Thursday 12th and Friday 13th September
Yesterday we left Mick and Cathy at Swarkestone (they subsequently went to The Ragley Boat Stop) and have travelled 4.5 miles and just Stenson Lock to Willington. We are moored just past the footbridge before the entrance to Mercia Marina.
We pottered around for a bit and had some breakfast, then we went off to the marina to find out which berth we have been allocated for our week’s stay. We got a key fob for the gates and a £5 electric card so we can go straight in and moor up tomorrow morning.
We then walked in to the village and went to the Coop before having a pint in The Green Man. After a pint of Bass (very good) we decided to go to The Dragon for one as well. They had an array of beers we had not heard of (except the dreaded Doombar) but two of them were Burton Bridge ones – Stairway To Heaven and Red Robert. We like Burton Bridge so we decided to try a pint and a half of Stairway To Heaven. We were actually served 2 pints of Red Robert, but never mind!
Later, when we were about to leave the pub we spotted Brian (nb Daisy) in the corner and stopped for a chat with him and Mike (nb Bluenote), who had come over from The Green Man after his lunch, with his two dogs, Sooty and Sweep. This inevitably meant we exceeded the stated dose as it would have been churlish not to have another drink while we chatted! We finally left the pub somewhat late with Mike and walked back with him as he was taking Sooty and Sweep along the tow path to the footbridge where we are moored.
We arrived at the boat to find Pam and Ted (nb Uknowatsizname) moored behind us. A lengthy chat with them meant we didn’t actually get indoors until gone 5 pm!
Today we have been to Burton on the bus. We walked down to the village this morning to catch it as we had plenty of time. We stopped on the way to chat with Phil and Jean (nb Destiny’s Dream) who we last saw at Branston a couple of weeks ago. They wanted to know what the canal was like beyond Stenson as they had never been that far. We gave them the benefit of our experience.
We did the usual in Burton – Bacon roll stall, fishing tackle shop, Sainsbury’s, Wilko’s, Boot’s, market and Wetherspoon’s. We returned to the boat at a more respectable hour today and spent the rest of the afternoon listening to the rain beating down on the roof!
So tomorrow it’s back into Mercia for a week.
