Lapworth (back home again – now on the Stratford canal)



We had been moored on the Lapworth link for two weeks by the time we went on holiday so we had to move the boat before we left.  We were arriving back home in the early hours of Tuesday morning and Karen would need hot water for a shower before going off to work.  This meant we would have to run the engine out of hours to heat the water up; our licence conditions restrict engine running when stationary to between 08.00 and 20.00.  So we had to find somewhere quiet and safe with no boats or houses around.  We knew just the spot on the south Stratford canal so went for a walk to check it out on the Saturday morning – unfortunately a boat was already moored there but there was another good spot available through the next lock.

I remember it being nice and mild on that Saturday morning when we had our mini-cruise and both felt really happy to get back on the Stratford canal with its narrow locks and quaint bridges.

Our mooring between two locks whilst we were away on holiday

Whilst we were away we heard about storm Doris and how it was centred on the Midlands.  I received a lot of email alerts from CRT about trees blown down across the navigations but knew we would be OK as there we always try and moor away from large trees when leaving the boat for a few days or so.

It was quite a shock to the system when we got back home as it was frosty and we had been used to night time temperatures in the 20s. Steel boats go cold very quickly without a fire and conversely take a long time to heat through.  We always reckon it takes a good 12 hours to get a boat back up to temperature when it’s been left for a few days in the winter.

Tuesday saw Karen back to work and I went to pick Buddy up from the kennels.  He always seems happy at the kennels but probably doesn’t sleep very well as he crashes out on the boat for the first 24 hours after getting back.  Tuesday was no exception and I must admit I was happy that he didn’t want a long walk as it poured with rain all afternoon.

As soon as I got him back to the canal from the kennels he went straight for a drink of water as if he hadn’t had any for a week.

Buddy back at his watering hole

Even though we had heard about storm Doris there must have been some good days when we were away as many of our spring bulbs had started coming out.

Crocuses emerging
Some daffs budding too




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