An early finish at Ansty

We slept through the alarm this morning; it's been a long time since that's been possible…

It meant that we were not underway until nearly half six, dear oh dear. It was, however, another glorious morning, cool at first but very sunny. Sheila's been steering today whilst I got on with the cabin jobs, including running yet another washload (we're still catching up after getting well behind whilst on the dock) and keeping the Squirrel lit to finish drying yesterday's batch.

I had just the one lock to work, Sutton's Stop, whilst Sheila gave a master class in working a seventy footer through the 180º turn of the junction. She did have to use reverse once, but then even the old working boaters regarded Sutton's as a challenge in a single motor, being very prepared to run a line to the bollard on the inside of the bend to help the boat round. Ironically, working round with a pair was much easier, as the butty's bow could be used to push the motor's stern round.

Sheila decided that Ansty would be a better mooring than All Oaks Wood/Brinklow for getting the whirligig out, it being so warm and sunny by now. We only just found a mooring, squeezing into a bare 70' length opposite the pub garden. The bridge that gave so much trouble two years ago has still not been reinstated.

It belongs to the pub and I'd have thought that it would be in their interest to put a new footway deck across; the abutments look quite sound. It would make it an easy walk from the visitor moorings to the pub, whereas the route back to the road bridge and into the village a) is much longer and b) goes past another pub.

Heigh ho, I guess if they were going to be sensible about it they'd have kept the original one in good repair, rather than have BW (as it was then) do a compulsory demolition job on it before the span fell into the water.

It's clouded over a bit during the afternoon, but not enough to stop us sitting out on the towpath for quite a bit of the time.

I've even been getting some sun on my lower legs and feet again…

/blur

Tomorrow, a slightly later start at seven, aiming to arrive at Newbold between ten and eleven to maximise our chances of getting a good mooring. We've got an Ocado delivery booked for the two till three slot.