Branston Water Park

This is Wednesday's post. Just as I was about to upload it last night the internet went down, must have been a cell out as it's working fine this morning.

This morning we took both dogs and walked into the village. I needed to call at the Post Office to collect last months mail that our friend Kath had forwarded to the post restante and call in at the butchers again to stock up the freezer. Charlie walks VERY slowly now and we’d hardly got half way when the heavens opened. We all got absolutely soaked! It stopped raining just after we’d finished lunch so we set off down the lock onto the river section, through Wychnor Lock and back onto the main canal. The sun shone and it turned into a lovely afternoon.

The rubbish disposal site has moved from Barton Turns Marina. The sign says it’s only 100 yards away but actually it’s one lock down and almost a mile further on. Typical of British Waterways!

Just before the Larfarge aggregate factory is a very narrow bridge that has obviously been struck by many boats in the past. It’s one of those bridges that you don’t really believe the boat will fit through, but it does.

Coming up Barton Turns lock was a hire boat who's crew had absolutely no idea how to operate the locks and had roped their boat up in the lock so tightly that as the water rose the boat started tipping over. Luckily we noticed what was happening and made them untie it before there was a disaster! They'd been told by the hire operators to stay away from the cill which is why they'd tied the boat up, but this only applies going DOWN the lock.

There must be a lot of  Polish people around here judging by this no fishing sign.

We’re now moored beside Branston Water Park which is an old gravel pit now inhabited by a rich variety of wildlife. So far we’ve seen swans, geese, mallards, coots, moor hens and an assortment of gulls. There’s a special swimming area for dogs marked out to keep them away from the wild fowl but as yet we haven’t seen any in the water.

The field opposite is full of Canada geese and their goslings, there must be over a hundred. This evening we’ve had some wonderful visits from the goslings. It seems the geese operate a type of ‘creche’ system with just a few adults looking after LOTS of little ones. They’ve swum up to the boat in a bunch, swam past in formation and even walked past in a long line. Just beautiful!