Market Bosworth

First some more from yesterday. After the blog was posted, Christine walked up to the nearby bridge and took some photos, including the sunset.

The weather forecast was for another hot day - but with a change tomorrow. So we planned an easy day, with a long siesta in the middle of the day. There are no locks on the Ashby so we simply cruised or read, depending who was at the front and who was at the stern!

After two and a half hours we arrived at Trinity Marina just after Bridge 17, where we filled up with diesel. Not a long stay before we were on the way yet again.

Mike had been working on his Canal Map computer program so that it could make better use of the GPS unit to record the log - the IPAQ still not being usable. He put it to the test on the first section the morning and then ran it for 'real' in the period up to lunch time, not using a manual back up for the first time! After a bit of tweaking it seemed to be doing what was required.

When we arrived at Stoke Golding, opposite the Ashby Boat Hire base, we moored up and had lunch. After a good siesta we walked into the village - Nicholson's had promised an interesting church and a village store. The latter was not especially well-stocked but we did manage the snap up the last Guardian on sale.

The church was locked but had a notice on the door about finding the key on a hook by the door of a nearby cottage. It was! In fact, it was fairly run-of-the-mill inside - the outside had an interesting balustrade along the nave walls - but at least we were able to look around.

Back to the boat and set off once more - the weather forecast had indeed been more than correct and it was still the most delightful sunny day. Quite a few boats but not oppressive. Although we were warned about the canal being shallow and narrow, this was not too much a of a problem, apart from a short stretch near the start. We made better progress than on many parts of the southern Oxford!

We stopped at Sutton Wharf for water and the sanitary station. Whilst we waited for the tank to fill, Christine decided that the hot conditions justified an ice cream, which was rather tasty, made by a specialist farm producer.

Just after half past six we moored for the night a little way after the Bosworth Battlefield moorings.