Apple bobbing

I thought it was supposed to rain this afternoon, not this morning. It actually rained most of the day. Still, as we'd got up earlyish we set off - in the drizzle - before 0900. At coffee time we spotted Chrissie tied up above the Bascote locks, so we pulled in. It was good to see Rob and Jill again. After coffee on their boat Jan and I returned to Jubilee for our lunch, leaving them to their online search for a winter mooring. They had promised to share locks to the top of Stockton with us as long as it had stopped raining; in the event we went on our own.

Ally and Ben came to visit with Josiah; they parked by Birdingbury Wharf Bridge 21 opposite the Boat pub and walked down the flight to meet us. Ben steered while Granny and Mummy looked after the baby; I did my usual lockwheeling.

We tied up by the bridge, a familiar location from our days with Shadow when it used to be moored at Stockton Top Marina. A pair of swans were trying to eat an apple which kept sinking and which they kept retrieving by plunging their heads into the water.

When our visitors had gone we moved on half a mile to tie up where we weren't under trees, opposite our friends Steve and Julie on Heaven Sent. We exchanged brief greetings then got in out of the rain.

It is beginning to feel like our six months afloat for 2016 is coming to an end: we are on our way back to the marina. We shall be there by Thursday or Friday - less than a week! I shall have to calculate how many miles and locks we've done.