The wind started to pick up again through the evening last night.  By bedtime it was making howling noises in the vents in ways we hadn’t heard before.  The wind here was nothing compared to the stories from elsewhere, but we did have our own peculiar problem.  At about 2 am I was woken by an intermittent rattling noise.  I eventually diagnosed that it was the wind vibrating either the barge pole or the boat hook in their cradle on the roof.  I couldn’t sleep inside a tin drum.  Eventually I stepped outside and moved them both a bit – silence!

I was up promptly this morning so that I was ready to walk to the hospital for my 9.30 appointment.  From our moorings it was less than a mile – across the park, the footbridge over the A38 and the hospital grounds.  The doctor was slightly more concerned than I hoped he’d be.  He’s taken a sample and I’m to come back in about a fortnight for the diagnosis.  So now we have to organise ourselves to be in striking distance of Burton-on-Trent in another two weeks time.

To take my mind off all of that, we went to see what Burton had to offer.  We found the Burton Cooper statue on the way, and had lunch in the covered market.  Afterwards we explored The Washlands, an area of park in the flood plain of the River Trent.

The walking route between Burton and Stapenhill is a half-mile long viaduct leading to the Ferry Bridge.  I’m rather fond of bridges – this is an unusual type of suspension bridge.  We concluded that the gardens at the far end probably don’t look their best in January, but it seems we’ll get a chance to see them in February too.