We abandoned the boat for almost 7 weeks while it was repainted.
All packed and saying goodbye to our old look boat on a very cold and frosty morning. The ducks appreciated an early breakfast.
We have kept similar colours, with dark grey and a very definite light grey panel inside it. I always felt our old light grey looked quite blue, as did many passers-by!! The handrail & rope bollards are now green instead of red.
We have replaced the clip-art oak tree with the Middlesex shield. We felt as we were both born in Middlesex & it’s where Burnt Oak is would be a good talking point.
In addition, we have omitted the large boat builder’s name plaque and have Braidbar Boats 158 added in smaller script.
The acorns on the bow have been replaced with Braidbar Boats logo, a small Maltese cross.
During our away time we were based with Heather & the grandkids in Chorley, but we spent a couple of weeks in Scotland.
We travelled to Inverness by train & stayed in a Premier Inn overlooking the River Ness. It was a stunning journey through the snow topped mountains.
We were fascinated by the railway swing bridge over the canal. Similar to the Manchester Ship Canal, most of the roads cross the canal via huge swing bridges.
We took the bus all the way along Loch Ness to see where the Caledonian Canal left the loch to rejoin a canalised section.
The tourist information centre in Inverness pointed us in the direction of Singleton’s Distillery. They had a super new visitor centre, but we weren’t very impressed with our guide and the whiskies we tasted were quite fiery.
Paul drove us to The Arbikie Distillery. A new site which is almost carbon-neutral, once they have their hydrogen plant up & running they will be.
They use all local products for the spirits and grow their own potatoes and peas for vodka & gins. The tour guide, tasting session and visitor centre were all in all far superior to Singleton’s.
A few days back at base & we jumped on a train for a short journey with the three grandkids & spent the half-term holiday at a bungalow in Grange over Sands. The station is almost on the beach.
The bungalow had stunning views over Morecambe Bay towards Carnforth.
The coastline was very marshy, and the kids were disappointed at the lack of sand, seeing as that was the place’s name. We loved the walk along the sea wall as there were numerous playgrounds.
We saw some just born lambs on a walk to Humphrey Head Point.
The kids made pizza for dinner one evening.
The weather while we were away was very good & quite mild. But once we got back aboard our lovely newly painted boat, it snowed for a few days.
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