Down the Watford flight

We sat tight over the weekend as the weather just was so unpredictable, heavy rain one minute bright sunshine the next so we just enjoyed being at home..

Al read her book while Del played the guitar and did some small jobs around the boat..  We met up with friends on Zoom and Teams and Del chopped up the wood on the roof so the locker was full of seasoning wood, Oh and Al did a super Sunday lunch..  We booked in with CRT (Canal and River Trust) and thought we had a booking at 11.00am.

When we arrived we wasn't on the list, but Martin the locky is such a nice fella he locked us down anyway after just a half hour wait..

We were going down the flight and it was very enjoyable chatting to Martin and no other boats about..

We left the locks and took a long slow cruise to Norton Junction where there was a lot of garden in the canal after the lockdown period.

It was also nice to see the trains running more frequent.

We were lucky when we got to the junction there was a spot just for us..

To make things even better the sunshine appeared and a spot of lunch went down well as we tried to make some plans for the future, difficult in the currant situation..  Tooty the cat is loving his new environments and has been mousing every night..

The Other Side

We were up early this morning as the weather didn't look too promising.. We pushed off and went under the new bridge at Crick..

At long last they have done a proper pedestrian bridge, which we assume was because of the Crick Boat Show, as it was so dangerous to cross here..

They have done a great job with the new bridge but you can still access the road from the other side and you have to cross the busy road to get to it, this probably needs to be closed so you can only use the footbridge side..

We carried on to the tunnel and was surprised how warm it was in there..

There were also a lot of bats flying about, mainly small ones but also two big ones.. It must have been perfect conditions for them as it was very humid in there, never seen that before!
We then came out the other side, where it turned cold again and was pouring with rain, so we quickly found a spot and moored up..

It is a good isolation spot and the signals are always good.. 

The weather was pouring one minute and sunshine the next but the day got better as it went on.. Del got out and had to clean Derwent6 again as it was covered in leaves and buds..  It is a lovely time of year now and lets just hope that soon the pub gardens will be open for us to all enjoy it..

Derwent6 and the Hare

We stayed at bridge 27 on the summit because we had spotted some wood on the way up here..
We had a day of complete sunshine and a day of rain. The day of sunshine the BBQ was back out together with a glass of wine, and on the wet day we cleaned the Morso Squirrel and made it look like new again. We also spotted a couple of hares running around the field next to us..

and the sheep..

On the day we left Del picked up the wood he had spotted and loaded it on the roof, cleaned out the bilge and wiped down Derwent6 of the pollen and tree buds..

 We then had some breakfast and pushed out the bow.. It was lovely cruising and was warm as we set off, but then the wind had a bite to it and a fleece had to be put on, but it stayed dry..

We got to Yelvertoft and just topped up with water but not without a drama.. The cushion got blown of the front in the cratch and Del had to manoeuvre to collect it..  We got rid of some rubbish and set off again..

We soon arrived in Crick and moored up where Al tried out her new trolley and took a chance of going to the Co-Op.

It turned out fine although she spent a bit more as she didn't have to carry it!

The Feeling of Freedom!!

We were up early as today was the day. Yep!, we can move without restriction's..
Del got things ready to cruise and then pushed over Derwent6 so we could do a pump out and fill with water..

Al walked up the shop for the first time and posted a letter and got some BBQ bits including some Kentish Strawberries, while Del polished the side he hasn't been able to do for 11 weeks..  Yes! eleven weeks we have been here but we have loved it. Welford has been kind to us in lockdown, in fact it was sad to leave.. We said our goodbyes to Tim and Dana and also Carl and Lara on nb Book and Spud.

Even the Swans seemed a bit sad to see us go and gave us one last look on Derwent6, and then from the nest as Al walked up to the lock..



 Del followed and it was just so good to get everything turning again.

 We went through the lock with ease and then cruised to the end of the arm..

We took a sharp turn to Port and when back on mainstream Derwent6 felt at home..

  The sun was out and it really felt like we were free again and another adventure had just started, but we always remembered that the new wildlife would not understand boats and we just idled along to give them a good chance of surviving just like our Blue tits and six cygnets  ..

We can't tell you in words what it felt like to be out there..

We cruised for about 2 hours and moored up in a nice sunny spot..

The cat Tooty had a bit of a sad face on when we left Welford, but when we moored up in the middle of nowhere he was ecstatic and was rolling around on the towpath like a dog would do, happy as larry!!
We chilled in the sun and just took in the sights and smells of the countryside..

Life is full of surprises!

So we are getting prepared to go cruising. We have been told that we can stay put for 14 days after the 23rd May on our lockdown moorings.. We can move if its essential, but have been asked not to use locks..
We did have a surprise when Maxine and Graham turned up after a business visit to Leicester. They had driven from Kent and had brought a pizza and some nibbles with a bottle of wine and London Pride beer, a real treat..

It was a lovely evening, socially distancing on the grass, and then they left for the journey home.. We have also been enjoying our quizzes with friends and families on video chats and also our chats with other local boaters...
We have really enjoyed staying here and have got very attached to the wildlife.. The swans are still doing well and we have six cygnets, but with more people around they are so much on edge and don't stay with us as long now as the water is safer..

As the for Blue tits, well it turned out that there were two chicks in the nest in the wall and we could see the Mum and Dad didn't have room anymore to get in the hole due to the size of them..

We then got a head poking out of the hole and he took the leap of faith and managed to just make it on the other side of the canal, and landed in the stinging nettles and then managed to get up into the trees.. He was then fed by the Dad and sat there until he had the strength to search for his own insects.. the second one found it a bit more difficult..

He fled the nest and had trouble with his wings, and was obviously weaker. He managed to just stop himself going into the canal and landed on the towpath.

Del rushed round in case he tried to fly again over the canal, as he was never going to make it.. We ushered him into some bushes by the wall, under the nest, where there was some insects and he could build up his strength.

We left it alone, as that is always the best thing to do, because the Mum and Dad were watching.. sure enough, they came down after hearing his cry's of help and fed him, and you could see giving advice..  He tried to fly again and landed on a fence, and the next thing was we heard a splashing sound and he had fallen in the water . Del rushed round with the net and he had managed to find a small ledge in the brickwork on the water line..

We could see the Mum and Dad trying to help and they did manage to feed him, but it was difficult to get to.. We had no choice, but to let them get on with it, but if the water line came up just an inch it would drown the little fella..  The Mum even showed him how to get up but he was just too weak from the swimming lesson he had..  We went to bed and hoped he would recover..

Birthday Girl and friends

Well we have given things a break for a bit as we are still static ... But a lot has happened!!
First we had a Birthday, and Al was just a little bit older..

It was difficult to have a birthday in lockdown but we made the most of it. We were also lucky with the weather, which has been amazing, and it gave us the excuse to open a big bottle of prosecco and some nibbles to get us started..

Al opened all her cards in the morning and she had a couple of presents, one of them being chocolate..
In the afternoon we were visited by Del's Mum and Keith and the chairs were spread across the grass.

They had brought along some lovely cupcakes and they went down well with a coffee to sober up a bit..

 They left after a couple of hours in the sun. As the weather was so good we decided to keep the momentum going so we lit the BBQ and got back on the drinks..

A big thank you for all of Al's cards and to Hannah for posting them up to us..

So we have been out for a nice walk and had visitors we didn't expect..

Kev (who with Ann used to have n.b Rock and Roll) , had biked down from Yorkshire and found us. We had a good catch up about everything.

  We have really been watching our own wild life programme, and have a pair of swans and their cygnets on our port side, and blue tits nesting on our starboard side, we are so lucky here..

 

It has been amazing here as we have made friends with the male swan and he has now made friends with Tooty the cat. They do keep social distancing and have an agreement that they just don't bother each other.. We think Tooty protects them from the birds and foxes which might threaten the cygnets,  and Tooty doesn't get hissed at or bothered when he goes out at night.. Here the Dad is showing the babies how and where to get out of the water..

 

Del has been building and watching the full size gliders in the engine room, and now can't wait to fly when we get into the middle of nowhere, which will be soon.