Back on this lovely mooring at Great Haywood. We decided to stay put from Friday to Sunday.
Saturday, we were curious to see what all the caravans and marquees were about in the grounds of the Shugborough house. It was a food and drink and craft fair but looked a little sparse, so we didn't investigate further, instead walked through the gardens to the walled garden where there were wood turning demos, hurdle fence makers and blacksmiths. Also interesting was the head gradener's house which is now derelict but had once been very grand with glass houses and a vinery flanking the front door. We bought a poker and 4 hooks from the blacksmith - poker very necessary, not sure about the hooks, but they were so nice we just had to have them!
On Sunday we progressed to Fradley Junction - using an unusual method of travelling. As we now need to move the car with us because Pete is not paddling back to get it, I drove, stopping at Colwich lock to meet Pete and see him through, then continuing to an incredibly busy Fradley junction and the famous Mucky Duck (actually the Swan) pub. This is a favourite day out for many and the sun was shining. I walked back the mile to Woodend lock to meet Pete and we moored in the sunshine above the last two locks before the turn into the Coventry canal. Had a beer at the Mucky Duck, which is a bit scruffy now and we were very surprised they had no wifi. When we first started boating with technology on board, Internet was hard to find. Now it seems every pub (except this one?) and cafe has a connection, which is great given that we have all got so used to being able to get online. We are still behind with our iPad though as it's not 3G! Pete's iPhone is more useful and the map app has been a godsend for me driving to find the canal with only a large scale road map especially as my sense of direction is rubbish. Yipee for Apple gadgets! We reminisced that when Pete first got Ani and was bringing her back to our first mooring in Milton Keynes, he used to walk to find a phone box to ring me from! How spoiled we are now. Mind you, my poor Mum is still finding it tricky to ring from her mobile to mine - I have half a dozen blank texts from her instead, which is sweet.
Think this boat stands a better chance of a TV signal with an aerial that high, but ours still worked eventually.
Balloon taking off at 7pm
Saturday, we were curious to see what all the caravans and marquees were about in the grounds of the Shugborough house. It was a food and drink and craft fair but looked a little sparse, so we didn't investigate further, instead walked through the gardens to the walled garden where there were wood turning demos, hurdle fence makers and blacksmiths. Also interesting was the head gradener's house which is now derelict but had once been very grand with glass houses and a vinery flanking the front door. We bought a poker and 4 hooks from the blacksmith - poker very necessary, not sure about the hooks, but they were so nice we just had to have them!
On Sunday we progressed to Fradley Junction - using an unusual method of travelling. As we now need to move the car with us because Pete is not paddling back to get it, I drove, stopping at Colwich lock to meet Pete and see him through, then continuing to an incredibly busy Fradley junction and the famous Mucky Duck (actually the Swan) pub. This is a favourite day out for many and the sun was shining. I walked back the mile to Woodend lock to meet Pete and we moored in the sunshine above the last two locks before the turn into the Coventry canal. Had a beer at the Mucky Duck, which is a bit scruffy now and we were very surprised they had no wifi. When we first started boating with technology on board, Internet was hard to find. Now it seems every pub (except this one?) and cafe has a connection, which is great given that we have all got so used to being able to get online. We are still behind with our iPad though as it's not 3G! Pete's iPhone is more useful and the map app has been a godsend for me driving to find the canal with only a large scale road map especially as my sense of direction is rubbish. Yipee for Apple gadgets! We reminisced that when Pete first got Ani and was bringing her back to our first mooring in Milton Keynes, he used to walk to find a phone box to ring me from! How spoiled we are now. Mind you, my poor Mum is still finding it tricky to ring from her mobile to mine - I have half a dozen blank texts from her instead, which is sweet.
Think this boat stands a better chance of a TV signal with an aerial that high, but ours still worked eventually.
Balloon taking off at 7pm
No comments:
Post a Comment