[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]There is something special about the privilege of cruising a canal for the second time. One is the luxury of having the time to do it. Another is the joy of seeing it in the beauty of a different season. Also, appreciating the differences when you can contrast the trepidation of being a newbie with the…
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]After a bit of effort we made it to Kintbury on the Kennet and Avon where we left Celtic Maid in the capable care of Chris and Jim while we made our thrird (and hopefully last) big trip of 2017 – to Burlington, Ontario, Canada to attend the wedding of our nephew, Philip to Sammy. We…
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]We arrived back at Birmingham airport on Monday 25th September after an uneventful flight via Dubai and a very satisfying but tiring trip to Australia via Phuket. Our friends Michael and Jane met us at the airport holding a welcome back sign. it was so good to be greeted and then returned safely to our…
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]After our long and very tiring journey from Phuket through Singapore and Melbourne, we finally stepped off the plane in Adelaide to be greeted by three of our children – Corey, Claire and Thaao. Just couldn’t hug them all enough. And it wasn’t long before we got our first surprise of the trip. Our cousins…
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Our trip to Australia began with a side trip to Phuket to celebrate Bron’s birthday and a special event in the lives of our dear friends, Monica and Jo. To offer a little history. Bron and Monica have been friends for 20 years since Bron first went to live in the Riverland. After Bron and…
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]We have spent the last month or so retracing our steps, fare-welling travel companions, visiting friends and family and preparing to leave Celtic Maid for a while to pay a visit to Australia. Leaving Peterborough, heading back toward Northampton, with NB Sylph, we revisited many of our favourite moorings from previously. For some reason the…
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]After fare-welling Judy and Ted, we stayed in Peterborough another couple of days. First to look around the massive Peterborough Cathedral, and then to avoid travelling in what turned out to be very windy and wet weather. After our spell of warm weather, this was most unwelcome. But we finally got away on Wednesday 7th…
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]All went well with Judy and Ted’s flights to visit us from Canada, and Jim and Bob drove the short distance from our moorings in Fotheringhay to Peterborough to pick them up from the rail station. Although they were very tired on arrival, we fed them and let them settle in a little and then…
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Despite the drizzle we decided to leave Northampton Friday morning 19th May, after a final stock up at Morrisons and hastily upgrading our normal River and Canal Trust license to one that includes the Rivers Nene and Great Ouse. The first stop was the marina to fill with water and empty refuse then through the…
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Unlike most good boaters we have not completed the Leicester Ring of canals and rivers in one smooth journey. Instead we have completed it in parts – in a generally anticlockwise direction we have done the Norton Junction to Braunston Junction, and Braunston Junction to Fradley Junction sections several times. But we have now finally…