last photos

Sorry about the delay in posting the last photos of the cruise - the reason was power issues, but more of that later. Here are pictures relating to my last post...

This is the Gatehouse to Shugborough Hall and a lovely view to wake up to when moored at Tixall Wide on the Staffs and Worcester.

I couldn't resist just one more picture of Tixall Wide - one of my top three mooring sites so far!

As we left Great Haywood and cruised the last leg of our journey, we pass very close to Cannock Chase. You can just see the woods and hills of the chase rising in the distance.

Home at last. This was the lovely sunset that greeted us when we returned home. The view is one I wake up to every morning and is seen through my bedroom porthole!

I mentioned power issues. I have had to learn a lot about battery management since living here at Fradley and being off shore power. I got myself a meter that tells me exactly what is happening with my batteries 24 hours a day. Thanks to that, I discovered that my 12 volt fridge was dying and taking lots more power than it should do, whilst not keeping my food very cold. Buying another 12 volt fridge was way too expensive for me (around £500 as compared with £120 for a comparable 240 volt fridge.) So with help from a generous friend, I bought a 240 volt fridge which is A rated for energy efficiency. I was very excited as I expected not to have to run my engine nearly as much as I would be using less power. Well, much to my disappointment that has not proved to be the case. In fact the new fridge is taking more power than the old one, although the insulation is better and it actually works which is an improvement on the last one. But I'm having to run my engine just as much and having to keep my inverter on 24/7. Oh well, at least I won't die from food poisoning!!