We were up at seven this morning and on our way for quarter to eight. As I thought last night, the boat moored 100 yards down the towpath was nb Muleless. There were no signs of life as we crept past on tickover on what was a slightly misty morning. Forty minutes later we pulled up at Sutton Cheney where we did all of the services needed before we set off on what would be the final leg of the trip. Once underway, Sue ‘phoned Chris Hubbard the marina manager and gave him an indication of our arrival time. By the time we reached bridge 42, the last one before the marina entrance, the early morning mist had gone leaving only blue skies, sunshine and a few fluffy white clouds.
Chris stood by the marina entrance to welcome us in and pointed out our pontoon which was easy to see since he had placed a high viz coat on the end. The pontoons line the ‘L’ shaped basin and ours is positioned near the corner so that manouvering is very easy. In fairness, the pontoons are so well spaced that there should be no difficulty for anyone moving their boat around the basin. We backed into the space reserved for us and where Chris was now waiting to grab the centre line and gently pull Caxton on to the full length fixed pontoon. We chatted with him for a few minutes before letting him get back to work. We then secured front and back lines and carried out a few checks. Mobile internet is a good connection, the satellite dish has a clear sky and the view from the cratch is an uninterrupted expanse of water, perfect.

Caxton on its new berth

And from the other side

The main building as viewed from the cratch

The view across the marina

Another view from the cratch

All that was left to do was to go and get the car so after lunch – pale green soup today, we walked up into Market Bosworth and caught the bus to Hinckley. It wasn’t long before we had returned to the marina and parked up. We are staying here for the weekend and intend to visit the Shackerstone festival but not by boat of course!