Saturday 3rd August 2019



After breakfast we all went for a long walk. We had been hoping to walk to the next lock and then follow a footpath across the water meadows to Benham Gardens. However, the footpath was so overgrown there was no route.

We retraced our steps and carried on to the lock behind us and followed the road to the village of Marsh Benham. By this time the kids were tired, it was hot and walking along a road was not what we had intended. We had a drink in the expensive Red House pub where we played with a 16-week old Jack Russell puppy, before returning to the boat.

The fishing restarted but was disappointing compared to yesterday, until Manny hooked a large Trout. The line he was using had a 6lb breaking strain, the fish put up such a fight, it snapped. The same fish was hooked five times altogether. On one occasion, the fish was almost in the landing net, but every time the line snapped. Frustrating, it would have gone great with our evening barbeque.

We were then left with only small, lightweight hooks that were only good for tiddlers.

In the evening we had another barbeque, albeit, troutless, after which we all sat around the dinette table chatting before bed time. Bed time with the kids follows the same pattern. Brenda and Eva go off to bed where they chat away and read, Eva, at the start of their stay, always says it is too early, but then falls asleep quickly after another day of fresh air and activity. Manny and myself make up our bed from the dinette and then watch a bit of TV before turning in. Again, it would be long before Manny normally goes to bed but he too, is always asleep quickly.



Weather: hot and sunny.  

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