Welford

 We haven't had any internet or phone signal for the past few days, so this is a bit of a catch-up.

On Saturday we had a late start and went up Foxton Locks at lunchtime. We'd timed it right as there was no queue, although the volunteer lockie told us it had been very busy earlier.

Although it was nice and sunny the wind was bitter and there weren't many people about.

 There are lots of events planned at Foxton in the coming weeks.

I'd forgotten to put the cratch down when we went into the locks and as this lock gate leaked so badly the bow got quite wet.

We moored for the night just before Husbands Bosworth tunnel and went walkabout into the village.

There's not much there apart from a church and The Bell Inn. We sat outside in the smoking "garden" as we had Chico with us. I couldn't see into the pub as their windows were so dirty it was amazing they let any light through!

On Sunday we had a lovely sunny cruise to Welford and were treated to plenty of aerial entertainment courtesy of the local Gliding Centre at Husbands Bosworth.

We turned down the Welford Arm and I worked my first lock for almost 12 months. It felt really good to be properly active again, I get really bored just steering all the time.

We moored up and went into the village with the aim of having Sunday lunch in The Elizabethan pub, but it's closed down. The blackboards outside advertised pole dancing at Christmas which seems a bit unusual to say the least for a small village pub!

Postman Pat was a tree stump sculpture beside the bus-stop.

As we hadn't managed lunch at The Elizabethan we settled for a roast in The Wharf. I hadn't fancied eating in there as last time we had a really mediocre meal, but this time it was actually quite good.

Roger was really taken with this motorbike which was parked outside. He got talking to the owner who had built the bike himself.  Apparently he has "several" bikes which he qualified by also telling us he "earns good money". He didn't tell us what he does for a living though, but he did look like a banker/accountant/solicitor type.

To walk off the lunch we took Chico for a long walk round the two reservoirs that feed the canal. On the left of the dam is the Sulby and on the right is the Welford reservoir.

The reservoirs are home to a private fishing club.  Look at the size of those carp!!!!

On the far side of the reservoir is a large house with a flock of really cute brown sheep. We got talking to a man who lives there and he said the flock is a bit inbred as they started with 10 sheep and now have over 50.

The boys were really cute but I reckon they need a haircut.

Welford

We had an absolutely beautiful sunset last night. The canal was dead calm and the birds evening chorus was just lovely.

Charlie woke me up at 5.30 this morning as he needed to go out. It was beautiful out, sunny, cold and misty but you should only ever see one 5.30 each day and that‘s with a glass of something cold and refreshing in your hand!

When I re-surfaced again at 9am it was a different picture. It was pouring with rain and quite windy and has stayed that way all day.  We’d planned on cruising down the Welford Arm to the pub at the end and have a nice Sunday roast lunch but the weather made us change our minds and we stayed put.  I took a half shoulder of lamb out of the freezer and we took Chico for a walk down the arm instead. As it happens, when we got to the pub the smells coming from it were not good, just stale cooking fat and a look through the window showed that it was almost empty so maybe we made the right decision.

There are plenty of 14 day free linear moorings down the arm and a couple of 48 hour ones right beside the BW sanitary station. There are also 2 small marinas which looked pretty full.

Grand-Prix Weekend

Before we set off from Foxton this morning we had a visit from our friend Annie and her new fiancé.We haven't seen them since her daughter's wedding last year and I must say he's obviously doing her a power of good as she's lost loads of weight and looked very happy.

It's the Canadian Grand-Prix this weekend so moorings are dictated by the TV signal. We've found a nice spot shortly after Bosworth Tunnel and close by Husbands Bosworth Airfield where we've been watching gliders being towed into the air by a small plane and then soaring into the skies.

Bosworth Tunnel 1071m long

is that the Boggart or just a shadow?

The blog postings will be fairly short for the next few days as we're entering the black hole of communications that is the area around Crick in Northamptonshire. Mobile phone reception is temperamental although text and internet seem better.

A few weeks ago we came across a new cheese (well, new to us at least). It's quite a smelly cheese, a bit like a Camembert but creamier and with a hint of honey to it.  If you see it in the supermarket I recommend you give it a try.