Out of the Black Hole

We've been stuck in an internet "black hole" for the past couple of weeks hence the lack of any blog posts. Our normal download speeds are around 5Mbps but in Barrow on Soar and Mountsorrel we were only getting a measly 0.17Mbps. To be honest, it's been a bloody nuisance as we rely on t'internet for the majority of our communication and entertainment.

The River Soar is really beautiful and I love it around here, but it goes into flood with the slightest amount of rainfall....and we've had a lot recently. The level fluctuates drastically and can go up or drop 8 inches overnight quite easily. We've gone to bed planning on moving the next day only to find the markers back in the red in the morning. We moved from Barrow to Mount Sorrel as soon as we could only to get stuck there for another week. The weather improved drastically and has been glorious for the past few days but we couldn't move as I had another acupuncture appointment back in Manchester on Wednesday and we needed to be in an accessible spot to hire a car.  I'm happy to report that the acupuncture is working and I now have full, almost pain-free use of my hands again and my feet are also rapidly improving. I was very sceptical about acupuncture but it certainly works for me!

On the days we haven't been able to move we've been taking Chico for lots of long walks in the glorious sunshine.

It's been perfect drying weather too so I've been catching up with the laundry and the whirly-gig has been wizzing round in the breeze.

The weirs are still very high but the level is dropping so today we moved to Cossington where we were amazed to find the internet speed like lightening.

This was the mill -race on the lock approach at Silby Mill. The current was quite strong, but not as strong as when we came up here last week to get a pump-out. When we needed to turn the boat around to go backto Mountsorrel we just stuck the bow into the flow from the weir which then spun us quickly 180' without any need for any engine power.

Spring has definitely sprung. There are many trees in blossom and snowdrops are everywhere.

There are even daffodils and primroses in the hedgerows. It's just beautiful!

So here we are, moored just above Cossington Lock.

The sun shone all day and after we moored up we went off exploring the surrounding area. There are miles of marked footpaths both up the canal and also over the fields and around the many fishing ponds. The fields are still very boggy after the floods but there are signs that things are finally starting to dry out. You can see how high the river level rose by the amount of debris that has been deposited on the towpaths.

We may move on again tomorrow, or we may stay here another day. I've got lots of things I need to do on t'internet while the connection speed is so good, so that may be the deciding factor. I've been getting itchy feet all the time we've been stuck, must be the water gypsy in me, but now that the cruising season is well and truly underway I can't wait to be on the move again.