It’s been almost two months since Caxton cruised a canal, we have been on board for a weekend or two of course as well as having a weekend in London and ten days in Tenerife. It was Sue’s Mum’s birthday on Friday so we paid her a visit before calling in at Hartshill yard on their open day and then landing up at Bosworth Marina late in the afternoon.

We plonked our stuff on board and lit the fire before making our way up the hill to Market Bosworth where we did a bit of shopping and had a refreshment stop in The Dixie Arms. We returned to the marina and Caxton just after five and then had dinner before flopping in front of the fire, listening to the radio until eventually we both fell gently into the arms of Morpheus.

The fire stayed in and as a result Caxton was still warm when we awoke on Saturday morning so we got up, showered, dressed and prepared for a cruisette.

It was cold but bright and dry as we pulled out of the marina and headed north on the Ashby canal on the mini cruise which would take us to Shackerstone. By the time we reached the village my toes were becoming numb and my fingers weren’t too far behind them but we plodded on past all of the moored boats until we reached the winding hole where we turned around and then found our own mooring spot just in front of the village bridge. Once we had warmed ourselves through, we took a walk up to the pub in the village, The Rising Sun, where we enjoyed a well earned drink and had a laugh with the landlord and some of the locals who were drinking in the bar.

An hour later and we braved the elements, hailstones mainly, returning to the safety and warmth of Caxton’s cabin where we had dinner as we listened to music and then settled in for the evening.

Can life get any better than this? Probably not!