Tuesday 23^rd July 2019

We started the day with a shopping run, mainly to walk Harvey. We spend a lot of our exploring inside Cathedrals, Abbeys and Churches. We also visit our fair share of pubs. We were not visiting a church in Devizes, so elected for a Brewery Tour instead.

The Wadworth Brewery is not big, but produces a good range of beers which change regularly to suit the seasons, while continuing with their most popular brews. They own about 250 pubs and supply to the South West, however, the pubs within Devizes and up to 2 miles away, are still supplied by horse and dray.

  

The tour was very interesting. We also visited the horses, Max and Sam, and watched their in-house sign writers at work. In the bar afterwards, we got to sample quite a few of their beers with a talk on each.

After the tour we did some shopping and became frustrated and annoyed in Boots. Brenda has an arrangement whereby, she has her prescriptions sent to the chemist ahead of us where it is held until we collect it.  This should be straightforward although perhaps not a common occurrence for the Pharmacy. However, a few times, this time in particular, it becomes very problematic.

We had visited Boots in the morning only to be told no prescription request had been received. Brenda rang the surgery who informed her it had not only been sent but confirmed. On this visit to Boots, they eventually located the prescription but reckoned it was not there in the morning. However, they did not have enough of one particular medicine to fulfil the script. It then transpired because they had dispensed some of the prescription, we would have to return for the remainder. They were unwilling to arrange for the remainder to be picked up from another branch and were adamant we would have to return to Devizes in a few days when they received their next delivery, even when told this would mean a 3 hour, 2 bus journey. Some people just seem to go out of their way to be awkward. While the pharmacy assistant was dealing with us, we heard numerous other people complaining about their service.

Back on the boat, we decided to move on. Calling at the service point at Devizes Wharf, we found it blocked by yet another tinky boat. The K&A Canal has a good share of these boats and, quite frankly, you get fed up on them. She had been left with the boat while he had gone to retrieve their car, which was then left in the wharf car park. After filling the outboard engine with petrol, and eventually getting the engine to start, they did move on.

After watering, dumping rubbish and emptying the loo, we left the wharf, only to very quickly catch the tinky boat, despite only travelling at tick-over speed. A frustrating half hour ensued before his engine expired and we were able to pass.

There then followed some gorgeous countryside with the rolling hills of the Ridgeway to the north and open farmland to the south. The K&A Canal is considered a “wild canal” in that the undergrowth is largely left to itself. Consequently, the banks are very overgrown and reed beds fill the whole canal in stretches and tower above the boat which can make the channel difficult to negotiate. After attempting to get alongside the bank a few times, we moored in the middle of nowhere. Brilliant, peaceful and quiet.

After Brenda cutting my hair, we sat the evening out on the bank, had a BBQ and just enjoyed the tranquillity.

During the night we were treated to the most amazing spectacle of sheet lightening, lighting up the whole sky 360˚ and lasting for over 2 hours. The air was still, hot and dry and you could feel the electric in the air. We both stood on the back deck watching this for ages. Eventually the lighting display moved into the distance and the rain started, and boy, was it heavy.

Weather: hot again.  

Day Total: 0 locks; 5 miles; 0 Tunnels; 1 Swing Bridge; 0 Lift Bridges; 0 Boat Lift; engine running hours 2.1

Overall Total: 597 locks; 1095 miles; 48 tunnels; 45 Swing Bridges; 5 Lift Bridges; 2 Boat Lifts; engine running hours 689.5hrs