ALONG THE WAY

Leaving Cosgrove on the offside the Teepee pictured below which i was told by a residential boater along this stretch is lived in by a single chap, evidently it`s the real thing, an artic tee pee, not just a copy and he even has a fire going inside the smoke exiting at the top just like the red indians you see in the cowboy films.

Coming up through the Soulbury 3 locks we encountered a long delay and upon walking ahead
it became clear what was wrong. Two boats were ahead of us one going through all 3 locks and the other wanted to wind (turn) and come back towards us. Now this is an official winding hole so he is not doing anything stupid but un-fortunately the pound was low on water and he went aground. If you look on the right of picture the normal waterline can be seen on the wall.
The solution was easy all that had to be done was let the water flow through the lock behind where i`m standing taking the pic and fill the pound but the other boat was still in the lock and owing to only one paddle working and gates leaking it was taking for ever to get the boat out of the lock so we could open the paddles at the other end to fill the pound, 35 mins delay but that`s boating folks.


One of the long term moorers along this stretch had gone to a lot of trouble making this tin man from scrap metal and below the Heron decided to pose as i cruised by, usually as you approach they fly off and land ahead of you only to take off again as you catch up when the next take off takes them over a field to land behind you.
The picture below is the Wyvern holiday boat dock at Leighton Buzzard and passing this way last year there were 23 boats moored 4 abreast leaving just enough room to cruise by. As you can see
just one boat is moored but on reflection I think it was school half term so the fleet was all out on hire.

Just recently i either watched something on TV or read in the paper about computers, well the jist of it was we are sitting at our PCs me typing this then you reading it and thinking not much power is being used so we are only making a tiny carbon footprint but what I didn`t think of was the servers - you know the big computers the internet links to- that are running to supply our net needs and the amount of power that`s used to cool them. The small rooms housing these servers are the size of football pitches with hundreds of them squeezed in with large air con units cooling the room. Anyway the interesting point of this story is a company is leasing large warehouse`s in Iceland, country not the shop, to house their servers and they reckon they will re-coup the cost by a dramatic reduction in cooling costs.
So here`s me sitting thinking how good i am living on board not causing to much of a problem to the world.............

Anyway below is a preview of the next blog

COSGROVE/FENNY STRATFORD

On the last bog i mentioned waiting for post at Blisworth and below is what i was waiting for andalthough it looks like police mug shot it is in fact as you senior readers will know my bus pass. So far it has saved me £15 in fares which will get swallowed up by the rise in diesel tax on Nov 1st, oh well as Mr Tesco says "every little helps" maybe a good government follow up would be the scrapping of the TV licence for land based pensioners.

Left Cosgrove, NB Valerie above on right, and cruised down to Wolverton passing on the way the old railway works (below) most of which seems to be transformed into housing. I did notice though that behind the canal side walls large steel girders were being installed so I assume that the developers are having to keep the original walls and convert the insides to flats.
The Jam `ole run passed whilst moored at Fenny Stratford returning to Braunston and the picture below shows Corona.
Amazing what people throw away but as the saying goes one mans rubbish is to another gold and
these brasses are just some of a box full I found when i dumped my rubbish in the bin. In all there was about 30 and after a good clean and some new straps there was enough to share with my friends Andy/Tina on `Ytene`, yes Tina i know you cleaned your own, what was left kept 2 of the grandchildren Jack/Jordan busy polishing on a visit to grandad, hope you two have hung them up in your bedrooms.
Before i go Congratulations to Lesley&Joe on the launch of NB Caxton and you can see pictures on their blog HERE.

ONTO COSGROVE

Long time since last blog but have spent a lot of time moored up and just....well actually not a lot but that`s what retirement on the waterways is all about doing as much or as little as one wants.
So after coming down the Long Buckby flight we stayed a couple of nights and took advantage of the local almost canal side Go Kart track by getting some old tyres. These small kart tyres are ideal for fenders just needing a rope threaded through the worn tread to hang down the side of the boat and a hole in the bottom to let the rain water drain away. The chandlery at the bottom lock also gets tyres from the track and they sell for £6.95 with just an eye bolt fixed in the tread for the rope. Nice little earner!
Stayed a couple of days at Blisworth waiting for post that contained what looked like an advert for help the aged or an FBI most wanted file, anyway I just might publish it next time.
Through Blisworth tunnel 1.5 miles long and in parts 120` below ground is Stoke Bruerne with a museum I have yet to visit set in an 1840s corn mill. The flight of 7 double locks takes the boater down 56`. The first lock is almost outside the museum and alongside it is the one of the original single locks that now acts as a display for a boat weighing machine.
The double locks were installed around 1835 to speed up the commercial traffic and each lock holds about 56,000 galls of water. Originally the locks had side ponds that were used to recyclehalf the water but these have long since become overgrown and un-used so it was nice to see at least one (pic above) had been put to use for visitors to get close and look for life in and around the ponds as depicted on the large information boards.Further down the flight some Mosaic under a road bridge. Something I did learn from googling Stoke Bruerne was that below the 2nd lock there was once a brickwork`s (1840s-1920s) and it had its own canal arm called the Brickwork Arm that is now a nature reserve so that`s gone into the memory bank under future investigations as i just love tracing old canal routes across fields.

Remember remember the 1st November
is the day red diesel prices go into the pot
60/40 is fair HMRC say but boaters don`t like it a lot
one yard says it`s all they will give
another will let you decide how you live
fuel prices will rise for sure,
the VAT man is knocking on the cabin door
all boaters can do is moor up on this memorable date
to reflect how the EU has decided our fate.
Bloody EU, I reckon it stands for Ex lax Unlimited, well something must be responsible for all the shite that comes out of Brussels.

Oh well that`s got that off my chest so cruising quickly on into Cosgrove under Solomons bridge
built in the 1790s Gothic style at the request of a local landowner when the canal company wanted to cross his land.
While at Cosgrove the Jam `ole run was leaving Braunston. The Jam `ole run was the name given by the old working boatmen for the coal deliveries from Baddersley colliery to the Kearley&Tonge`s jam factory in Southall. The last commercial run was 1970 and the 246 mile, 196 locks round trip was done in a week as the crews only got paid per trip so to boost earnings they needed to get back for another load.
So this event is celebrated i think every 2 yrs by several ex work boats plus any other narrowboat that wants to join in. Most days means a 5am start to mimic the schedule of 1 week return journey the boats maintained in the past.
Below some of the boats taking part passing through Cosgrove.

WELFORD ARM

Coming south on the Leicester arm of the Gd. Union and reaching Nth. Kilworth I noticed that the Kilworth Wharf yard has now got some hire boats bearing the Anglo Welsh name. This yard only re-opened in the last 2yrs and it`s nice to see it once again doing business giving boaters another place to refuel and browse the growing chandlery.
Less than a mile further on is the Welford arm just over a mile long and not surprisingly ends at the village of Welford. Just one single lock rising 3`6" brings us into the Wharf and a few days rest in peaceful surroundings and a chance to finish off some of the painting so at least Tina will stop looking at the undercoated patches and insisting my boat has some disease.
Welford is an interesting place and the Wharf has a large information board showing detailed maps of 5 walks of 2,3,5,6 and 8miles all starting at the Wharf, one even starts up the drive way of a house and through a garden gate. Around the Wharf can be found remains of the lime kilns that turned Limestone brought in by boat into the lime that was then again shipped out by boat.
Also walking towards the lock what is now a marina on the towpath side was once a clay pit and brickworks.
Around the Welford area were six watermills powered by the R. Avon that starts it`s long
journey to the Severn from here at Welford. When I look at the narrow stream made wider here by tractors crossing I find it amazing that a short while ago the flooded Avon held me prisoner for a few days. From small acorns...............
Walking around the village a chap waved and told me about the first class postal service the
villagers got and am i on one of the 5 walks around Welford. Well I didn`t go for the 8 mile one but did the 2 mile walk that crosses the Welford and Sulby reservoirs that feed the canal.
Pictured below is the Watford lock flight consisting of 3 singles and a staircase of 4. In the picture NB Valerie is in the staircase flight and the lock gate behind is also the front gate of the lock Valerie has just left. Water here as at Foxton goes in&out of the side pounds and this is controlled by boater operated red & white paddles that have to be operated in a colour sequence so the rhyme to remember is
red before white and you`ll be all right
white before red and you`ll end up dead
Well ok not dead but the lockie will be none to pleased you losing his water.


After the flight further south brings us down to Norton Jct. where the main Gd.Union to London is joined and it was also the place my son Kev & Jo brought 2 of the grandchildren, would have been 4 if I hadn`t had to share with other g`parents which meant Lena may & Nicole were sadly missed this time. Anyway Kiernan & Keira kept me company and we all went to the pub for lunch.
Lastly my homemade device to help deter fuel theft that is becoming common from boats recently. Just a piece of angle iron cut and drilled as can be plainly seen so no complicated description or drawings are needed. It`s all fixed to the spillage guard that stops any filling overflow going down into the engine bay. Before anyone says it can be removed with a crow bar or bolt cutters the same amount of force can be used by way of a drill to remove the locking caps that are on sale now in chandlers at £30/40. All locking devices are a deterrent if they want to get in they will but at night when most thefts occur the noise caused will make the thief look for an easier quieter target.
Scrap angle iron, 1 hour of my retirement and a £5 padlock.

FOXTON

Always seem to end up at Foxton be it as now slowly heading south with christmas and the grandchildren in mind or after the event heading back in to the world of watery roads I`ve come to love. Yes Foxton is a nice place to visit even without a boat. The flight of 10 locks made up of 2 sets of 5 staircase style all in good working order with the grass all the way down the flight neatly cut, snack bars top and bottom of the flight and the old steam engine house now a museum half way down or perhaps up.
Boat trips from outside the shop at the bottom lock , 2 pubs well if any boaters are reading this then you will all say one`s a restaurant more than a pub so I suggest you try Bridge 61 with its 2 small rooms filled with canal bits and bobs and have a beer served at the bar all of 2`6" wide and if you sit outside you can watch the boats entering the locks or coming through the swing bridge from the Mkt. Harborough arm.
Above is just one of the many additions to Foxton site since i was last here in February this year, the young lad with the boat horse would years ago have been heading for the building on the left

at the top lock in the picture above for this was once a stable the white building the lockeepers house now a snack bar, and that`s NB Valerie in the lock having taken 50 mins to climb the flight

Above is the inside of the stable open to the public as a resting place and also used for school visits.
The little Robin paid a couple of visits checking for crumbs, and after the Moorhen episode back in July (click July on the right if you missed it) how could I object.


A lot about the one place this blog but i do so much like Foxton and as the season comes to an end, well for most boaters, i have slowed down spending a little more time moored and still doing a bit of paintwork before the weather closes in. I have managed to make my diesel cap a little more secure and will show that next time.

PASSING THRU CRICK

Just after coming out of Crick tunnel and thinking it wasn`t as much water dripping from the roof as during other trips when a voice says "are you Les" well straight away thinking fast i said no, well this was a blond sitting next to a big fella and my slow boating brain could not decide if my past was catching up with me. But not to worry it turned out to be Del & Al fellow bloggers whose boat Derwent6 is well on the way to launching. After mooring i walked back and I had a nice chat and met the family.

While chatting to Del&Al a lady came by asking if we had a magnet as she had dropped her

mooring pin into the water, well can`t leave a lady in distress so I went back to the boat and picked up my magnet and after a chat Cora on holiday from South Africa posed with me and the pin so she could feature on the blog. I`ll drop her an e-mail so she will know which page to look on.
Back in Braunston an American lady asked if i had a net as her husband had dropped the boats ignition key in the canal so I used the magnet and after only a few minutes up it came together with a rusty tape measure and some other odd bits of metal. Now they say things happen in 3s and the 3rd thing was a poor old sheep that found it self in the canal and after swimming back and forth it ended up towpath side and I managed to grab it by the scruff of its neck and with the help of a passerby we dragged it out and then had the job of dragging it over a narrow footbridge to get it back in its field and all the thanks I got was Baaa! Baaa! and with a shake off it went to join the flock.
Still painting while the weather is good and as i do this blog I`ll leave you with the view out of the side hatch.

DUTY VAT BW

Haven`t been doing much lately at least not in the way of cruising. In fact we have only ventured up to Rugby to see friends dodging the rain some which has been quite heavy. Most of the dry periods have been spent getting another coat of paint on the roof and rubbing down the gunnels (just above the blacking) as these are the places that tend to get scraped and if left un-treated soon rust and look a mess. Also i have been treating rust spots that have appeared in other places, mainly in the front around the doors and within the open semi trad rear.
Quite obviously the paint job on the boat was not 1st class but then you only get what you pay for and as long as NB Valerie stays afloat i can keep her neat and tidy.
Other little jobs include re varnishing the floor below the dinette table, re routing the cable from the tv to the sattalite dish and fitting a plank & boat pole rack on the roof to name a few.
Also i managed after a lot of phone calls to get the cylinder head tightness checked along with the engine tappets a job that needed doing after the engine repairs some weeks ago, at least the bill was only £20 this time.
The long going debate on the fuel duty that followed an EU directive that fuel duty on pleasure craft must be raised--why must we be in the EU, once we were a small island that ruled so many other lands-- anyway the present duty is 9.69p per litre +5% vat and the full duty will be 50.35 + 17.5% vat. HMRC have decided that boaters will be able to buy diesel at a 60/40 ratio that is 60% at full rate of duty for propulsion and 40% at the reduced present rate for heating and electricity. Now just to clarify to those non boaters out there my present set up is i have a solid fuel stove i use in winter but also i have a diesel fired central heating system (heating) that i use in the not so cold periods, also if not cruising in the boat (propulsion) i need to run the engine each day to charge the batteries (electricity) So the rate for heat and light will be 5% vat as for householders.
All a bit confusing but the bottom line is it`s going up a bit like when the bank sends a letter saying we have reduced X and enclose their new list of charges and you find something else has crept up so again the bottom line is it`s going up.
British Waterways have got on the going up bandwagon and now charge a fee if you do not re-new your boat licence within a month of expiry. BW have also announced they are planning to charging £150 extra on the licence for continuous cruisers like myself. Plus wide beam boats over the narrowboat 6`10" will pay an extra £50 all this on top of the 6.6% 2009 licence increase. All these proposals? are open for consultation?, yes and i just won the Euro lottery, untill the 7th Nov. We will have to wait and see.

Now when this boat came by recently my first thought were the rough band of pirates on the
front were made up of HMRC, BW and the EU but no it was just some guys having a holiday.





Beat the diesel increase and convert to steam, Adamant steams by.......beautiful.

TAKING IT EASY

Spent the w`end in Braunston and then took a cruise back to Calcutt locks as the chandlery there had a sump pump that i wanted to install in the engine bay. At the moment i use a hand held pump with the tube going down the dipstick tube into the sump to drain the engine oil the pump i have now purchased along with the pipe and fittings acquired along the way will enable the pump to be permanently fixed in the engine bay and connected directly to the sump plug. This will enable easier draining of the oil and also ensuring as much as possible is removed.
So after a couple of days returned to Braunston as the large chandlery there had a 1 day 20% off sale so it was a good time to buy a few bits and bobs.
So all in all just lazing about not to much movement but then that`s the life of the waterways do as much as you want when you want.
Pictured below is NB Whitefield 70` long and not your usual style of narrowboat. The front
cratch electrically lifts and folds flat on the roof. The traditional tiller steering has been replaced by a panel that has 4 joysticks that control the hydraulic drive to rudder, prop and bow/stern thrusters. Also at the rear is a small screen relaying pictures from the 3 cameras at the bow. It was recently featured in the waterways press and i can tell you the inside is very luxurious with leather sofa and dinette seats. All windows are double glazed and tinted and the boat contains 5 TVs including a waterproofed one in the shower. So if you`ve got around £250,000............

Morris dancers suddenly turned up at the pub in Braunston and it turned out they were on a
week long holiday on 3 hire boats giving impromptu performances at pubs along the canal.

The wet weather of late has not enabled finishing the roof painting but below you can see I have managed to get one coat on top of the sanded area, just needs a dry spell to get 2 more coats on.
Filled up with water recently, in fact it needs doing about every 10/14 days but this time after 2/3 days it was almost empty. Panic! if i haven`t used it where has it gone, so the search began for a leak within the boat of every pipe and tap but no sign of a leak. Next i isolated the tank to check it was not leaking, it wasn`t. Now i`m baffled because the pump was coming on so the water was being used somewhere and then it occurred to me the only way other than by a leaking pipe or normal sink/shower use that water could leave the tank was the pressure relief valve on the hot water tank. Removal of the overflow pipe that discharges out of the boat revealed it full of water so a new prv valve was fitted and once again my water supply lasts a reasonable time. After stripping the old valve i found the rubber valve seat to be perished.

HATTON TO BRAUNSTON

Leaving the Stratford on Avon canal at Kingswood jct. we turn right and right again onto the Gd. Union. The junction is shaped like an H so we have come up the lower left leg of the H and across and down the lower right leg that goes all the way into London but that`s not our destination as the year is still young leaving plenty of time till my annual pilgrimage south for christmas. Just a couple of miles south is Turners Green where the canal is built on an embankment and makes a nice overnight stop with views of the countryside on both banks of the canal and very good reception for Sky TV.
Leaving in the morning although the sun was not shining it was warm and dry that is until we

reached Shrewley Tunnel just 433yds long but as you can see on the roof of the boat plenty of water dripping down through the tunnel roof. Just a few drips so un like some of the tunnels no need for a brolly.... yes a brolly is needed in some as the water gushes down as if someone is standing above with a hosepipe and in the dark you feel it rather than see it.
The roof doesn`t have time to dry before we reach the Hatton flight of 21 locks taking us down

146ft into Warwick. As we descend we can see the spires of Warwick in the distance.
The flight as is usual at this time of year was busy with boats coming up so the descent is made easier as we swap locks with boats leaving the lock ahead which saves us filling the lock and opening the gates. Now if you look at the picture you can see that there are 4 ground paddles to let water in/out and 4 gates, now boats with plenty of crew would use all of these so if they went up or down the whole flight on there own and had to set every lock they would operate 84 paddles and open and shut 168 gates. When we go through we would only use one gate at each end of the lock cutting the gate openings down by half and don`t forget those paddles have to be wound open and then wound shut.
Spent some time at Warwick and as i mentioned on an earlier blog i was looking forward to son Andy along with Bev and Jordan/Jack and in the picture below whilst on a cruise for a couple of
days i managed to get a pic of my crew resting, well it was Andy who needed the rest as a couple of days after this pic he reached the tender age of 39.
After the kids went home i once again had the boat to myself and found time to do some work on
the roof. The roof had a slight anti slip surface on it but when cruising i spend a lot of time jumping up and down from the roof in locks and found the surface to be not to safe so the solution was to sand the roof. The way i do it is to mask up the panels and while the first coat is still wet sprinkle bird sand over the painted area then lightly brush off the excess and leave to dry before 2 more coats of paint are applied over the bird sand. In the pic above one coat of paint plus bird sand is drying. I have since managed to get the first coat on to the sand but am now waiting for a dry day to apply the next coat of paint.
Above passing the Kayes Arm (left of pic) at Stockton Andy/Tina on `Ytene` bringing up the rear.
The next 2 pictures show the Blue Lias Inn firstly in 1955 and then as seen as we passed recently
The name comes from the quarry`s here abouts that produced Blue Lias stone some of which was used on the R. Thames embankment also St Michael`s church in Stockton village.


So heading to Braunston for the w`end so untilnext time bye.

MY SHORT CRUISE on THE AVON

Although I didn`t get to see much of the R. Avon I must say I did enjoy the short trip to Bidford. So I have put the few snaps i took on to the photo album below.
Have spent this w`end with Andy/Bev and g`children Jack&Jordan and this has helped me get over the ordeal of the past weeks.

BLISS

Just a quick blog to show you what this life is all about. Having left the hustle and bustle of Stratford the above pic shows our first o`night mooring. Not a fantastic view but to sit on the front deck in the middle of the countryside with the only noise being the wind rustling the trees is sheer bliss after the last 3 weeks.
It certainly has calmed me down and listening to my voicemail where my g`son Jack was telling me about his visit this coming w`end but not quite understanding why i wasn`t answering him made me laugh out loud.
I will blog some pics i took on the Avon shortly.

THE RIVER AVON

On the 29th July we each paid £50 for a 2 week licence to cruise down the R. Avon as our BW canal licence is not valid on the privately owned Avon. It was a lovely day when we set off cruising with the flow of water making it`s way to the R. Severn at Tewkesbury and in the picture below is Bidford bridge and just through the bridge our first overnight mooring.

Andy/Tina on `Ytene` were in front and had moored by the time i arrived so i went through the bridge and moored alongside them waiting for John on `Tui`. Now if you enlarge the picture you can see on the left arch 2 arrows showing the navigable channell, the red no entry on the centre arch was not in place at this time as i took the picture on my way back but even so i think it is plain for all but an idiotic moron not to be aware of which arch to use.
In the picture below that i took as i went through the arrows are plain to see and no i`am not heading for the second arch just following the approach to the left arch avoiding some reeds on my left.


Below is the picture i took as Andy and i were making our way back through the bridge to attempt to rescue a thick stupid boater of below average intelligence who decided the centre
arch would be nice to cruise through, oh did i mention it was John on `Tui` and as you can see he is well and truly aground as the water under all the arches except the marked navigable one is only about 12 inches deep.
So off we set Andy and I to try and pull him back but as the pictures tell the story going through the arch and trying to get in position was not helped by the flow of water coming towards us and i ended up well and truly aground as you can see in the picture below taken on the other side of the bridge.
Andy went back and got his boat and came through the arch to try and push my stern into deeper water in the hope i might reverse away but the flow was to great and his boat just lacking
the power and in the picture above no matter what revs i used it was not gonna move. Perhaps in some of the pictures you can see a muppet or even John sitting on the back of his boat with not a care in the world and at one stage drinking a cup of tea so i shouted across and i won`t print here what words i used but the general idea was he should phone a boatyard and get some help.
Above and below are pictures of a Dutch barge that arrived from a nearby yard to sort things out but even he had trouble even with his powerful engine and it wasn`t until 4 local lads walked along my boat and standing knee deep in the river used lengths of timber to lever the front off the river bed so that the Dutch barge could push the back end without the front going more aground. It worked and as the rear of my boat was pushed into deep water i was able to reverse.
He then pulled John out of the bridge arch.
Alls well that ends well i hear you say, i only wish it was because on mooring up my engine was not sounding to good. To cut the story short it appears that the excessive revving of my engine had damaged the piston rings and with engine removal, gaskets, labour etc i ended up with a bill of £1003.
I suppose you must be thinking John must have been beside himself with all the trouble he had caused but you `d be wrong, no thanks for attempting to help him, no asking what the engineer had said after listening to the engine in fact he never said a word but disapeared into his boat when Andy who at the time was standing next to me told him it was something serious, nice bloke eh well it was then and there i decided no longer would i be cruising with him but i needn`t have worried because the following day when Andy & Tina were leaving to attend to some business in Evesham that he decided he was going to head back to London and that was what he did no goodbye or thanks no hope all goes well with the repairs he just left. Well John if you or one of your mates read the blog GOOD RIDDANCE your an ar.....e.
So after getting the repairs done i had been at Bidford 13 days after waiting 3 days for the engineer to find a time slot to start and with parts ordered from Holland and other complications i was ready to leave and catch up with Andy/Tina who had returned to Stratford on Avon as we had decided not to carry on with the planned trip to Gloucester as the heavy rain had caused the Rivers Avon and Severn to run fast.
In the picture below is the reason i ended up stuck at Bidford for an extra 2 days, the Avon rose 2` flooding the mooring. So all in all our trip on the Avon has been a nightmare and as i write this i`m back in the Basin at Stratford so just this once the blog is not of past cruising but bang up to date i`m here now but not for long.

Although i`m the sort of person who would always try and help anyone with a problem of any sort i think in future i`ll just take a step back and give the matter some thought.

NICE TO SEE YOU

While moored up in the basin at Stratford upon Avon I had a visit from Andy/Bev and the grandchildren Jack&Jordan.
A visit to the Butterfly farm, which can be viewed on the picture album video below was followed by a ride on the chain ferry pictured below.





As you can imagine this was a lovely w`end and after the family had gone home the plan was to go down onto the R. Avon and make our way to Gloucester.
Setting off in fine weather i was realy enjoying myself and arrived at Bidford just after Andy/Tina on `Ytene` then John on `Tui` approached the arched bridge and the brainless idiot decided to ignore the arrows indicating which arch was the navigable channel instead he thought the centre arch looked ok but he didn`t make it and become well and truly stuck in the shallow water.
The outcome of all this will be revealed on the next blog by which time i hope to have my boat back in service.

STRATFORD UPON AVON

Well have arrived in Stratford upon Avon in the basin adjacent to Bancroft Gardens. The town centre is just across the basin from the moorings making it easy to visit the many interesting sites along with the thousands of tourists from all over the world. I think the only other place I have heard so many different languages was London. Be warned fellow boaters that to moor here so close to everything has a price and below are pictured 3 tourists taking pictures so i got my own back and snapped them. This goes on all day long with party`s of up to 30 led by a guide and they also stand in the front deck to have their photo taken if the boat has no one aboard.
Still it`s a small price to pay for a visit to Stratford and at least the next mooring can if you wish be in a nice remote piece of countryside.
While here I had a w`end visit from 2 of the g`children with mum&dad and we visited the Butterfly farm and a ride on the chain ferry across the Avon but that will be on the next blog so in the meantime click on the photo album below and have a look around Stratford upon Avon.