Escape from Covid II - The Mill

 Same thing happened this morning. Ian took the dog. I stomped through a sleeping Vicky and Alex. Glorious day. After breakfast Misty and I walked along the canal for a while and hopped aboard near Bathampton. A woman sunning herself on the moorings nearly got her legs amputated as Ian swooped in, but she shouldn’t have been so stupid. Once again we chilled in the Bank Holiday sun.  Although who would have thought the Kennet and Avon canal would be as busy as the M25. There was a bit of canal rage on the Dundas aqueduct with poling required.  Take that! After that the river quietened off a bit so we moored for lunch. Setting off again we approached the Avoncliff aqueduct and found ourselves behind The Hotel Boat! The biggest boat on the canal. And the slowest. Ian did a sterling job of manoeuvring across at snail speed. We filled up with water again, which may have been a mistake. Not far to the lock now. As we motored on down a boat coming the other way said, “it’s carna...

 Some of us slept great, some of us not so great. Anytime the water runs, ie toilet or hand wash, there’s a grinding noise. Being deaf has its advantages. Luckily for us, summer has come to Wiltshire. Ian had to feed Misty as I can’t manhandle her up the steps to the outside world, so I could laze in bed. The problem was that we couldn’t get to the kitchen to make coffee without passing through Vicky and Alex’s room. Tough, because we did it anyway. Eventually we roused enough people to do breakfast. It was still morning when we headed off towards Bath, just. No problem though because being on a canal boat means just letting life drift by.  Captain Alex Jack and Rose Ground crew in control of a swing bridge Relaxing on the water   Over the aqueduct We passed over two glorious aqueducts, a couple of swing bridges, everyone had a go at driving, Misty had a walk, we stopped for a pleasant lunch, and even Alex was talking to complete strangers.  Coming towards Bath we ca...

 We were leaving the mill and heading for Bradford on Avon to collect The Boat. We lazed in bed a little as we didn’t need to leave till mid morning, before squeezing everything back into the cars for the journey. We had a plan.  Kathy and Einar had to work so they remained behind with Vicky’s car and a smattering of stuff . Ian, Vicky and Alex headed to Devizes to drop the bikes and excess stuff at Vicky’s flat.  Chris, Misty, and I called at Lidl for vittles before heading to the boatyard.  We arrived at the same time as Ian’s crew and were soon loading the boat up. Our teacher, Carl, came over to give us a demo. It was only his third day on the job and the ground crew, Chris and Alex, weren’t overly impressed by his instructions. He did get us out of the marina though, and we were on our way! Misty’s spot Ground crew Misty walks the plank Vicky walks the plank Chris and Hannah Misty and towel  As we approached the only lock on this stretch, in the centr...

 Our last full day at the mill saw us split into several groups for various activities. Kathy and Einar had to work so they stayed at home. Chris didn’t want to do any thing so he stayed at home. The rest of us did exciting things. Ian and I had dragged our bikes all this way, and we weren’t going home without a bike ride. The weather was glorious so we devised a plan that involved a forest and an old railway. We left the mill the Chopping Knife Lane way, but carried on up the hill to a very nice bench at the top. I noticed this as I was waiting for Ian. We crossed the very busy A4 and on into Savernake Forest. Alex had warned us that, no matter the plan, it was very easy to become lost in the Forest. Ian dismissed him out of hand. We approached our first turning, just trees. Mmmm. Never mind, we readjusted and we’re going swimmingly until we burst out of the trees into a mans back yard. He sportingly set us back on the right path, the right path being a narrow mud bath. We did eve...