The Kingfisher, Greenfield

Today we managed 5 locks, totalling 1.4 miles over the course of 3 hours. At an average speed of less than 0.5mph that's slow going even by canal standards!

Will single handed again and Vicky had enough energy to sit up in bed so she employed a different strategy to keep the dogs as happy as possible. Piling the duvet and pillows at the bow, she removed the blind and opened the doors while we were travelling so the dogs could see where we were going and scent the air. When it came to locks and mooring, she closed the doors and put the blind back in place so Leo wouldn't react to people outside and Tiger wouldn't get scared of being in a lock. This was complimented by relaxing music and squeezing blobs of Primula onto licky mats to distract and calm when there were bangs or scrapes from grounding. We can report with great relief the strategies worked reasonably well. Leo especially liked role playing as Rainboat's new figurehead 😂

We tried mooring just after Lock 19 but once again Rainboat couldn't get into the side. Will, who had hopped off under a bridge where the channel narrowed, had pulled her forward and found himself stranded on the bank as the gap was too wide to get back on 🥴 He managed eventually but when we came across accessible moorings outside the Kingfisher pub we didn't question whether it was suitable for the furries, we were just glad to have found somewhere!

As it turned out, the Kingfisher is adjacent to Frenches Wharf Marina, where Leo and Tiger introduced themselves to the resident boaters, primarily Michelle, Lyndsay and their fur babies, who were sitting out enjoying the warm, dry day. When it was time to go back Leo was a little tyke, ducking under the pub railings and running rampant in the beer garden. When Will took him out later, the only option was to use the dreaded harness and lead. He didn't like it but when his marina admirers invited them to pull up a seat Leo forgot all about it and both boys had a great time socialising. Leo came back smelling strongly of perfume from all the cuddles he got 💕

The next day was warmer still so Will picked up icecreams at the nearby Tesco to keep us cool, then took Leo to sit out with the Frenches Marina crew. They were such a friendly bunch. The 'Leo Fest' photos are courtesy of Michelle.Leggi altro