Sunday 20th July

As planned we stayed on our mooring today and caught up with our chores. It was a bright blustery day and there was plenty of movement on the river and on the towpath. Everybody seemed to want to stop and have a chat which kept Tom occupied while he washed and polished one side of the boat. He has said he will do the other side when we are on a different mooring on the other side of the river.


We decided to have our Sunday lunch at the Bridge Hotel, a riverside pub adjacent to our mooring. It was nothing special but neither of us felt like cooking.

The Bridge Hotel where we had Sunday lunch

However what was a real and unexpected treat was the narrowboats President and Kildare, which had moored opposite the pub. President is the oldest surviving cargo carrying narrowboat and is steam powered. Kildare is the butty which is towed behind, giving double the capacity for cargo.

Narrowboat and Butty President and Kildare, a rare sighting

These are exhibition boats that are based in Birmingham, crewed by volunteers who take them round the country to various shows and events and next year will be their centenary year.

Another "Lottie" on the river this one a cruiser