Sunshine, good food and clever people.

After a quiet night (apart from the helicopter which, literally,  skimmed the top of the trees above our heads and made the boat vibrate!) we left Dundas Aqueduct this morning and, again, the sun was shining. Karen and Ian on ‘Tacet’, who seemed to have made an early start, came past us while we were still getting ready!

We gently cruised along the canal through the lovely Avon valley where some of the vistas are just so England.

We passed Ian and Karen in Bradford-on-Avon (who had stopped for breakfast), stopping ourselves a bit further along to get a  much needed major shop from Sainsbury’s.  Although you can’t see the store from the canal, Doug remembered we used it 6 years ago.  James had to stay with the boat on the visitors moorings (pictured) as it wasn’t really safe to leave it, due to the very poor condition they were in.

Further along we passed some nest builders (or perhaps it’s just an extension).

Sadly, there’s a lot of unsightly “continuous mooring” along this stretch from Bath – this, albeit a bit exceptional,  is someone’s home. 

When we got to Hilperton we stopped at “The Boatyard” -  owned by Spencer and Victoria who we’ve known since we had our last boat.  Victoria had finished the fenders we ordered last week on the way down –these will replace the old ones later this year.  We also filled with fuel and bought some servicing spares and had a pleasant catch-up chat with them both before continuing.  We can thoroughly recommend this very helpful and welcoming couple for anyone cruising the K and A.

After a few locks and swing bridges around Seend, we finally came to halt for the night at Sells Green – the same spot we chose for a mooring on the way down.  This time we went for a wonderful meal at The Three Magpies which is a short walk from the canal.

On the way back to ‘Chance’ Doug collected a lantern, which the chap on the next boat made out of a Guinness can that he’d given him earlier.  It’s very effective and really well done.

Aren’t some people clever!