8 June

No internet from the Reed Bunting today.

We checked out of the Ibis hotel in Carlisle and then did a couple of loops of the city trying to find the Hertz shop to return the rental car. The trouble was that the address was very close to the railway station and the GPS kept telling us we were there. In the end, we relied on a bit of dead reckoning and found the spot to drop off the rental Qashqai.

We had managed to shoehorn all our gear into Sue's Nissan Micra. It's a neat little diesel car that runs on the smell of an oily rag.

Next on the list was the Tesco supermarket to load up with groceries, then it was on to the motorway for the 128 mile trip to the boat marina. We stopped at a service area along the way and of course there was a gypsy cart on a trailer there. Lynette chatted to the driver who is planning to come to NZ in the next year or two, so we expect to see some UK gypsies visiting the Kiwi gypsies.

As we approached Anderton, where the marina is, we went to a supermarket in Northwich for the final cold groceries. Then it was a fight between GPS and the tourist signs as to how we were to go to the Anderton Lift Lock, which was next to the marina. We found it in the end.

The folk at the marina were very organised. We watched a video on cruising and then loaded all our gear onto the Reed Bunting. Then we got a bow to stern briefing on the boat, covering all the safety aspects and essential Do's and Don'ts. Finally, one of the engineers came with us and took us for about a quarter mile run and back, giving advice all the way, then we were on our own. Once Jim had about 1hr at the helm then it was time for him to train Sue and then Lynette in how to control the boat. No major problems so far although Lynette did manage to overly huge the side on three occasions. Just very minor incidents.

Controlling the narrowboat requires some degree of brute force and is nothing as precise as a speed boat or dinghy with an outboard, but puttering along at 4mph maximum, you really can't get into too much trouble.

The sky was threatening and we pulled in to the bank for the night, just a little further down the road than planned. Our first locks happen tomorrow.

The Reed Bunting (RB) has a mobile internet connection but it looks as if we are in a black hole at the moment.

A few interesting things to note about the RB. It's 45 feet long and is powered by an Isuzu diesel. It has a 230 volt inverter for mains power, but you need to have the engine running if you use the toaster, microwave or anything power hungry. The hot water comes from a heat exchanger on the motor, so you need 15 minutes of engine running before one person can have a shower. It looks like we will be running along and showering as we are going along in the morning. We have a permanent double bed set up, Sue is in a single bed which is part of the dining table and allows us to have a table as well.

While we were having dinner (salad) tonight there was unusual knocking noise. It turned out to be a large swan nipping at the side of the boat, looking for a hand out.

 We managed to get mobile coverage in Middlewich on Tuesday morning.

We can't go anywhere without a gypsy caravan 

The Reed Bunting in the Anderton Marina before we took it over.

Cruising along in a quiet area

A new narrow boat marina is being built 

Lynette has the helm

Sue in the galley

Salad for dinner 

The still waters of the canal give great reflections.