An unexpected sojourn

It seems a long time since our last blog, but a lot has happened since we were at Circus Fields Basin on the Aylesbury canal.

Returning from our trip up to Cheshire to visit Rob's Mum we were able to catch up with Emily as her little boat Reg had been taken out of the water at the dry dock there and

was getting surveyed, blacked and repainted! We had a peek at him and at the amazing facilities they have there. Then it was back out of the basin for us and, in between sleet and snow showers, back up the nine locks to the junction, helped by the amazing Ed from CRT.

We stayed at Marsworth for a week in the end, including going twice to an amazing open mic at The Anglers Retreat, hosted by the lovely Jeff, as well as his one at The Golden Bell in Leighton Buzzard. We walked to the wonderful College Lake Nature Reserve and also had a robin regularly eating off the birdfeeder tray stuck onto the glass at the front of the boat, which was wonderful to see. We visited friends and enjoyed a wonderful Indian feast (thankyou Bhagvati!). We also saw our first lamb!

Moving on, we stopped for lunch opposite an interesting view in a field - allegedly the set for the film Wicked! - and found a lovely spot to moor up, with amazing bats flying around. Then we arrived in Leighton Buzzard where we managed to moor on the visitor moorings right outside Tesco - not very scenic but very handy for the town which we really liked, with a nice

mixture of shops and a great twice-weekly market. We'd timed it so I'd be there for a meet-up arranged with some fellow Boatwomen, but in the end everyone else was in Milton Keynes direction so I jumped on a train there and had a lovely evening with Sofia, Samii, Kathy & Gayle, talking boats and many other things at the local Wetherspoons.

In Linslade, not far to the north, is the Wyvern Shipping Co, where we hired a narrowboat (the lovely Foxglove) back in late 2020 for four nights - to see if buying a boat would be a good idea. To reminisce, we walked up to The Globe and had a beer sitting outside, just as we'd done then. We also had a lovely but very windy walk up Ivinghoe Beacon. Rob and I celebrated being together

for 7 years with bubbles, a veggie roast and a pineapple upside down pud and custard - mmmm! Carrying on we went through the Three Locks at Soulbury, helped, as in 2020, by some lovely lockies. We were heading to the outskirts of Milton Keynes now and had an amazing day at Bletchley Park - somewhere I'd wanted to visit for many years, and it didn't disappoint.

Milton Keynes is surprisingly nice as the canal goes to the east and north of the city, taking in some of the many parks and green spaces and through a variety of villages, often medieval, and we've got to know it quite

well. We discovered the wonderful Roman villa at

Bancroft, as well as seeing the (in)famous concrete cows, whilst in Wolverton we discovered the gorgeous Secret Garden and chatted to a friendly local and observed the enormous rats who also call it home! We walked the path of the old railway,

finding a lovely old windmill and seeing our first Starship delivery robot! At Great Linford we took in the ponds, gardens and old almshouses (see porthole pic) and went in the church where we met a very friendly, be-kilted churchwarden. I walked to Willen Lake, seeing the amazing Peace

Pagoda, found my way to the centre of the labyrinth and took in the memory tree and Japanese garden.

Heading to Cosgrove I walked along the Buckingham Arm, discovered Stony Stratford and then saw the very impressive aqueduct over the Great Ouse from the

ground. We also enjoyed a hearty Sunday lunch at The Barley Mow. However, probably my favourite spot is Stantonbury, with the site of the old manor house and the remains of the lovely St Peter's Church. It's such a peaceful spot, where I seem to keep returning to,

especially now to listen to the cuckoos.

Meanwhile, Rob's been busy, painting the weed-hatch and part of the engine bay as well as sorting out, painting and blacking our stern lockers. The weather has improved over the last few weeks so we rarely need to light the fire now. We've also removed the window film and I've sorted out the roof garden - pruning, tidying, repotting and planting some salad seeds.

It's been lucky for us to be in such a nice area, as we were to receive some bad news. My Mum, who's health had been deteriorating for a number of years, had been rushed to hospital, on end of life care. She sadly died a week later and the last six weeks have largely been taken up with funeral arrangements, and trips back and forth between Milton Keynes and Surrey. CRT kindly allowed us to stay put, although we have moved short distances for water.

There have been some nice moments though, such as Rob's older son getting engaged to the lovely Yasmine

and meeting her French family. We also had a visit from his younger son and cruised with him up to Cosgrove, including going over the wonderful Great Ouse Aqueduct again. This was followed by a beer in the sunny pub garden, Pimms on the back deck, a meal on the boat and a hearty brunch the following day!

We went down to Hertford to celebrate my

cousin Jo's 60th birthday with a wonderful Thai meal, I met up with two friends I'd not seen for about 20 and 30 years respectively and my fellow Boatwoman Samii came over for tea. We had a brief trip back to Exmouth for a some medical appointments and I managed to meet up with another friend, which was nice. The other lovely thing has been seeing all the ducklings, goslings, cygnets and moorhen chicks now out on the water. The prize goes to the four greylag gees and twelve goslings!

The funeral went really well, helped by the support of family and friends - plus some wonderful weather - and I'd like to dedicate this episode to my Mum. Cheers!

Judy Rae Bolt

12.06.38 - 10.04.23