Bradford-on-Avon.

We set off from our mooring at Sells Green this morning about 10 o’ clock in bright sunshine after a very quiet night.  These mooring are very good – mooring rings, refuse bins and a water point that delivers the fastest fill we’ve had for a long time!

‘Chance’ following ‘Autumn Myst’ as we leave Sells Green this morning.

We soon left the sunshine behind as dark clouds begin to fill the sky.  Luckily we kept dry all day but the temperature dropped substantially when the sun went in.

We get the odd bit of dual carriageway on the canal system!  This one going over the new bypass around Semington.

After going down through the two Semington Locks we saw this rather unusual floating construction.

Also below the locks at Semington is the point at which the Wilts and Berks Canal will join the K and A one day.  This is site of the original junction where the two canals met when it was a proper working system.

It doesn’t happen very often but here’s a role reversal – James working a swing bridge!

We stopped briefly at “The Boatyard” at Hilperton, run by Spencer and Victoria to order a couple of new fenders for the rear quarters of ‘Chance’.  Victoria made the original ones and they are now looking a bit tatty after doing sterling service.  We’ll collect them on our way back from Bristol sometime in the next few weeks.

Unable to find a place to moor around Hilperton we journeyed on towards Bradford-on-Avon.  Sadly, most of the towpath side of the canal between Hilperton and B on A is lined with dilapidated live- aboards that have not moved for a very long time and it is a depressing sight.

Arriving in Bradford-on-Avon we found the visitor moorings in a dreadful, and dangerous, condition and the only decent space available was a 24 hour section with a C&RT boat moored on it which was being painted by a volunteer.   We had some difficulty “persuading” the C&RT personnel (who admitted that it been there a week!) to move it for us but eventually, and reluctantly, they did.

Having moored up we decided to take the train into Trowbridge to do some shopping and to visit some dear family friends, Bex and Craig, who live there.  We haven’t seen them for quite some time and as they had a free evening we all went to their local pub for a very enjoyable meal.

Bex, Craig and James waiting for their food.

It was a great impromptu evening with you both and thanks for making time for us.  It was only a six minute journey on the train to get back to the boat so we were soon aboard with the fire lit and settled in for the night.