Bartimaeus

The next day wasn't as wet as forecast but was a lot cooler. We stayed in, apart from a short walk. In the morning we moved on with a grand total of two locks to get through. We are still trying different ways of holding the ropes and winding since the instructions say to use them.

I took the rope with me at the first lock. There was a knot at the end so I  had to undo that as I brought it up to the gate. The bridge was narrower and I found it awkward to wind, but realised that if I had stood on the other side of the mechanism it would have been easier to do right handed. I would remember next time.

When we reached the next lock, Shane suggested leaving the rope by the side. We had done enough that it didn't seem a danger. He had seen me having difficulties winding and handling the rope, but hadn't realised the difficulty wasn't holding the rope, it was the knot and the winding opposition on that side - neither of which were a problem now, but it was even less of a problem to ignore the rope altogether and let him watch both ropes. 

From there it was plain boating to our destination of Bidford - all the towns we have stopped on along the Avon had 'ford' on the end. Being able to cross is important, but none rely on fords any more and as we approached there was an impressive bridge. The obvious arch to aim for was the large middle one.

Shane had read ahead and knew that you were not meant to aim for the high arch. Getting closer, if you look up above the arch, then it was the surprise choice of well to the left that was the only navigable arch from either side. It hadn't looked like there was much water beyond from a distance but an arrow above the arch and either side. One pole with a sign looked like it had been bumped into before.

I expected that the arch next to it would allow boats to go in the other direction but coming through I could see it was shallow with a lot of rock and a look above the arches showed that only the one we came through was usable.

The bridge looks different from this side. As we found out when we headed into town, there were recessed refuge points for crossing pedestrians on one side only, so one wall was flat and the other had projections along it, for pedestrians to nip into. The bridge is traffic light controlled with a single lane for traffic.

Bidford High Street is brightened by banners. We wondered if there was a special event but then noticed a chemist's flask and pairs of glasses outside the optician's. The cafe and barber's had an enticing banner of coffee and a sandwich and a scary sign of an open razor.

Unfortunately the cafe was shut on Sundays, but we enjoyed the stroll and it was well worth looking up all the way along the street. Apart from local business there were attractions and historical references.

We have found that this is an ideal place to spot a kingfisher and we have seen them fly past or dive from the mooring poles opposite.

On a short, surprisingly warm, walk we found another two thatch houses with creatures on top. I had thought they were different but in fact they both had owls. It takes two owls to do "toowit" and "toowoo". One had exactly what I wanted- a post box.

Back at Bidford we availed ourselves of the Indian takeaway, even if it didn't have a banner above it.