Our original intention had been to stay two nights in Willington but the weather forecast made us change our plans. All week the Wet Met Office have been advising people to stay indoors by issuing a warning that is just one step below a national emergency! Friday was forecast to have torrential rain and thunderstorms so we would be faced with three options. 1) Travel in the storms, 2) Overstay by a day, 3) Move on Thursday. We chose the third option, planning to stop somewhere between Willington and Shardlow.

We needed water too and since we had moored past the service point at Willington, hoped that we could fill the tank before we reached Swarkestone lock. There is a tap marked in the Nicholson’s Guide and there is a pub nearby but what we didn’t realise was that it is Ragley Boat Stop where there is an excellent overnight mooring at the bottom of the pub garden with both water and electricity available.

Needless to say, we visited the pub and it is a beautiful place so not only did we have a drink, we had lunch too. At £5 for each meal from the lunch menu, we couldn’t go wrong and the quality was good too – unbeatable value. The afternoon was spent mainly on board in the sweltering heat although I did return to the bar for an hour to help them out with their cold beer sales!