Scorchio and no mistake!

Friday 10^th July; bridge 16 to bridge 39, near Sybolds Spinney

Something I forgot to add to yesterday’s blog was that the back pump at the Watford flight has been malfunctioning and they think it will have to be replaced.  That is not what we want to hear at the moment, with restricted hours starting on Monday 13^th.

Anyway, today started so cool that I needed to wear a jumper – at least till 8am when we left!  It got very hot very quickly.

Chicory in the wildlife strip along the offside fields

We stopped at Yelvertoft to top up the water-tap in some good shade.  But it’s a fast tap and we were soon out in the heat again. 

The harvest has been proceeding apace

I used the brolly as a parasol, as the sun on our backs was very uncomfortable.  A tractor on the offside went by with its trailer in a cloud of dust, followed by a 4 x 4.

All that was left was the dust cloud over the water

I studied Nicholson’s carefully to find east-facing towpaths with a chance of trees or a high hedge to keep the sun off.  The dog kept wandering about trying to find somewhere cool where she could see what we were up to - she just will not stay inside when we are on the move in case she misses something.  She won’t lie on wet towels on the deck, but at least they stop her burning her paws.  Several good spots were already taken, but eventually just after bridge 39 we found space and shade.  We had tied up by 12, much to everyone's relief. 

Still too hot but at least it’s out of the sun

We took the hopper windows out on the shady side of the boat and sat out on the towpath for an hour while it cooled inside.  We did a lot of reading today as it was far too hot to do much else.  I made a quiche for tea and stayed outside while the oven was on.

I did a bit of gardening too.  The CRT online newsletter asks us to prune out young growth of trees if it is growing at the towpath edge, to avoid damage to the edge as it gets bigger.

It hasn’t been quite as hot as yesterday and the wind got up later, which helped to cool things down. 

This paddleboarder pottered by at about 5 with his little dog at his feet, and returned later.  They don’t seem bothered by the sun.

7½ miles, 0 locks, 0 tunnels.