rather than having the luxury of electric hook up . We are due to sail back to the marina tomorrow, because I have a lot of work to do in preparation for a work trip to Malaysia in November, but for now the fire is lit and we are warm, relaxed and cosy. It doesn't get much better!

Al :)