We had almost reached our summer destination; East Anglia, albeit a good 2 months later than we’d planned, so what would it matter if we dawdled in Weedon Bec for a week. Theres a lot of opportunity for creativity here, and I had friends close by, so with us bagging a mooring in full sun, ie good solar power, and no need to run the generator..
…Eric took the opportunity to return home, to do some essential house maintenance, leaving me to play. There is a brilliant quilting shop in Weedon called the Bramble Patch. It stocks even more fabric than I have in my stash back home. Inspired by the Great British Sewing Bee, I bought myself a little pattern, some coordinated fabric to make a summer sunhat. This sewing machine rarely gets used on the boat, and even though it’s the tiniest of models I was debating whether or not it earnt its storage space. Its won a reprieve for now.
Weedon also has a creative hub housed in the Depot. The Depot was built during the Napoleonic war by George III to house the English ordinance, (gunpowder) in a more central location away from the south coast, in case Napoleon invaded.
Nowadays the historic warehouses, which have seen a variety of military use right up until the 1980s are home to antique warehouses, offices, classic car showrooms and bike showrooms, book stores and cafes.
But my favourite is the Riverknits studio. Home to Becky and Marcus, who have created an artisan yarn brand, which they dye themselves. They regularly hold open days and knit and natters, and the week I was there there they hosted a mini yarn festival with a host of other independant yarnies. I met up with friends and we were in our element.
And yes I bought wool and a book.
Weedon Bec is a great place for a boats to stop. It’s simple and non fussy, but there’s 2 good convenience stores, a revolution outdoor laundrette, a variety of eateries, but sadly no dedicated boating facilities such and water, bins or fuel. But there’s plenty of mooring, and the neighbours are cute
Even Louie the sidecar dog in my header photo has his own website http://louiethesidecardog.com/
