Wednesday 17th August 2016

As we sailed through Gailey and filled with water the boatyard was getting its diesel delivered. Glad he brought the stepladder.

Set off this morning for Penkridge with a queue at every lock. Ah well - at least it is very warm and sunny.

Penkridge was a very useful town. Lots of good shops and being Wednesday an excellent market. The bakers was superb and apparently lorry drivers divert from the motorway to pick up sandwiches. The pastry on the pork pies would have sent Mary Berry into raptures!

We passed under the concrete M6 bridge

and then just round the corner was this very pretty bridge. Round every bend on a canal journey you never know what you are going to find.

As we cruised past a boatyard we came across this boat with straps under it connected to a crane. Narrow boats have flat bottoms so big straps can be put underneath to lift them out of the water. What drew our attention was the Kennet and Avon written on the side of the boat which is the canal nearest to our home.

As some of you will have seen, our neighbours tonight are cows. They were all lying down at the far end of the field when we moored but soon wandered over for a look!