There and Back Again; the Sansums' Tale.....

This weekend we needed to move our boat because we have been moored for two weeks which is the maximum length of time you can moor on non-permanent moorings before you have to move. We haven't moved far though, we travelled from Wootton Rivers down to Burbage Wharf and then back again, stopping one lock further down from where we were originally. It's been a lovely afternoon, a bit chilly, it made me want a log burner; but we have seen blue sky and sunshine.

Anthony and Charlotte were on lock duty again, which they enjoyed. We have stopped now and are spring cleaning a bit. Matthew's removing the sticky residue from the hire boat logo. He's also window cleaning, trying out our new mop. We have the TV up and running, although no TV signal, we will have to get travel sat installed. We can watch DVDs though, so I think we'll try that out tonight with a bowl of popcorn for company!

It was lovely arriving back on the boat, it felt like coming back home again. I just love being surrounded by all the countryside and really feeling part of it. I want to do another big trip!

Auction won!

On Wednesday we bid on the auction for some local permanent moorings, and we won! There weren't any other bids, so we got the lowest price which is good. It was quite strange, really, I was sitting in Waitrose coffee shop, enjoying lunch with Charlotte, whilst keeping an eye on the auction and ensuring that we weren't outbid. Now we  have some paper work to finalise before we can proceed with mooring our boat permanently.

It is all starting to fall into place, although there is still a lot of work to be done on the website and promotional leaflets. We need to gather all the information that we need for the application of our business licence. I'm currently compiling a list of the items we need for the boat, which we will then prioritise to work out what is essential and what we need to buy once we receive bookings. Watch this space for news when the website is live!

Exploration and decision making.......

We needed to make a decision this week about where we want to moor the boat permanently. We thought we had decided but when another permanent mooring became available, we found ourselves with a choice. We visited both sites on Friday and decided we preferred the moorings that we will have to bid for on Wednesday. It has better access for my wheelchair and unloading using the car. It is also closer to home, has water for us to refill the boat and rubbish/recycling disposal. It doesn't have electricity but we discovered from our short stay this weekend that we are able to generate sufficient amount of energy for the night simply by running the engine for a couple of hours. Our original choice of mooring does have electricity but it doesn't have any of the other features and access to the canal is rather long and bumpy.
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It was lovely to return to 'Little Abbey', (as we'll rename her when she is repainted), and to be able to take our time leisurely. We didn't travel anywhere on Saturday, we arrived late afternoon and enjoyed showing more friends around and settled in for a rather chilly night! On Sunday, after a yummy breakfast of pancakes, we made our way towards Honeystreet. We were going to go to there to check out the boat services, but we went at such a leisurely pace, meeting some friends for a pub lunch on the way, that we only made it to Pewsey! We loved pottering, enjoying the countryside without rushing. When we arrived at Pewsey, it felt like we were miles away from home, rather than just ten minutes by car! That's what I really love about being on a canal boat, you get transported to a different place that is so peaceful and so removed from everyday life. You can switch off and enjoy the more simple things in life.