Jeremy at The Boot, Lapworth Flight

After six more locks of the Lapworth Flight we moored between locks 14 and 15, close to The Boot inn.

Tiger had come to enjoy cruising the rivers where the locks were large, few and far between. The channel had been deep and quite wide which reduced engine noise and vibration. She is not happy to be doing the Lapworth Flight. We've found the best setup is for the dogs is to stay with Vicky on the towpath. Leo travels in the backpack and Tiger is loose, apart from when Vicky crosses the lock gates. Here she tethers Tiger so she doesn't try to follow and get in to trouble. Vicky sets and fills the locks and Will closes the paddles and gate when he takes Rainboat out.

That afternoon we took the dogs check The Boot out because we'd arranged to meet Will's good friend Jeremy there the following day. It was quite posh, but friendly and there was a jar of dog biscuits on the bar; always a good sign 😉

Jeremy and his partner Lynn spend much of the year in Corfu. Lynn was still out there so we didn't get to catch up with her. However Jeremy was pup sitting his grandpup Isla the Cockapoo, so we got to meet her 🥰 It had been 2.5 years since Will and Jeremy had seen each other and even longer for Vicky but as soon as we saw each other the time fell away.

A waitress showed us out back to a large rattan table in an airy marquee with artificial grass floor. We hadn't even realised this place existed when we visited the previous day! The food was delicious and despite being quite full from our swordfish and butternut salad mains, we had deserts of rice pudding and a cheese platter. Yummm!

Back at Rainboat we were very happy that Leo allowed Isla to come aboard with only a little bit of excited barking. The work Jenny and her dog Boy had put in at the New Year had obviously paid off.

Jeremy and Will travelled on board while Vicky worked the first few locks. Then we swapped and Vicky took Isla and Leo on board. Isla was very good but she didn't like being away from Jeremy so Vicky hopped on and off with her when she could.

The pounds between the locks were very short. We met a couple of hire boats coming in the opposite direction who were nervous about crashing into us. Their hesitancy slowed us down but we'd rather they take that attitude than power ahead and cause a collision.

Our time with Jeremy came to an end far too soon. It had been wonderful to spend the afternoon with him and hopefully we'll be able to meet up again in December🤞

After nine locks there was finally a long straight stretch where we could moor. We pulled up as soon as we could and took a good long rest. The day had been unexpectedly hot and we were knackered.Meer informatie