Sunday 3rd November
I woke up late today and I hadn’t woken up in the night, maybe I slept so well as a result of all that walking yesterday! It was still breezy this morning but it was nice and sunny so after breakfast (boiled eggs which I managed to over cook!) we decided to go for a walk along the river. We went over the dock and across the footbridge over the river and then went towards Llanthony Lock and the weir. We couldn’t see the weir from the side of the river we were on but we did find the now disused Llanthony Lock. If we hadn’t have had so much rain lately we would have been able to walk right through it but it was flooded so we had to go round it.
We did quite a nice circular walk, leaving loads more options for further walks and then returned to the docks. It was just like being right out in the country but a stone’s throw from the city centre. We then went round to Victoria Basin to watch them moving the boats, which had to be moved before last night’s fireworks, back in to position. We had a long chat with Paul (nb Oronsay) who moors there permanently.
After this we went off to brave the dodgy beer at the New Inn because they had the football on. However, as luck would have it, they had just put a new barrel of Rev James on so the beer was actually ok. The football on the other hand was rubbish!
On the way back to the boat we encountered a group of young men practising their free running by jumping off walls and staircases in the docks. They were pretty good at it which was just as well. Ken said he preferred free standing or sitting!
Later on we experienced another form of free running when a young lad, showing off to his mates, took a running jump from the path outside the college, which runs alongside where we are moored up, across the gap and landed on the pontoon next to our boat. Our boat actually stopped him from overshooting and ending up in the dock!
By the time I had realised what was happening and got outside he had run off along the pontoon to the end, scaled the fence and vaulted over the roof of the sanitary station! His mates were still here though so I asked them what he thought he was doing? One of them said he had nearly fallen in. I said it was a pity he hadn’t fallen in. Another one of the little darlings then told me to shut up and go back in and carry on watching my soaps. Charming! Good job there was a 6ft expanse of water and a 4ft high wall between me and him! Refer back to the photos of us moored at the lightship and you will see what I mean.
We will be having a word with someone about it but I don’t suppose it will do any good. Nothing like this has happened before when we have been moored up here and the people who are moored up behind us haven’t had any trouble here before either so we aren’t put off mooring here but I was a bit annoyed.
Tomorrow we are going on our last trip to Saul before we go in to Victoria Basin next weekend. We need a window of opportunity with the weather to get some painting done before that …………… no chance!
