Good news. The good old boat passed her safety test with flying colours which, while not unexpected was nevertheless welcome. After the test I made my way up river to Oundle marina to moor up for a few weeks while I get ready for the next trip. On the way up I stopped overnight at the peaceful Ferry Meadows and unwisely joined my son Steve in the 5k parkrun. Only my second and improved by time by almost 2 minutes to 40:47, slightly annoyed as I wanted to break 40. My hard work was rewarded with a splendid sunset over the lake.
After Ferry Meadows I had a gentle cruise up to Fotheringhay where I realised that the river level was around a foot below normal making mooring a bit tricky as much if the bank was too shallow to get the boat in. The trees are showing a noticeable Autumnal tint.
Once at the marina I drove back to the house to remove some furniture before the new tenant moved in and dump some stuff in the garage that I no longer need on the boat. With the house sorted I headed off for a short break to visit my brother and family on the Isle of Man. It's the first time I've visited since they moved into their new home complete with stables and several acres of land for their horses. The setting is stunning surrounded by hills in beautiful countryside a few miles from Ramsey.
I'm really enjoying chilling here, spent the afternoon wandering around the fields with several horses and a couple of young springer spaniels for company. Very relaxing company.
I've been thinking about selling my car as its just sitting in the marina gathering dust and costing money to tax and insure. By coincidence Dave is looking for another car, a deal was struck and I'm now carless. This of course leaves me in the IoM without transport. I've booked a flight to Liverpool on Monday and then train back to Peterborough ready to rejoin Mr Bunbury.
I'll continue the story when I leave the marina and head back up the river to join the Grand Union canal.
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