TRIP PREP

 

                                                Pat at the helm in the fog giving a "thumbs up" (gritting her teeth)

Sutton Wharf Marina       Nov. 15^th

 

It is 5:30 in the morning, and we are up listening to the rain outside and trying to decide if we need to go anywhere today. We stopped here yesterday for water and then just as we pulled out heading up the canal, David spotted a 2-day free visitor moorage with a deck!  Hate to give up this VIP spot.

At a bookstore in Coventry, I purchased a used book called, The Kingmaker’s Daughter by Philippa Gregory. I really enjoy reading her historical fiction about the British monarchies. When I would visit my Gram in Manchester she would loan me such books, and we would discuss the various characters and dastardly plots. She was a true Royalist and loved sharing the tales of old.

As luck would have it, we just happened to moor near the Ambion Wood which takes you on an historical walk of the “Battle of Bosworth” which is where King Edward lll was killed by a soldier in Henry Tudor’s army during the War of the Roses in 1485. This battle ended the war and made Henry king. He was the father of the infamous Henry Vlll. My book takes place during this same time.

I started my book over a week ago and now I can’t wait to sit and read because history has become so much more alive with our visit here. The book begins with Anne of Warwick’s childhood, and I am just at the part where she is now married to Richard who is not yet the king. Gregory’s writing is rich with history and drama. Her women characters are always cleverer and more resilient than their male counterparts. They had to be to survive.

The walk was over an hour through thick woods and open meadows. The day started off very foggy and, in the afternoon, there was still a hazy sky. My photos needed just a gleamer of sunshine to capture the richness of the colors, but it wasn’t to happen.

                           A walk in the woods, you can just see a man ahead of us on the walk

                                                                  Sheep in the meadow

We came upon a Heritage Center along the walk and went in to find wonderful displays of weapons, armor, and tales of the battle, aftermath, and key “players”.  There was a docent who was very sweet but felt she needed to share far too much information for our brains to process. She would appear out of nowhere from room to room sneaking up on us. It was kind of funny.

several of these bird "cafes" were along the walking path

     

I was really taken by the fact that often the families of soldiers would travel with them.  After the battles, they would benefit from the spoils of war as they rummaged through the battle site for items to sell. There were always lots of mercenary soldiers and farmers who were ordered to join up as the army marched on by their farmlands. Such harsh and cruel times.

On the way back to the boat I was kidding David. “OK, we can check off battlefield on this trip.”  When we traveled the southern states, we stopped at multiple Civil War sites, and for me, if you’ve seen one, you’ve just about seen them all.

David read that the weather has been unusually warm in Britain for this time of year and normally at this time, the trees are bare. Lucky for us, we are treated to the autumn splendor a bit longer.

I was asked about cooking on the boat. We did roast a chicken in our oven which is beneath a cupboard. While it was roasting, I noticed how warm the shelves in the cupboard had become. Later I found the chocolate on our cookies melted and about a ¼ of a chocolate bar melted!  Not sure about the ventilation for that oven.

David has made chicken noodle soup and oatmeal at times in the morning. We mainly eat one meal out in town somewhere and then snack on the boat. We asked for a large pot before leaving our rental marina but forgot about it. Bought spaghetti but don’t have a pot to cook it in.

We don’t miss a service station if we can help it. The first one we stopped at was all locked up, and we couldn’t figure out why. Finally, David said, “I’m thinking we need to use our wonder key for this.”  We were given a key to use on electric lift bridges, so he grabbed that and sure enough, it also unlocked the boaters service station doors. We were never told to use it for that purpose. Smart man, my hubby.

We woke up to fog but pressed on. Switched on our tunnel light for any vessels approaching us. We only saw one other boat moving on the canal and his bow was stuck in the bank just after a bridge. We pulled back and watched him single-handedly maneuver his boat out of the mud and to the edge of the canal. As we passed, he simply said, “Shallow”.  We did notice the high-water mark on  the corrugated tin along the edge, and the water level was about 3 inches lower. It was, however, smooth sailing for us.

We knew we had a low bridge to go under this morning, and David asked me to remind him to remove the chimney stack before shoving off. Our guide at the marina had told us that he had forgotten to remove his once and watched it get knocked clean off by a bridge. Didn’t want that to happen.

                                                                Low Bridge!

                                                         DUCK!!!!

Still raining. Still undecided about whether to stay or go. Stay tuned. David is cooking breakfast.  Smoke alarm sounding off.

 

Boat names:   “Spending Thyme”        “ About Time”        “Teapot”

 

                                                Floating "food truck"

                                            Still all decked out for Halloween