Bartimaeus

We were lucky to find the only visitor mooring in the basin at West Stockwith was just long enough for us and empty. It was a maximum stay of 2 days and that was perfect for us as we had guests arriving the next day and it had a carpark where their car could stay for the duration of their visit for free.

Shane and I had met Rab and Gail when they ran a pub in the borders. We have stayed in their B and B on cycling trips a few times and Shane has had a great many Sunday lunches there as it became a favourite regular cycle ride. We have always had the warmest of welcomes. He was there shortly before we were planning to come to the boat and he mentioned that we had hoped to leave our Edinburgh flat in the care of our son, Bryn, but he had got a job in England. Shane was amazed to hear Rab say they could look after our flat for us when they lived 50 miles away and had a pub and had an enormously busy life already. On another visit, the offer was repeated and they explained that they were giving up the lease and so since the pub was also their accommodation, they needed somewhere to stay and were far too busy working to have tim to look. It was thee perfect solution for us. We let them stay at ours and they checked our post and replaced our carpets and generally looked after the place. It was a fantastic arrangement as far as we were concerned.

To my surprise Gail took a keen interest in our adventures and became a regular reader. Communications about what we were up to on the boat were more frequent than those about the flat. They have been suggesting coming to visit a few times but previous plans have had to be abandoned; finding and funding a place for cats and dogs to stay was as big a problem as finding a suitable date and time but this time it was really happening, despite the fact that Gail had only recently had a knee operation and was on crutches. I could do with some of her determination and can do attitude!

The sun shone and we were able to set off the next day. This is a pretty and varied canal and we certainly saw new sights. This is probably the best and bightest display of lavender I have seen. Gail loved it too. Shane thought it smelled like the lubricant for the hatch.

The hatch was sliding more freely than usualand was reluctant to stay open. We could do without extra head bump risks with guests aboard. Gail was doing admirably with the steps, and glad she didn’t have to tackle a gangplank. This boat lark was risky enough without the risk of head injury. With a combination of suggestions from Shane and Gail and trial and error, Rab managed to place a glove on the slider to impede the movement enough.

This couple on the bench looked friendly but had had a long wait to see us and the chap had less luck with his knee than Gail. They were so eye catching I didn’t notice the gnomes – two odd couples staying in that garden.

We saw a couple of buzzards crying and wheeling and kingfishers hovering like a humming bird by a bridge. We had scorching weather that brought out an abundance of dragonflies, damselflies and butterflies. At one point a damselfly landed on my hand. We got a close view of a caterpillar of a vapourer moth. What a striking specimen. A goat ambled towards us and we saw horses, cows and a couple of donkeys too.

Gail was managing the steps admirably and Rab was a dab hand at the locking. He had no hesitation in grabbing a rope and securing us to the side while we waited outside a lock that Shane was emptying. The locks are double width and we needed a key for anti vandal devices, so another complication, but all went relatively smoothly. Though one anti – vandal device was so determined to not even loosen it’s grip when unlocked, that Rab had to come over and lend a third hand to the operation. He took to driving like a duck to water too.

I was pleased that this canal had a variety of views and included locks and a tunnel, giving a good sample of the canal life in a short stay. We turned just after the tunnel and made our way back a bit so we could be back at the basin in good time for them to visit some more friends. I liked the little tunnel with a mixture of brick and sandstone and metal. It didn’t drip on us either. The coolest was a nice change from the heat of the day.

We found a mooring spot that we had noticed earlier with space for three boats and one was already there. There are a few spots but a few miles between and a pair of boats came back and were miffed to find only one space. Shortly after another arrived, and we moved slightly forward to accommodate it, so it soon filled up. No space was wasted.

The next day we made our way back to the basin. A cool start, quickly became a hot morning and Rab was driving us back through this stretch of thick rushes, like an equatorial swamp or jungle.

We found the buzzards again on the way back. I could hear them crying and saw one soaring then saw the other was closer and still, one buzzard, but not buzzing.

The visitor mooring space was full when we got back, but as the sign says 2 nights and no return within a week, we would not really be supposed to stay anyway. We moored nearby where we could stay for 14 days if we wanted. After a lovely lunch at The White Hart, a good leg stretch for Gail before her car journey, we went back and made our way to where we had moored the night before, another 2 day mooring.

It’s been great fun having Rab and Gail to stay. They are earlier risers than us so used the saloon and managed the complicated arrangement of table to bed conversion well. What sort of hosts get the guests to build their own bed? We didn’t make them a full Scottish breakfast with our own free range hen eggs either!