Monday 8th July; Swanley Bridge marina to bridge 103
We left damp and drizzly Devon behind us, hoping to outrun the rain which we’d managed to do before Bristol. The cloud cover gradually lifted and broke till we drove into the marina in bright sunshine. It took a while to unload the car – the pontoon joins the bank at the top of the slipway, and Dave had to move the car before we had finished unlloading to let a tractor pulling a boat get by. Before I could switch the fridge on, it needed a quick clean – I had stupidly forgotten to open the door when we left last time, so there was some black mould to remove , but thankfully not much. Then I had to completely remake the bed. On our last trip I had devised a fix for keeping the sheet from coming adrift on our deeper-than-average mattress, using an elastic loop stitched to the mattress, which hooked over a button on each sheet corner. Then I realised that tapes sewn on the sheets would be more efficient, so I took all the bedding home except for the duvet. There had also been a small incident with some white spirit the day before we came home on the last trip, so that had been left spread out over the saloon chairs to dispel any lingering pong!
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| Much neater now |
Anyway, we were able to leave the marina at about 4.30 – slightly
delayed because Dave had to change the gas bottle so we could have a cup of
tea.
We didn’t go very far, just a mile or so towards Hurleston junction where we found a quiet mooring before bridge 3. There is the noise of a distant road, but only two boats have gone by and two pedestrians. And it’s sunny! We left the marina in shorts and t-shirts. No jobs this evening, just relaxing in the sunshine – so lovely after the rain and wind we’ve been having at home.
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| Red sky at night … but the forecast is dire |
The internet keeps dropping in and out, so this won’t be posted tonight. There is a beautiful sunset, but the forecast overnight is for heavy rain. Glad we’re not under trees.
One mile
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