Narrowboating in the Mist.

Hello Friends.

Brrrr another chilly morning after it got down to -2.6c at Welford. By the time we were up and about the temperature was just above freezing. As I stepped off of the boat with Paddy, the mist was thickening across Welford Basin.
We were in for a misty start to our morning's cruising. The marina at Welford took on a rather spooky feel in the odd light as we left our overnight mooring at 9.20am. I worked the only lock at Welford, which has become rather leaky of late.

We were coming to the end of the Welford Arm to head back on to the main line and could see a large plume of smoke bellowing into the morning sky. Now to find the cause of the smoke signal.

The source of the smoke was soon revealed, Mill House Farm was having a huge bonfire. Either they were trying to keep the horses warm, or it was an early Spring clean.

We left the Welford Arm and set off back towards Foxton. The plan was to moor up in the middle of nowhere for the night. This stretch of the canal is quiet and tree lined, with the occasion view across the valley to enjoy. We entered the woodland cutting heading for Husbands Bosworth Tunnel (1166 yds long). The tunnel was opened in 1813. Once out of the tunnel we slipped under the arch of Honey Pot Farm Bridge which you can use to get into Husbands Bosworth village (CLICK). and back into the seclusion of the countryside. If you are into Witches you may like to know, in July 1616 nine witches of Husbands Bosworth were executed, apparently they were supposed to have bewitched the son of Erasmus Smith, Lord of the Manor of Bosworth (CLICK). Having left Husbands Bosworth behind I spotted a lone Kingfisher watching the water for fish. It was so pre-occupied with its prey it did not attempt to fly away. Whilst on the move, I made us a coffee to keep us warm against the chilly breeze.

Our cruise came to its conclusion at Bridge 51 at the foot of the Laughton Hills, which are 550ft above sea level. The Laughton Hills tumble down to the Grand Union Canal and the Welland Valley and are home to a wide variety of wildlife. There are some scenic walks to be had on a nice day.

Having moored up, I was quick to close the boat up against the cold wind. I put my boatmade chicken and vegetable soup in a pan and put it on the back stove to warm through, whilst I buttered some bread and made us both a coffee. My fingers were now beginning to thaw out. My fingers always seem to be the first to get cold, which is odd because I was wearing gloves. Thawed out by the warming soup, I then prepared tonights dinner, which is Lemon Chilli Chicken, which we will be having with Rice. That is now cooking in the back stove. Keith has pointed the TV ariel in the correct direction and we have a fantastic signal, so at the moment we watching Scaramouche on Channel 4. It was made in 1952 and stars Stewart Granger. It's an oldie but goodie.

As we finished our lunch, there came a knocking on the boat. I leapt to my feet and opened the engine room door to see Steve off of NB Full Circle standing wrapped up against the cold. He and Sue were in need of coal to keep them warm for the next few days. I wished them a Happy New Year and we unloaded their coal from the hold. It was wonderful to catch up with them both, before letting them get underway as they had a place to be and people to see.

It is now 1.45pm and I am obviously typing this posting, Keith is doing sonething in the engine room, Mog and Dog are both fast asleep and dinner smells devine.

This will be out mooring for the night before we move tomorrow and I am looking forward to a lovely evening watching a decent TV picture.

News spotted today:

Fox Shoots Man (CLICK)