If there are two things in life we love, it’s free Wi-Fi and toilet paper.

The Barge Inn is a fine purveyor of both.

Posted as we are going along due to 4g mobile signal.

So this is written the day after it happened. We got up fairly early and Cliff and Jo went for a run. They are training to run around the world. (Some of that might not be true.) After this we started the engine at 8, this is the earliest it can be started and it has to be turned of by 8.

We started driving the boat and heading west towards Bath. The first thing of note was the Avoncliff aqueduct. Well before this there was a swing bridge that is normally open but was closed as somebody was using it to get to the water works. We slowed down a bit and it was fine. After this we went on and over the Dundas Aqueduct made of Bath limestone. In the early 1980s the aqueduct was repaired with concrete and reopened in 1984.

After this there were a few swing bridges which are fairly easy to operate and then we found a nice bit of bank for our bacon and avocado sandwiches. After lunch we continued west to Bath and turned around just before bridge 188 Sydney Wharf Bridge.

After this we headed back east and stopped for the night in a very similar but not exactly the same place for the night.

We had a lovely nut roast prepared by Jo and Cliff. Before dinner we played trivial pursuits genus edition which Cliff and Jo got from the second chance charity shop. We won’t say who won. We had a few beers and whisky before bed. Oh we did play a bit of ligretto.

I forgot to mention earlier we filled up with water at the Dundas wharf which was just after the aqueduct.

So this is the first post in a long time. It is from Lydia, a 4 berth 54ft long canal boat.

A while ago we decided with Cliff and Jo to go on a narrow boat holiday and here we are in February on a boat. It is a warm 4 degrees.

We left London this morning heading west along some roads out of London. The first stop was Avebury a village with a lot of standing stones, a National Trust car park and visitors center. Jo and I used the toilets Cliff and Sarah stayed in the car to avoid the £4 parking charge.

We headed into Devizes not devices. We went to Sainsbury’s belong to J Sainsbury. We used Sarah project management and a Google sheet to quickly go around the small supermarket buying supplies. The car park cost 55p which we almost forgot to get refunded at time of payment.

After shopping we headed to the Caen Hill Locks to have a quick look around and a lunch of humus, veg and bread. We had lunch sitting on a bench with a dog poo under it and    a dog that seemed to want to eat our lunch. I think the dog was called Blondie.

The locks were pretty impressive it was a flight of 16 we think somebody said.

After the locks we headed to collect the boat. This involved unloading a lot of stuff on to the boat. Then watching a video about locks and how to use them.

We headed off with the guy who showed us around the boat and then jump off fairly soon after leaving the Marina.

We headed down the canal towards Bath. It was starting to get a bit dark. We then arrived at the first lock. There seemed to be a lot of people around the lock and a boat coming up which we didn’t see, which lead to a bit of confusion. The video also didn’t explain about the little hooks that needed to be raised on the winching gear on the locks, which meant that we didn’t realise that the paddles were open. In the end a helpful man in a baseball cap helped us out and it was all OK.

We headed out of the lock, and found somewhere to moor up using the mooring pins, the bank was a bit muddy and we had to use the gang plank.

We had a tagine for dinner that Sarah made at home and put in a plastic box. I am now writing this blog.

So this is the first post in a long time. It is from Lydia, a 4 berth 54ft long canal boat. A while ago we decided with Cliff and Jo to go on a narrow boat holiday and here we are in February on a boat. It is a warm 4 degrees. We left London this morning heading west along some roads out of London. The first stop was Avebury a village with a lot of standing stones, a National Trust car park and visitors center. Jo and I used the toilets Cliff and Sarah stayed in the car to avoid the £4 parking charge. We headed into Devizes not devices. We went to Sainsbury’s belong to J Sainsbury. We used Sarah project management and a Google sheet to quickly go around the small supermarket buying supplies. The car park cost 55p which we almost forgot to get refunded at time of payment. After shopping we headed to the Caen Hill Locks to have a quick look around and a lunch of humus, veg and bread. We had lunch sitting on a bench with a dog poo under it and a dog that seemed to want to eat our lunch. I think the dog was called Blondie. The locks were pretty impressive it was a flight of 16 we think somebody said. After the locks we headed to collect the boat. This involved unloading a lot of stuff on to the boat. Then watching a video about locks and how to use them. we headed off with the guy who showed us around the boat and then jump off fairly soon after leaving the Marina. We headed down the canal towards Bath. It was starting to get a bit dark. We then arrived at the first lock. There seemed to be a lot of people around the lock and a boat coming up which we didn’t see, which lead to a bit of confusion. The video also didn’t explain about the little hooks that needed to be raised on the winching gear on the locks, which meant that we didn’t realise that the paddles were open. In the end a helpful man in a baseball cap helped us out and it was all OK. We headed out of the lock, and found somewhere to moor up using the mooring pins, the bank was a bit muddy and we had to use the gang plank. We had a tagine for dinner that Sarah made at home and put in a plastic box. I am now writing this blog.