Saturday 17th July
We have finally made it to Bugsworth despite the weather! This morning it was quite bright and warm ……….. to start off with. We left Higher Poynton at 9 am and by 9-02 am it was raining! It started off as light rain but of course got heavier. Actually it was raining all the time but with heavy showers between the spells of light rain! As there are no locks between Higher Poynton and Bugsworth we didn’t have to keep getting on and off the boat to do them and as it was not windy we could have an umbrella up so we stayed relatively dry. On the Peak Forest there are 2 lift bridges and 2 swing bridges so I had to don the old waterproofs to get off and do them. When we arrived at Bugsworth it had stopped raining and we managed to do water and elsan etc in the dry. We decided to go down to the winding hole and turn round before we moored up. Bad move, suddenly there was a HUGE hail storm and in the space of a few minutes we got absolutely drowned! I had the cratch cover up on the side we were going to moor and before I had a chance to shut it the cratch was swimming and George’s cage and cushion got soaked! Aaaargh!
After mooring up we had to get changed before we could go to the pub. The Navigation has a very good covered area outside although dogs are allowed inside. We sat outside and were joined by Jill and Jeff off ‘AventGotOne’ (we haven’t asked) who we were moored near at Bosley and had a good chat and a few pints, as you do. In fact it was well past George’s dinner time (as he kept reminding us) by the time we got back.
It is a bit chilly today so I have lit the fire again, good job I went ‘sticking’ at Gurnett. Loads of people are having fires this week I have noticed and why not, it has been more like autumn than summer. I can’t see the point in sitting here freezing when I can light a quick fire and be toasty.
We have a new name for George – Mrs Doyle (off Father Ted). He has started taking ages to jump down from the bow locker into the cratch when he gets on the boat. It’s like he’s thinking about it, rocking backwards and forwards like Mrs Doyle does when she tries to get down off the windowsill! Then he sort of throws himself off the edge just like she does. So he is now Mrs Doyle!
We will be staying here for a couple of days now.
