Surprise, surprise!

After the thunder storms yesterday afternoon we had a glorious evening………

…….. ending with a superb sunset.  It’s a pity our camera can’t quite give the true picture.

Today was another fairly early start for us.  The canal was very quiet, boat wise, and the weather was great for the whole journey with some very warm sunny periods (until later).  At Tamworth we were surprised, and very pleased, to meet up with Tony on nb ‘Lydia’ who was moored at the top of the Glascote Locks.  We had a quick chat with him as he very kindly helped us down through the two locks.

We left Tony at the locks as we said farewell until our next meeting. Good luck Tony – keep in touch.

Leaving Glascote Locks we were soon passing over the River Thame aqueduct, having coffee and muffins in the process.

Our second surprise of the day was to meet up with Emma and Nick on nb ‘Marpessa 2’ just after Fazeley.  We moored up with them for a short while as they told us there was a B & Q just down the road and James was in dire need of some clear silicone sealant (sad!).

They kindly gave us coffee and we had a couple of hours of “properly get to know you” chatter and had a look around each other’s boats (another mutual admiration society!).  We’ve met up very briefly with Emma and Nick a couple of time before but this was an unexpected pleasure to spend a little more time together.  Doug with Emma and Nick and their lovely two year old Labrador, Murk.  Hope to see you all again soon!

A bit further down the canal we decided to moor up at the pleasant village of Whittington.  A walk into the village centre via Whittington Bridge (the last of the 15 or so bridges since Fazeley Junction which have names rather than numbers) and we came across some very nice properties ………..

……. the grandest of which was Whittington Old Hall.

Among the plethora of recent builds, there are still some quaint survivors.

Walking back along the canal from bridge 80 (back to boring numbers!) we spotted probably Whittington’s best kept garden.  Not a blade of grass out of place!

Returning to ‘Chance’, right next to us is the stone which marks the exact division of the Birmingham and Fazeley and Coventry Canals……….

……. and, back to the previous reference about the weather – within seconds of getting back on board ‘Chance’ the heavens opened!  It was to be the only shower of the day, so we think ourselves lucky.  Our neighbours on the other side of the canal are very nice and,  like most of the people of Whittington, keep their gardens beautiful.  So we’re in a very pleasant spot for this evening.