Joined by 2 more boats, we took a few days to enjoy the tranquility of Froghall basin. Surrounded by steep sided wooded valleys made for a complete change of scenery to what we’ve become familiar with along our flat towpaths.
And we discovered muscles that we didn’t know existed as we climbed up to the tops.
The bluebells and wild garlic were just coming to the end of their season but still pretty enough to create a blue carpet.
Ox eye daisies and cow parsley were taking over as flowers of the month.
And this hill country is definitely cow country, where the teenage cows were full of springtime curiosity
All this sunshine, and country walking made us feel like we were on holiday, and of course all these cows meant real dairy icecream
Being in such an isolated spot meant that the nearest local shop was a bit of a hike, and uphill so despite the tardis like Londis and first class butchers at Ipstones, meant that needed to move on after a few days.
Back through the narrow lock, stopping to fill up with water
And the even narrower tunnel, although this time, we had had chance to study the angles and Eric manouvered us in without me having to bow haul us to the entrance.
And out the other side, ok this time we did get a tiny scrape on our handrail, but nothing offensive
We have to say our sense of achievement and satisfaction at making this journey just for the sheer enjoyment of it has been huge. It’s not a canal everyone would enjoy, it has some very narrow sections that make 2 way traffic challenging to say the least. And the tunnel dimensions exclude a lot of boats, but we would say to anyone thinking of doing it, just take it very slowly, and use your common sense, e.g. if you don’t fit through the profile don’t do it.
