locking up with NB Kathrick A sunny start to the day, we set off from Kegworth to Loughborough. Still on the Soar the countryside scenery was beautiful. The first lock was another double, but there were two coming down (so the lock would be set for us) and another waiting to go up NB KATHRICK (so […]
Who said life on the canals was relaxing? What a day!!! It was overcast and windy (of course) when we started out. We hoped to reach Ratcliff on Soar by this afternoon. The first lock (western) went quite smoothly. We went through with some hireboaters. Just as well because the paddles were really stiff. And […]
Inside Stenson Lock We have a week before Shell Bell has to be back at the boatyard so we decided to try and navigate to Loughborough. We have travelled the road many times but this will be the first time by canal. Although it was sunny the wind still persists. This made no difference as […]
New guests fed and watered time for work Friday afternoon and we on our way back to Mercia for another week on Shell Bell before she goes in to be blacked. A lovely sunny day – very hot in a car without air conditioning!!!! Everything seems to be good on the boat. No leaks. Once […]
Today was spent getting a few jobs done on the boat. Cleaning the oven and more brass plus windows was Sheila’s challenge, while Norwyn thought, that because of the weather (wet and windy) we should have a fire. He had a pile of wood which he was determined to get through. This kept us very […]
We decided to be landlubbers today and take a trip into Derby. There was a bus called ‘The villager’ which would take us and bring us back. V3 was the one we wanted and soon we were on our way into town. The shops were great; we went round the markets; stopped for lunch and […]
As we made our way back from Stretton the wind was still strong, but slightly less so than yesterday. There were more boats on the move so we moved very slowly at times (especially past the fibreglass ones). The entrance to the marina is a doddle now and we were soon moored up. Norwyn fixed the piece of […]
With high winds forecast, we had decided to stay put today. And sure enough we had the rain lashing down and the wind blowing, although Shell Bell held tight to her mooring. We had to go into the village to get some supplies and there were one or two jobs to do as well. Norwyn has started to […]
More expense today. Children, your inheritence is under threat!!! Ha Ha. When we bought Shell Bell Norwyn bought a bargain of a hose on ebay. He should have heeded Kirsty’s advice. “buy cheap, buy twice” for that is exactly what has happened. The hose got twisted and finally split on us so that when we […]
The scarecrows having a pint Our first task today was to walk into Barton-Under-Needwood to get some supplies. We found a footpath which took us past two lakes. After we had shopped we passed a pub where three scarecrows were ‘having a pint’ and were invited to make a scarecrow for the village scarecrow weekend […]