Retirement with No Problem

Ashton Lock to Fotheringhay, River Nene, 5 miles 3 locks

I was tired this morning.. I guess it’s the ‘day after the day before’ when it hits.  Well 12 hours of travelling in two days by bus, train and shanky’s pony will be tiring.. but I was pleased to pull the pins once again on the lovely mooring at Ashton Lock.  Chas had backed in to the backwater when we arriv ed last week.. I had gone straight in, so on the way out, Chas ‘picked me up’ with Moore2Life and took me backwards out of there….

Ah, the first sighting of the new hat!!  Here I am hanging on to the front of Moore2Life as No Problem gets pulled back.  You can see from the pic how lovely the moorings are here, and I fully recommend anyone on this river to moor a while in this delightful spot. 

There are some boat houses on the way from Ashton to Fotheringhay… and by boat houses I mean rowing boat houses!… They take it all very seriously you know, maybe some Cambridge light blues amoung them, who knows.. but they are a jolly lot.. well those in the row boats are, the guys in the speedy little boats with outboard motors are not so jolly, shouting and screaming ‘orders’ to the sweating crews!..

Here we need to dodge an ‘eight’ coming at speed towards us.. we are expected to get out of the way although as you can see there is quiet a wind to have to contend with..

We stopped for water at Fotheringhay again, well I had done 3 loads of washing since we left, so water was probably needed, but on arrival another boat was moored by the waterpoint and looked as if they were there for the night.. No hose pipe leading from their boat.. I cursed.. a hire boat hogging the waterpoint!… WRONG!!..

The reason this crew were moored on the waterpoint was that their boatyard had given them a key that wouldn’t open the waterpoints.. they had been waiting for a boat to use the water so they could get some themselves.  Awwwww they had even called out their boatyard to come and give them a key.. I think they were more or less out of water.. hey and a nice bunch of people they were too!

I then wrote a note to myself “Sue, don’t presume until you know the facts” !!

We have moored by the castle again at Fotheringhay, Lucy loves it here, and has been laying outside this evening.  It has only just gone dark tonight, well I write this at 23.25pm, and still there is light..

Wendie.. bet my tubs beat yours….

Actually they are better than that now!