Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Changing colours

We left this morning at around 10ish and made our way down the Grand Union to Fenny Stratford lock. It was a pleasant cruise with the trees changing colour and the canal covered in a blanket of leaves. We went through Fenny Stratford lock looking for a place to moor so we could do a Tesco shop. This lock is very unusual due to the fact it has a swing bridge right through the middle of it. We were lucky enough to get a mooring at the bottom of the lock, so we shut Derwent6 down and went for a walk into the retail park just a 15 minute walk away. There is a Matalans, B & Q, and Wickes among others inc a Tesco's. After doing the shopping, Al bought too much again and yes we had to carry it back to the boat. We did it in stages by making it to the next lamp post and resting. It took us 45 mins to get back too Derwent6, with arms two inches longer. (saves joining a gym)





After some lunch we set off again and moved down to Bletchley where diesel here is 62p a litre so may fill up tomorrow. Still got 3G here so will be catching up on some bits and pieces tonight.

Tuesday, September 29, 2009

Shop till you drop!!!!


Woke up again to lovely sunshine.... We got ourselves ready and headed off to the shopping centre which is about a 25 minute walk up a slightly uphill path directly from bridge 81A, which means it's slightly downhill back with all your shopping bags. You can get the bus but we preferred the exercise. We have got a great mooring here and it felt safe leaving Derwent6.

When we got to the centre we picked up a shopping centre guide and we were surprised how much there was to do here. There is a John Lewis, Marks, and Debenhams with all the restaurants you can think of. We spent the best part of the day walking round the centre it's self and we then grabbed something to eat in Pizza Hut which had it's all you eat buffet on for £6.49....We pigged ourselves, so the diet isn't going too well.. The funniest part of the day was when the RAC man approached us about having a breakdown service and we answered "a tad difficult when you haven't got a car", "Ummmm that's right" he said laughing. Del did manage to get off his ball and chain for a bit, to get away from the shops, but Al caught him.

We then made our way to the ten screen cinema, which there are two of here, so we were spoilt for choice, but Cineworld had cheap Tuesday at £4.50 a ticket, so rude not to go there then.. We saw Bruce Willis in Surrogates, which was good, and then when we came out, we went onto the snow dome and watched them coming down the slope, with a pint of course. We then went to the freefall wind tunnel and watched them for half a hour which we've got to say looked fun, but expensive. We then walked back to Derwent6 which didn't take too long.

It has seemed a very long day today and we have had so much fun, it felt like we were on holiday, we still can't get over that this is our life.........

Monday, September 28, 2009

On to Milton Keynes

We left Cosgrove at 9.30am and made our way to the water point, passing under Solomon's bridge and through the village. We managed to do another manual pump out which we've got to say is saving us a fortune. We passed through the only lock of the day and then we crossed the Great Ouse river on the aqueduct and went into Wolverton. You pass right by the station and the moorings didn't appear that bad. There has been a lot of redevelopment here with the old factory buildings being made into apartments. We then moved on into Milton Keynes and the canal crosses some very busy roads. We did pass the odd shopping trolley and well as things made out of them, but did manage to avoid them. We found a mooring spot not far from the shopping centre so will be investigating that tomorrow. It started to feel a bit chilly so we lit the fire and played a puzzle game late in the afternoon and evening.

Sunday, September 27, 2009

Great Ouse bike ride

Another lovely day. Del's turn to get the paper and another repeat of yesterday... We sat out in the cratch and read them till the Grand Prix came on at midday.... We went out on our bikes in the afternoon along the Great Ouse Park. There are about 15 miles of track which starts at the aqueduct at Wolverton and is all tarmac which makes easy riding... We got back to Derwent6 at about 6.00pm and then showered and chilled for the night.

Saturday, September 26, 2009

Super September

This is what we woke up to this morning....Wow! It was cold overnight but felt fresh. Thanks for all your comments on our colds... we're back on the mend now with just snivels lingering on. Al went and got a paper early this morning while Del did some maintenance checks on Derwent6.We then sat with the papers for the best part of the morning, watching the world go by. The sunshine just keeps coming and we are making the most of it. Del went for a bike ride while Al sorted out the finances.
We then watched telly for the rest of the day, F1 quali and Strictly.

Friday, September 25, 2009

So beautiful we have to stop!

Wow can you believe this weather.... another blanket of fog this morning soon cleared.Our colds are getting slightly better so we thought we would move off and head towards Cosgrove.... We were surprised to see the New Thrup Whalf Marina which opens on 1st October. We used to moor here when going to the Silverstone racing circuit and were also surprised how busy it was. We didn't get far before we spotted another nice mooring. It was lovely cruising in the sunshine and the countryside around here is fantastic.. We settled in and then walked into Cosgrove and did a bit of shopping and had a look around. The shop sells everything including fishing gear, but closes through the winter from November 1st. We walked back across the fields with Derwent6 in the background dodging the cows and cowpats as we went. We have a great TV signal here with 3G so it will be difficult for us to move. Good job we will run out of water really....... With Strictly on tonight Al will be glued in front of the telly....

Thursday, September 24, 2009

Autumnal morning

Woke up to a big fluffy blanket on the canal this morning, autumn is here! It was quite cold last night but it did give us a good nights sleep and a warning that wood was on the cards to keep us warm. We had a scout round before we set off and found half a tree just a short way away from us, so we threw it on the roof. We left Stoke Bruerne at around 10.45am and made our way to Yardley Gobion, a little village in the middle of nowhere. Al had done some washing on the way and the sun was beaming down so out came the washing line and Del chopped up the tree trunk we had found earlier. The chopped bits were then put on the roof to dry out..... We had lunch and then walked into the village to have a nose around. The post office was only open for half a day so we couldn't tell if it was a store for provisions. It has a good pub, The Coffee Pot, which had a quiz on tonight, but as we did one last night we didn't fancy it.In the evening Al was on the bow in the sun reading while Del played the guitar on the stern watching the sunset. Lovely!

Wednesday, September 23, 2009

Great Gig in the sky


Not a good nights sleep last night, due to these bloody colds... We ended up getting up late and then Del had a haircut... After showers we got rid of the rubbish and went for a walk to clear our heads. We had to get more provisions like milk and cough stuff. When we got back Del cut up some Kindling, so we are all set up for a cold snap. In the afternoon we were recovering from all that. The reason for us staying here was that we wanted to go to the Canal Music festival at The Navigation Inn in the evening. So with us feeling a bit better we walked up there with the most glorious red sky. Canal Music is a gig which is done from the cratch of a canal boat and music made from household items with violin, banjo and singing thrown in. The music fitted in fantastic with the beautiful sunset we were having. After that Heart FM were having a quiz night in the pub which turned out to be a lot of fun. We got back to Derwent6 about midnight and crashed out into bed.

Tuesday, September 22, 2009

We're never ill

A nice sunny day but couldn't get out of bed because we felt so poorly...coughing spluttering and sneezing all night long... We don't do ill but feel like having a moan at the moment!!!!
Today we just dossed around on Derwent6 feeling sorry for ourselves, lethargic and bunged up. Now going back to bed!!!!

Monday, September 21, 2009

Down the locks was enough!

It was a nice sunny day again today and we were still feeling down in the dumps, but we had to move today...We were on a 48 hour mooring and we had spoke to the lock keeper about staying over the weekend which he was ok about. We set off around 10.30am just as the boat in front of us set off as well. With two boats it made the locks a lot easier with our sneezing and croaky throats. We did find it quite amusing to see these working boots embedded in the concrete of the canal bank.It still took two hours to go through and by the time we had got to the bottom lock we couldn't go any further. We filled with water and then did a manual pumpout before going round the corner and mooring up again. After lunch we both had to have a lay down. So it turned out to be a nothing day really. We can't remember when we were both unwell, however it never stopped us going to work so it won't stop us now......

Sunday, September 20, 2009

Us catching cold, Heron catching fish

We still don't feel the ticket today so decided to do nothing... We sat in the cratch for a hour just watching this Heron catch fish....He was obviously used to people as he wasn't bothered by anything..... There has been a busy stream of people walking past Derwent6 all day and we have been getting some lovely comments on the boat. We have spent most of the day meeting people and answering questions, but we have enjoyed it. The cratch board got oiled and the windows cleaned so we did do something..We might move tomorrow.....but not far!