The First Day of Spring

It is the first day of spring, the sun is shining and I am finally on my new mooring!!! See picture...
I had left Fradley with BW promising that when I returned the mooring would be available. So I went off to Burton to get my boat's bottom blacked and engine serviced. While she was in dry dock, Bonny and I spoiled ourselves by going to a dog friendly guest house in the Dales (Bentley Brook Guest House - I highly recommend it!) I had my first bath in over a year - bliss! Bonny and I walked until we were on our knees and loved it! It was still snowy, but that didn't stop us. Here are some snaps...

One is Carsington water - looking like a scene from the arctic! Then there is Thorpe Cloud and the third is Bonny in her element!

We returned to Burton last Thursday to find the boat all done, so we moved her back to Fradley on Friday. It was a wet and windy day which made for some pretty hard cruising. I had a friend who helped but it was still really tiring and stressful - especially since I didn't want to bash my new blacking. By the time I arrived in Fradley I couldn't wait to tie up at our new mooring, but when I got there, the two boats still hadn't been moved along to make space for me. I was absolutely gutted. I felt what little patience I had left suddenly snap and so I left 'Don't Panic' on the lock bollards and dragged Charlie (my helpful friend) over to the mooring. We then moved both boats ourselves. They only needed to shift backwards about 10 feet and I made sure I tied them up securely - even using one of my own mooring chains on one of the boats as it had to move away from a mooring ring. I then emailed BW to tell them what I had done and asking them to contact the owners and tell them. I really hope I don't get any grief from them, but I just couldn't face waiting any longer.

So here I am on my new mooring. It is lovely - looking over fields in both directions. There are some lovely people here and I even have excellent reception for my phone and dongle. Bonny is fairly exhausted after such an exciting week but I know she is going to love her new home.

So this lengthy saga appears finally to have come to an end. It's been an enlightening time and I feel I have learned a lot through the experience, but I'm very glad it's over!

And now Spring is coming...