NB Triskaideka: Two hop's and great hospitality.

Sunday 13 July 2014

Two hop's and great hospitality.

We have been just too busy ( and inebriated ) to blog! Now having respite and drawing breath whilst allowing the kidneys to recover!

Wednesday saw us leaving Kilby under blue sky. After a couple of locks on our own, we met up with a lovely chap single handing on N.B Kingfisher and shared several locks with him until he stopped for a supermarket stop. We had a great system, letting him out of the lock first he then went on to prepare the next whilst Ali closed the gate. Once again it was very quiet boat wise. Our intention was to stop in Leicester, but the forecast for Thursday was abysmal, so we decided to carry on to Birstall. The moorings there are superb, with a rather nice pub within staggering distance. So we spent the evening there with a couple of fellow boaters, Dale from Kingfisher was good company off the boat as well.

Later than planned on Thursday, we caught a bus into Leicester and had a wander around. Very pleasant it was to. I must say, the waters there seem to have been cleaned up recently, with very little litter around. By mid afternoon, we were back on the boat and awaiting the arrival of Ian and Karen on N.B. Serenity. They have been to Crick in company with Jo and Paul on N.B. Repent at Leisure. The day had been very hot, and despite the forecast, without a spot of rain. So, we retired to the pub! This was to become something of a pattern and they led us both somewhat astray!!

On Friday we made the pleasant cruise to Loughborough, again under a blue sky, Passing Ally and having a quick chat. All three boats moored together and that evening we visited a rather nice Italian restaurant in the town and had a lovely meal. We also supported a couple of the local pub's! I slept rather well that night, not too sure Ali did though......

On Saturday we moved down river to Normanton on Soar, the home of the Soar Boat club. As Karen, Ian, Paul and Jo are members, we moored here. This lovely village had a "Wine Walk" planned for the evening, where with the purchase of a ticket, you can visit various homes and locations for a wine and a nibble. The club house was one of the venues. Yet another splendid night was enjoyed.

We have remained at the boat club today, catching our breath somewhat and catching up on a few jobs, prior to my niece and her partner joining us for a couple of days tomorrow. The hospitality of Karen, Ian, Jo and Paul has been amazing. Thank you all and to the boat club for allowing us to use the beautiful moorings.