Thursday 31st July

We had set the alarm for 7am this morning - we certainly don't want to do that too often - it was really hard.
The car hire firm came promptly, took us to the office to complete the paperwork and gave us a black KA for the day. We had decided that I would drive and Tom would navigate. It only took us 50 minutes to get home (bearing in mind it has taken us 6 weeks by boat) The post was in the garage as arranged and then we went to check on our mooring. It all looked fine but by now it had started to rain on and off so we didn't linger. Next stop was Peterborough to do some bits and pieces and also had lunch. Finally we went to Tesco to stock up on food etc.
We wanted to get the car back tonight so we had a free day tomorrow. We made it in good time and then they took us back to the boat. A brilliant service and one we will definitely use again.
It was very hot on the boat when we returned so we went to the pub and sat in the garden under a parasol for an hour or two. It started to pour with rain again but we kept dry. As I am writing this, it is still pouring.