30th July '13

It was the best of days, it was the worst of days... to paraphrase Dickens.

We came down the Atherstone Flight in 1hour 40minutes, which was amazing, all the locks bar one had boats coming out of them and so they were in our favour and almost all had people waiting to come in so there was someone to help John with paddles etc. The problem was that after a lovely hot day, the heavens opened as we got there and we were absolutely drenched! Neither of us had time to get coats on and so we just got wet. There comes a point when you can't actually get any wetter and we both reached that pretty quickly. I have to say that when it comes to looking sad, nobody does it better than Paddy. He COULD go inside but he refuses to, and so he sat there looking more and more glum gazing accusingly at me from time to time, then shivering pathetically. Silly dog!

We moored up as soon as we got to the bottom of the flight on some excellent moorings and had showers and hot chocolates, then the sun came out and I was able to get my washing (plus all the clothes we'd been wearing) dry. British weather!

This was yesterday morning, leaving Braunston. We'd turned right on our way south and returned from the left on our way back, now on the homeward stretch on the North Oxford.

Hawkesbury Junction ahead! About to leave the Oxford and get onto the Coventry.

As we came around Hawkesbury I took a photo of the bush that I'd nearly come to grief in the last time we'd turned this way! The wind had been against us and we lost the top of our chimney here and I nearly went in the water, trying to push the boat out of the bush! Today it was calm and sunny and there was no problem whatsoever getting around, why weren't there crowds there watching I ask>

This is Charity Wharf and it always makes us laugh! They have a variety of mannequins dressed up differently each time. These were a couple of cowboys, one on a horse! There was also a police officer and a soldier. They have masses of boats in conditions ranging from dire to about to sink and all sorts of stuff piled up, but it provides an opportunity for a giggle.

I probably put this on before but I love these old waterway buildings.

John reckons we can get home in a couple of days if everything goes well so fingers crossed that all is OK and that we don't have too many more downpours.