Bartimaeus

Railways and canals often follow similar routes.  Both benefit from alignments that are close to level, and they were originally built to carry similar goods.  So we've been close to railway lines most of the summer, but that doesn't always mean there are stations nearby.  For our trip to Edinburgh, we needed to head to Stone, but we had a few days to make the journey.

Our first stop was a tranquil spot opposite a field of cattle and geese.  I'd been idly commenting that geese aren't really water birds as they spend so much time grazing when I spotted a cow that seemed equally confused.  The sunset was extremely vivid here too.

Despite the idyllic setting we moved on the next day to divide up the miles over several days.  It was only after we'd set off that we realised that it was a much windier day.  We both found that we needed a little more throttle to be sure of keeping our line when going under bridges.  The low arches are a hazard for the cabin. Some of them have protection at water level - for the benefit of the bridge and the boater.

We found a good mooring a couple of miles from the town and then went for an explore on foot.  We wanted to leave the boat for an extended period, so we wanted to check that this wasn't our last chance to moor.  There wasn't much suitable before the locks in the town, but quite near the station we found a section of unrestricted mooring with rings - perfect.

Next day we set off to those moorings, stopping at the water point on the way.  Once the tank was full, we discovered we had a problem we hadn't encountered before.  The strange shape of the bank here meant that as the tank had filled, the front of the boat had come to rest on the rubbing strake at the bow.  Fortunately, once we released the ropes we slipped off easily enough.

We carried on through the locks until we reached our chosen mooring spot.  As we had hoped, there was plenty of space, but we moored up close to another boat so as not to create a "git gap" - spacing boats out so that there is no usable space despite the total space being sufficient.  Another boat tied up behind us a while later and we exchanged pleasantries with them, commenting on how handy these unrestricted moorings were.

It was only later that Clare spotted the sign on the bank.  It was directly level with the middle of the boat, but completely obscured from the helm by the foliage.

It turned out we were on the boundary between a 2-day and a 5-day mooring section.  Neither were suitable for us!  In our defence, we checked carefully and found nothing to indicate the other end of the 2-day mooring.  However the end of the 5-day mooring was about ten boat lengths ahead, and fortunately there was a space immediately beyond with no shade.  We moved there quickly before anyone else claimed it.

Our train ride to Edinburgh went very smoothly.  Our main reason to travel was that Clare was meeting with friends.  While she was occupied, I was determined to get as much cycling in as I could - especially as I knew Kenny was available for most of the week.

We got the train back from North Berwick on the Saturday.  I had been invited to get my winter 'flu vaccine near the station in Edinburgh, so I took the opportunity to get that while I was nearby.  The weather on Sunday was as forecast - not pleasant for cycling.  I had a mild reaction which left me feeling sub-par that day, so that was a good match.

We managed rides for the next four days, choosing a variety of routes to match the wind direction.  I still had some of the strength and stamina built up during the first half of the year.

I was surprised on the Wednesday to get a phone call offering an appointment to see the dermatologist the next day.  It didn't take long for the doctor to glance over my skin and find nothing of significance.  She even said I looked fit - and didn't even say "... for your age."