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The Lakes District

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When we arrived in The Lakes District yesterday, the weather was fine and sunny, if a little cool, so we made the most of it and went for a drive around Lake Windemere and through some of the other picturesque little towns in the area. The lake looked gorgeous in the soft afternoon light. Windemere itself is a lovely little town in the centre of the famous Lakes District, and we are staying in the cutest little stone cottage that was built in about 1860. It has been extensively renovated but still has some of it’s original features including rough hewn beams in some of the ceilings and over the fireplace. Obviously the first thing we did was go out and buy some firewood so we could have a fire in the evening. Yew Tree Cottage is right in the centre of town so we are able to walk to the shops and restaurants. Last night we had dinner in a little Greek restaurant, and tonight we visited Sizergh Castle, which is a National Trust property that was lived in by the same family for over 800 y...
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Back on the Llangollen Canal

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We’ve decided to spend our last ten days on the boat revisiting parts of the Llangollen Canal, where we began our journey. Even though we’ve traveled these waters before, it looks different now because the autumn leaves have gone, and we are surrounded by the almost bare branches of winter.   By the time our narrowboat trip has ended we will have traveled over 500 km and operated 259 locks. We will have traversed 40 moveable bridges, 22 tunnels, 56 small aqueducts and four major aqueducts. What an adventure it has been, and we have loved every day of it. So now we are traveling  slowly back down to Nantwich , and then back to Overwater Marina where we picked up Southern Cross almost three months ago. After that we are going to hire a car for a several days and visit the Lakes District, which is meant to be very lovely. We have rented a cottage in Windemere as a base, and will do day trips out from there.  
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On The Buses

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We are now several days and many, many locks further along since I last updated this. Winter has definitely arrived and with it more cold and rainy days. Rather than staying inside the boat when the weather is wet, on a couple of days we have caught a local bus to another town that we would not otherwise visit on the boat. The first town we visited was Shrewsbury,  filled with lots of Tudor style houses and several ancient churches, most  particularly the Shrewsbury Abbey that dates back to 1083. We enjoyed walking through the streets, exploring the wonderful medieval buildings. The River Severn runs through town and because of recent rains, the water was lapping the footpath along the riverside.  We have been moored in the canal near the aqueduct in Nantwich for the past couple of days. Since the rain was falling steadily yesterday,  we decided to catch the bus to Cheste...
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FROSTY START TO THE DAY

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A chilly winter’s morning at the very southern end of the Shropshire Union Canal. This morning was a gift… ice crystals on the boat rooftops glittering in the rising sun,   boots crunching through thick frost on the grass, while the mist was rising lazily from the canal giving everything an ethereal look. I was actually leaving the boat first thing in the morning on the very unromantic mission of taking our rubbish up to the disposal area, but as soon as I opened the hatch onto the deck, I was greeted with this beautiful view. Instead I climbed back inside the boat to collect my camera and set off along the canal to try to capture the magic. Isn’t life like a box of chocolates!
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Black Country

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From the early 20th century, the Black Country region was one of the most industrialised parts of the UK with numerous coal mines, iron foundries, glass factories, brick works and more dominating the landscape. It was famously described as ‘black by day and red by night’ because of the constant black smog by day and the fiery glow of the furnaces by night. Almost every house was it’s own little factory, with cottage manufacturing happening alongside the mining and other industries. It was a tough, noisy and dangerous place to live. At one time the average life expectancy was just 17 years. Children started work at the age of 5 or 6, as chimney sweeps, or fetching and carrying in factories. Housing was very basic and without sanitation. Living conditions were harsh and the houses would be considered slums today. Many homes were affected by subsistence from the mining going on below them, and sank at odd angles into the earth. The museum is...
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