Bartimaeus

Far too early in the morning at Anton’s Gowt we could hear people chatting.  I went back to sleep when it all went quiet again.  As I opened the curtains when I eventually got out of bed I could see a group of swimmers coming back downstream – they were the chatterers.  We sat out a day that was forecast to be wet, but turned out a little drier than predicted.

The next day was brighter and warmer, with more swimmers.  The Maud Foster Windmill was open for visitors on Wednesdays, so we got the tandem out and cycled back in to Boston.  The mill itself was interesting, and I was amazed to discover that it was self-financing – mostly funded by selling the flour they grind.  We had a quick lunch back on board and then set off. With some miles to cover in the coming days, anything under about ten miles each day would be added on to the requirement for the following day.  In contrast to the days travelling in the opposite direction, the weather was warm and bright.  Even though we were pushing in to a slight current, and so taking longer to cover the miles, I was enjoying the gentle cruise.

By the end of the day we had reached Dogdyke.  I had remembered that there was an event at the pumping station here that evening, and we were in time.  We were about half a mile along the river, but the only route from our mooring was along five miles of road, so the tandem came out for a second trip.

The following day was warmer, and we had a gentle cruise as far as the lock at Bardney where we also filled up the water tank.  We set a new record for solar generation of 6.9kWh.  The cabin temperature didn’t come down to a comfortable level until late evening.

Yesterday was even warmer and we still had some distance to cover.  The banks of the river were still too high to allow much of a view of the surrounding countryside, but now and again when we were heading in the right direction we could see Lincoln Cathedral from up to ten miles away.

We were not surprised to discover that the mooring we’d been lucky to find in Lincoln last week was now occupied.  We carried on through but stopped for lunch as soon as we found a mooring.  By now the sun was extremely hot.  We had lunch inside the boat, and let the heat of the day pass before pressing on towards Saxilby.

On the way, I noticed a family of swans in a side channel.  They obviously knew more about dealing with weed booms than we had.  Mum was showing the cygnets that you just needed to float over the top.

We pressed on to Saxilby and found a convenient mooring.  By now the cabin temperature was warmer than it had been the previous day.  The temperature in the bedroom at the front at one point had reached 34°C.  Even with all the doors open and several windows removed the temperature stayed in the mid twenties most of the night.

Today was cooler, and we made our way to Torksey in good time.  There was even a short shower just as the folk in the next boat had set up their barbecue.  We have an appointment with the lock-keeper in the morning.