Final Trip: Day 4

Posted on April 28, 2017 by pensitivity101

Day 4: April 21st.

We have always loved Luddington, even though it is one of the deepest locks on the river.

It is so peaceful here, and we slept like logs, probably because we had pushed on to do 6 locks the previous day and only had 2 more to go to Stratford Upon Avon.
We were away early, loo cassette emptied as there is an elsan point here, but no need to top up on water as we had used less than a quarter of a tank.
As our water filter was in storage, we had stocked up on bottled water which was lasting well, and we could also ensure we were drinking 2 litres each a day and not dehydrating.
Coming out of Weir Brake Lock, I always forget to have the camera ready for the gardens as you turn the bend. Not so on this trip. It is truly beautiful.

This is the last lock before Stratford. We were there well before midday, so managed to berth opposite the theatre again and behind our American friends from a couple of days ago. No pancakes today, but they were looking forward to seeing Anthony and Cleopatra that evening.
We secured the boat and walked into town for lunch and supplies, replenishing our bottled water and biscuit supply.
We had visitors in the afternoon, friends from the marina who had given up their boat a few months ago and were some of the few who knew we were on our final trip on ours.

We actually spent one of the worst nights ever anywhere here.
It was noisy with screeching girls, wailing sirens, boy racers, boom boxes and loud music to such an extent that we were lucky to get two hours sleep.
Our Canals licence (£41.95 for 7 days) came into force the following day and we were up and ready to go at 6am.
Our American friend heard us, pulled on some pants, and offered us a hand with the Stratford Basin Lock as the gates tended to open of their own accord thus making the lock difficult to fill.
Once through the gate, we were on new ground, leaving the familiar 17 River Locks behind and about to embark on our first and only canal journey.
Couldn’t resist taking a picture of these cuties by the boat hire hut.

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About pensitivity101

I am a retired number cruncher with a vivid imagination and wacky sense of humour which extends to short stories and poetry. I love to cook and am a bit of a dog whisperer as I get on better with them than people sometimes! In November 2020, we lost our beloved Maggie who adopted us as a 7 week old pup in March 2005. We decided to have a photo put on canvas as we had for her predecessor Barney. We now have three pictures of our fur babies on the wall as we found a snapshot of Kizzy, my GSD when Hubby and I first met so had hers done too. On February 24th 2022 we were blessed to find Maya, a 13 week old GSD pup who has made her own place in our hearts. You can follow our training methods, photos and her growth in my blog posts. From 2014 to 2017 'Home' was a 41 foot narrow boat where we made strong friendships both on and off the water. We were close to nature enjoying swan and duck families for neighbours, and it was a fascinating chapter in our lives. We now reside in a small bungalow on the Lincolnshire coast where we have forged new friendships and interests.
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7 Responses to Final Trip: Day 4

  1. scifihammy says:
    April 28, 2017 at 2:58 pm

    It’s been great fun reading about your Final Trip and a lovely way for you to record this for future memories. 🙂

  2. philosophermouseofthehedge says:
    April 28, 2017 at 3:36 pm

    Bitter sweet. I think your trip/journal with all your thoughts/reflections of what has happened would make such a wonderful book. And you already have the most beautiful and interesting pictures. Reflection of how life changed and the journey to adjust to it all .
    Travel safe and soak it all in. Enjoy the moment – forever.

  3. The Diary of a Country Bumpkin says:
    January 22, 2019 at 5:07 pm

    I’ve always fancied getting a boat but I’m a tad on the greedy side as I want one of the old Dunkirk boats but I imagine rather like old cars there is a lot more maintenance, cleaning the brass etc.

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