Tuesday 22^nd October 2019

I was treated to an amazing spectacle this morning. Out with the dog as the sun was appearing over the hills to the east of us, while to the west, the hillside trees were being successively lit up as the sun rose. It was the envy of any New England scene in the autumn, the colours were spectacular. As the sun rose further, the Hawthorn berries further down the hill were all lit up by the sun. While it didn’t last long, it was one of those phenomena that just leaves an impression.

The hull side was washed prior to being touched up as it was looking a bit sad. We then walked up the hill to the One-Stop store in Cheddleton, before returning and touching up the hull blackening.

The inside of the paint locker at the backend is full of condensation, the container holding the brushes is full of water and everything in there is wet and damp. We will have to find a remedy for this.

Once finished with the painting, it was left for an hour before we set off at 1:30. We had a very slow cruise covering the mile to Denford and moored outside the Holly Bush Inn. En-route we came across the tree sitting in the canal, met with on the way up. Although we tried to avoid it, it still pushed us into the opposite bank, and of course, caught the new paintwork. Oh well, it is a boat and that is what the rubbing strakes are for.

We had a pint in the Holly Bush, very cosy inside with logs burning in the open fires, and booked for dinner at 5:30. The outside temperature, we have noticed the last few days, is dropping, and it was quite cold on the boat. We are short on coal and so, for the first time this year, we ran the diesel heating out of necessity and had showers.

In the Holly Bush, we were put in the dining room, the only customers, and it was cold with there being no heating on in there. The food, when it came was mediocre to say the least and, while still eating, were asked a number of times if we had yet finished. When it came time to pay, the guy couldn’t have cared less. We will not be returning here, at least not to eat.

It has to be said, we do eat very well on the boat, we always have, and so when we do go out to eat, we expect the food to be as good, if not better. Pub grub, OK, but when you are paying good money for food, then you expect reasonable quality and service. Anything less is just not acceptable. 

Being on a boat, compared to a house, you are always a bit more aware of what is around you and what is going on around you, and you always feel more vulnerable. Boats, for some reason, often become targets for ’anti-sociable’ behaviour. There was a crowd of youngsters sat outside the pub until closing time. They were just having a good time, although quite noisy, laughing and fooling about. While they meant absolutely no harm whatsoever, you do feel uncomfortable on the boat.    

Weather: a pleasant, chilly day. Noticeably colder in the evening. 

Day Total: 0 locks; 1 mile; 0 Tunnel; 0 Swing Bridges; 0 Lift Bridges; 0 Boat Lift; Day’s running hours 0.8  

Overall Total: 768 locks; 1346 miles; 52 tunnels; 61 Swing Bridges; 14 Lift Bridges; 2 Boat Lifts; total engine running hours 851.6hrs