Uncles

This morning dawned bright and clear and we were all getting up by 8 o'clock, Iain coming in from his van, and Simon from his tent. Everyone knows uncles are great fun, and Elissa and Sam were as keen to test the theory with Iain as they had been with Simon the night before.

Porridge all round and out as soon as we could – this was Iain and Simon's first sight of Erin Mae, and we wanted to fit in a reasonable cruise. The sun was out at times and hot, but a lot of the surrounding countryside is flooded – the River Trent has spread all over the neighbouring fields and a BW man on duty at Hoo Mill lock told us tales of significant water further up the cut. No alarms, however. We met a working boat pulling a full length butty (with a very traditional wooden tiller / rudder) down Weston lock, and stopped for lunch just before the bridge at Salt. It was as we pushed through to wind just beyond Sandon lock that the heavens opened. Fortunately the rain was coming straight down and, though heavy, it wasn't cold.

Iain is a qualified day skipper and enjoyed trying his hand at the slightly different demands of an inland waterway. Both of them were a big hit with the kids. A great day all round.