1 Year Today



Hi There

 

Well as in the title post, we are one year today. The 3rd October 2012 saw us spend our first night on Badger Sett that was the start of a planned six months timeout, that ran into a twelve months time out and looks like now being permanent. Whilst I'm sure our life and lifestyle wouldn't suit some, it certainly suits us and when we Skype family and friends they all seem to say that we look really well and happy. Not sure how to take this, does it mean that we didn't look really well and happy before ?

 

 

 

We've been on the Lancaster Canal since our last post and enjoying the 41 mile main length and largely rural lock free scenery. Lock free other than the Glasson Branch that has got six locks that we just did yesterday.

 

Nicky's got a bit of a fetish lately and unfortunately, one that I can write about without censorship. The first time it happened I thought she'd left me as she just stood up, put her coat and boots on, picked up her unable-to-be-without-phone and shot out the door. Just when the prospect of my new life started to dawn on me and all those locks and lift bridges I'd have to do by myself, she was back. Turned out she'd spotted a sunset she liked and a few more since then as well.

Not so much a sunset, but a moon up this next one.

Just after Lancaster is quite an impressive aqueduct that takes you over the River Lune, strangely enough it's called the Lune Aqueduct!

Looking down the river from the Aqueduct towards Lancaster Castle.

Dec's our youngest son and his girlfriend Stevie came to see us for a few days on their way back from holiday in Tenerife and Dec's took the opportunity of 'taking control'.

He did very well and was extremely calm and relaxed, until . . .

a boat came around the corner just in front.

We stopped with them at Hest Bank overlooking Morcambe Bay for a few days and it was great to see the sea. Coming from Jersey there isn't really a day that goes by when you wouldn't see it, especially when I worked at the harbour and our house had sea views. Okay, distant sea views, but it was still mentioned in the sales spiel when it went on the market. Took a walk down there as the boys, well Binks more so, loves the water.

Dec's and Stevie with Benji trying to work out how to get up there.

Now you can't go to Morcambe Bay without visiting the great Mr Morcambe himself, although as an option I suppose you aren't duty bound to make fools of yourselves, but hey, when in Rome.

And a final treat for the boys on the beach with Benji about as close to getting in the water as he gets.

and Binks waiting 

for someone to just hurry up and throw that stick that's being waved about

so he can go and rescue it

Came across this little fellow on one of our walks.

although the boys weren't too sure what to make of him.

The Lancaster Canal has been great and improves the further north you go. The navigation is unceremoniously cut off by the M6 although it used to continue on to Kendal and there are plans to maybe open it up in the years to come. It won't be cheap though with locks to fix, tunnels and aqueducts to be built under and over roads and that's just to reconnect it back to the canal. After that, there's about 15 miles of canal to make navigable, some of which is filled in. You can walk along what they call the 'Northern Reaches' although we only managed 5 of the 15 miles that starts bringing you into the foothills of the Lake District and what would be a lovely stretch if ever opened up.

 

Some of it is fairly clear, but

some of it isn't.

 

 And the M6 cutting it off in the background.

 

 

 

Looks like there is some attempt to keep the Northern Reaches clear and some of the views that await.

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

We went for a walk to Warton Nature Reserve that's about two miles west of the canal and went up to the Crag. Trying to take a photo of the boys and Nicky proved tricky though as they were either
 

 

 

in the way 

looking the wrong way

or looking the wrong way and the wind was blowing

with this being about the best I could get in the end.
 

I on the other hand didn't have a hair issue, we just all looked the wrong way.

The boy's like to be warm and in the sun even if there is only a patch big enough for one at a time. Benji is in the hot seat for now, but don't move or . . .

to late you did and Binks is straight in there

 

 

 

 
That's it for now other than a quick close up photo to give you nightmares. Taken with Nicky's phone, as are a lot of the photo's in this post and puts my camera to shame.

 

 

 

And so in signing off,

Day 347 in the Badger Sett Narrowboat - 636 miles and 277 locks further on from when we started.

Note - For those eagled eyed of you who have noticed we're only on day 347, but have been going for a year, it's because we went home for Christmas and I didn't include those days in our log. Guess we'll have to be like the Queen and have two birthdays, one on the 3rd October and the other on the 365th day or subsequent multiples thereof in the years to come.