It’s been a while since we’ve updated the blog, and a lot has happened. The main change has been the serious reduction in our numbers. Back in mid-August we lost Liam and Jack on consecutive days. Liam was 17 ½ and succumbed to old age. Jack was just short of his 13th Birthday and his brain tumour finally beat him. It was not a pleasant time and we’re still trying to get used to life with only Vera. She seems to have adjusted pretty well, although it was very sad at first when she sat by the gate waiting for them to come home. We had them both cremated, and have sprinkled their ashes on the Coast Path in Devon, at a spot on their favourite walk where we always sit on a bench to admire the view. It’s now an even more special place to stop and ponder. One day we will join them.
This change, unpleasant as it is, has at least allowed us to start using Muriel. Mainly it’s just been weekend visits, when depending on the weather we have either spent time exploring the area on foot whilst leaving Muriel in the marina, or bimbling up and down the canal to Loughborough. It’s not far, but we actually quite like the trip, and have regularly stayed out on a nice mooring just up from the marina at Miller’s Bridge. That is actually where we sit at the moment whilst I type this update. There’s a lovely view across the water to the canal side vegetation, and then across to the trees beyond. There are houses across the field, but sitting here I can’t actually see them, and we could be in the middle of nowhere rather than about 10 minutes cruise from Pillings Lock .
This morning was the first time that we’ve been out and pulled back the curtains to see a white world. There had been a very heavy frost overnight. Even the condensation on the inside of the windows had frozen. We were glad that we’ve recently had a timer fitted to the Webasto, so the heating had come on to warm the boat up before we crawled out from under our nice thick duvet. The frost has nearly all melted now, but the sun is shining and we really wish we didn’t have to leave Muriel and go back to work tomorrow.
We went on one proper trip out at the end of August. Here’s a summary of the events:
Day 1: We headed North from Pillings Lock late on 30th. At Bishop Meadow Lock and old chap sat reading his paper at a bench. He showed us the headline on the front page “10 Days Rain Due in 1 Day” at which point we started to worry a bit that this may not be the best time to be heading onto the river. We spent our first night just above the lock at Zouch. A pleasant enough spot, and only a few hours from Pillings.
Day 2 was filled with the sound of racing cars and aeroplanes. We didn’t have an OS map, but I finally spotted Donnington Park on the Nicholson guide, which explained the cars, the planes were going into the nearby East Midlands Airport. The scenery along the Soar was lovely and we had a very pleasant first day. It rained over lunch, so we just had a more leisurely break, and then again as we moored up near Weston on the Trent & Mersey. As usual we were helped by ‘insider’ knowledge. When Gloria and Derek got a new set of Nicholsons, they very kindly gave us their old set, which are very handily annotated with useful info such as good places to moor.
Day 3 was Simon’s 52nd Birthday. What a lovely way to spend it. We did have one incident that marred it, when we had a close encounter with a bridge. The wind blew Muriel onto the brick arch as Simon slowed down to let me & Vera on after a walk. A nasty 3 ft gouge out of the paintwork on the roofline, and another notch up the learning curve. Passing through Willington, we spotted Seyella. We recognised the name as Gloria & Derek had spent some time cruising with her and since then I had been regularly reading her blog. It rained towards the end of the day so we stopped earlier than planned at the Branston Water Park.
Day 4 started with a bit of shopping to get some glass paper for the roof repair, walking back to Morrisons on the edge of Burton Upon Trent. After the bit of DIY, we headed off towards Barton Turns for lunch, although our plans were scuppered by a dodgy gate at Tatenhill lock. It had been reported, but with no idea how long it would take for someone to come out, there was a collective effort by the crews of all the boats waiting to move the gate with our combined muscle power. We all got through, but it did take a while. We had a bit of a disagreement on board. Simon wanted to wind at Barton Turns and head back due to the forecast rain and the possibility of getting stuck out if the rivers flooded. I wanted to go a bit further as we still had quite a few days left. Simon won and we winded and headed back to stay at Branston Water, a few yards from our mooring the day before.
Day 5 started with a bit more painting. We then began to retrace our route. We stopped at Willington for some shopping, and passed Seyella who was still moored there. We decided to move on and stay near to Weston again, to be a bit further away from the railway. We had a phonecall from Gloria letting us know that they were forecasting lots of rain in our area, and advising us to head back to Pillings Lock ASAP or risk getting stuck out. Simon’s decision to turn round at Barton Turns was obviously the right one!
Day 6. We made a dash for Pillings Lock. It was a very pleasant trip, reminding us that the riverside scenery compensates us for the inconvenience of flooding! We were pleased to see that the Trent and Soar were both still open, and carried on to the mooring at Millers Bridge, and few miles from Pillings Lock. Safe!
Day 7. Into Pillings Lock in the rain. The Soar was now in the red, and stayed that way for the several days we spent in the marina before heading home. That was quite close, if I’d had my way and we’d gone a bit further, we would have been stuck out on the cut and had the problem of leaving Muriel on the bank, getting back to the marina to collect the van and get to work – even if it will be without J&L.
We now can’t wait for another big trip, although I guess that won’t be until the Spring now. We’re having a cup of tea before heading back to Pillings Lock, and then heading home until our next weekend visit. We really really can’t wait to be living on board and criuising.
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