Part 4 - Chapter 7(2)

Down into Bancroft Basin

"With the statue of Shakespeare right in front of us,

and the RSC Theatre behind, we moored at around noon."

"Bancroft Basin is a really lovely place to moor."

  

" Boats tie up at floating pontoons – very interesting to walk along while a boat is mooring! "

"We stood back to admire the views and take in the atmosphere."

""...a superb piece of drama, acted and produced every bit

as excellently as one would expect from the RSC."

"... a leisurely stroll around the park alongside the River Avon."

  

"Through the night, spectral characters from the Bard's plays

looked down upon us, yellow and shadowed around the basin."

  

"A heavy mist hung over the water like a strange, ethereal blanket on Sunday morning."

"We ascended the eleven locks of the Wilmcote flight"

"We took a look at Wootton Wawen village."

The stock of wood for making the garden furniture!

Moving on...

"We moored up opposite the Fleur de Lys for the night."

"...peaceful, despite the pub."

"We locked our way up the Lapworth flight, 11 locks in 2 miles."

"We turned right out of Kingswood Junction..."

"...and moored for lunch in the Lapworth Link."

"When the rain cleared, we carried on back onto the Grand Union."

"...stopping between bridges 62 and 61 for the night, close to Foxwood Aqueduct."

Calcutt Locks again

Grand Union at Shuckburgh

"The church, too, was most attractive, but unfortunately, locked."

"The odd light in our bedroom on Sunday morning told us that it was

very foggy outside, but it lifted slowly to leave a beautiful mist

hanging heavily over the countryside by the time we left. "

"The best photo I got was blurred by my hurrying to capture the moment as we passed the bird."

  

"Grace practised her canal art, with a view to painting the roses and castles

on Kantara when we had her repainted the following year."

"We'd ordered a dehumidifier to deal with the damp that

builds up over the winter while the boat's uninhabited."

"Made to a really high standard, and looking so good."

Christmas-tree Festival at Barton-le-Clay

"It wasn't a good gig for the Maidens; they were simply

background music, singing from a minstrel gallery..."

"The next day, I went into London to meet Michelle,

who was to share a birthday treat with me."

"Billy Elliot at the Victoria Palace Theatre"

"with a meal beforehand at the nearby Da Scalzo restaurant."

"We decorated the Christmas tree, and got the Christmas decorations up in good time"

"the last of the Terry Darlington books, which I still hadn't read..."

"I just had to give that a read."

"Grace also gave me a large map of the entire UK inland waterways system,

really useful for seeing the whole picture when planning journeys."

"I gave Grace a light for reading in bed..."

"It reminds you of Tetris. The coloured blocks can be

stacked any way you like. And they all illuminate."

"We were loving it, living with our feet under water.

We saw no reason to change. But who knew what would happen?

That's half the fun. The uncertainty, the possibilities."

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