24th Aug -9th Sept

The last two weeks of our life afloat!  From Tamworth we moved on to Marston Junction, via Atherstone and Nuneaton, where we detoured for a few days to go up the Ashby Canal. 

Tony and Roger

We were joined on successive days by Tony, Jan and grandson Luke, and then by Jill, taking a break from her own boat to be passenger instead of captain for a change.

Jill on the Ashby

By the evening of Sat 30^th, we were moored at Sutton Stop/Hawkesbury Junction, when at 11.0pm our peaceful night was interrupted by Benny deciding, for reasons best known to himself, to take a plunge into the canal yet again.  He hasn’t fallen in for over a year, and we had become quite relaxed about him running up and down the gunwales and leaping from deck to towpath – we couldn’t believe he had fallen in with less than a week to go before moving back to dry land!

A bedraggled Benny

Locating him in pitch darkness to haul him out of the water wasn’t the easiest task, but eventually the rescue was accomplished and we (and our neighbouring boaters) were able to settle down for the night!

On 31^st Aug we moved on to Newbold-on Avon, Rugby,

Lesley, Jean, Dorothy and Peter at Newbold

accompanied by Roger’s friends Lesley, Peter and Dorothy, and after retrieving our second car from David’s house near York, it wasn’t long before the boat was back on familiar territory at Braunston.

We woke on Fri 5^th Sept to the realisation that this was our last full day on the boat – quite an emotional thought. However, we were cheered by having Sue and Dave along for the final run to Stockton in the afternoon, and in the evening the ranks were swelled by the arrival of Barbara, Karen and Roger – we all drank a toast to Vincent Joseph before adjourning to the Boat Inn for a meal.

A final toast to Vincent Joseph

Sat 6^th Aug saw the first of many trips between boat and house with both cars loaded with belongings – it’s unbelievable how much STUFF one can pack into such a relatively small space as a narrowboat.

Unloading the boat

The house feels enormous in comparison, and we are revelling in the delights of washing machine, freezer, internet access, a shower big enough to turn round in – and the ultimate luxury …a flushing toilet!

It’s been a fabulous two years, and we don’t regret for a moment making the decision to live on the water for a while.

 We'll miss pottering the waterways

We know we will miss pottering along the waterways, opening the curtains to a different view every morning, enjoying the wildlife and feeling a part of the changing seasons.

A different view every morning

Local wildlife

We have covered a lot of miles, and had many wonderful experiences - highlights such as the Pontcysllte Aqueduct, shooting past Big Ben, braving the Nene and the Trent, but also so many low-key, happy days on various canals all over the country.

A bridge too far?

 But life moves on, and we’re ready to begin a new phase - and we hope that Vincent Joseph will go on to give someone else as much pleasure as us.  Our plan is to do a little sprucing up, then take the boat to a marina to be sold - so we haven’t quite done with boating yet.  We will post one more blog entry when we’ve completed the final voyage and said goodbye – and publish a few more photos which didn’t find space on the blog over the last two years