Hindford Sunday December 25 2016 Christmas Day

The weather although looking very threatening yesterday afternoon didn’t actually do anything, however while I was getting Diana a Beecham’s at 5-30 this morning it was quite blowy and I could hear the tin rattling on the roof of the old canal building at the end of the arm. Following that we overslept a bit so didn’t get away until 1045 am. by now it was all calm again with lots of blue in the sky.

Our first port of call was the Canal and River Trust “CRT” maintenance yard back at the junction to fill with water and dump our rubbish. This is one of the few with recycling facilities. I think its the first time I have ever seen the dry dock empty.The yard has many fine buildings but some of them, just like the waterways that CRT looks after could do with a little tender care. 

Almost opposite here there are plans to build a new marina between the houses and the canal. 

It seemed hard to realise that today was actually Christmas Day, we saw a few walkers and and several hire boats about, some of them enjoying the odd glass of bubbly, but the weather felt more like spring with the gorse in flower and catkins on the trees.Some were green and some were brown.

We considered stopping at the mouth of the Montgomery canal at Frankton Junction but as there was a boat there already and I needed another couple of hours battery charging we pushed on. As you can see the weather was still good but as the day progressed if got not only cloudier but also windier.

The other day  I posted a picture of a car with a large vinyl picture on the side, today we saw a van that was sign written. 

A little past here there at bridge 6W, the W is due to the fact that they restarted numbering the bridges again from Frankton Junction, is a very nice example of a turnover bridge where the towpath changes side. We pushed on finally mooring at the visitor moorings at Hindford where we moored for the night, by now it was just starting to drizzle, in the field opposite where we have moored there are six Little Egrets just sitting in the field, I didn’t expect to see them so far away from a large expanse of water or a good size river. Since we have been here the wind has continued to freshen and is well into the upper twenties now.

Today’s Journey  5½ miles in 2¾ hours