Packet Boat marina and home

Friday 6th June

Apart from the OK-looking pub (which we could have walked to from the quieter spot before the bridge) there was just one redeeming feature about this mooring and that was the view from the saloon window.

A little bit of loveliness.

An hour further on we passed the moorings where had hoped to be last night – plenty of room, if only we had gritted our teeth and carried on! We needed fuel, so hovered in the middle of the cut at Willowtree watching the dance of the Black Princes as they were hauled into new positions, then pulled in.

As we cruised on to Bull’s Bridge junction we passed this delightfully painted boat, Watson, Holmes & Co. The building to the left of Sherlock is Baskerville Hall, in case you need a clue!

We arrived at the marina at lunchtime and moored at the wharf to wait to be told where to go. 

Meg was delighted to be off the boat and enjoyed a run around with the resident dogs!

The poor little pug had to keep stopping for a rest and the other one just couldn’t keep up with her.  I tried for a photo at closer quarters but the camera couldn’t keep up either!  We got moored up quite quickly but had to go in bow first as the wind had got up just enough to be a nuisance.  We looked across to the next pontoon as we were tying up and what did we see but Chance, almost directly opposite!  I hope we’ll be able to catch up with Doug and James at some point.

Dave walked down to West Drayton station to go and pick up the car from Froud’s Bridge and was back within 3 hours – the quickest pick-up so far.  We went to the Waterside restaurant for a meal and enjoyed a quiet evening in spite of the aircraft.

8 miles, no locks

Saturday 7th June

Dave wandered round to settle up with Maeve in the office and we spent the morning emptying cassettes, walking the dog and general cleaning and packing in between heavy showers.  We will be back up again in a couple of weeks to use the marina as a base for travelling to a family wedding near Cambridge, then we’ll be off on our travels again – though we’ve not decided where to go yet.