First of all I would recommend to any boaters to moor near Bathampton swing bridge as it's not as busy and closer to the local shops (cross over the bridge and follow the right of way and the lane until you get to the shop!) and half hourly bus service in to Bath (number 4 I think). Unfortunately there is not much in the way of rubbish and elsan facilities here, the ones that are there appear to be private.
Started the day off right with sausage and bacon sandwiches, has to be done!
I've changed the fuel filters on the engine (a first for me on any vehicle). I've concluded, having done a few simple jobs on my boat, that it's best to do work like this myself as I'm not convinced that people who I've payed in the past have done a proper job.
Me and my fellow boater Leon decided to do a walk to check out the next part of the canal, needless to say it was HOT, scorchio in fact. We were disheartened by the lack of moorings available due to overcrowding and mooring restrictions, having reached Crofton pumping station (closed to visitors) we popped down to the river which is obviously the place to go in the sun as there were barbecues and all sorts on the go and the lane was jam packed with cars and locked up bikes.
We headed back and got under way on the boats, we decided to see where we got to in an hour.
The landscape of the K&A is undoubtedly beautiful at this point, skirting the edge of the valley with the river Avon at the bottom. The noise of the London mainline trains doesn't detract to much from the fab views and nature. We ended up at Dundas and then set out to try and find pub. The local pub has been turned in to flats so we went to try and find a pub in Limply Stoke, trying to do this by foot, along the rode is not a good idea! The road is to busy and there are no footpaths. We gave up on that task and returned Dundas, we popped up to the local garage / Spar for supplies which is very close to the canal at Dundas.
Plan B on the pub front was to cycle to the Cross Guns at Avoncliff (note there is a handy train station here too). Once I had fitted a new bike chain we did a 20 plus minutes cycle to Avoncliff. The food is expensive but the location and beer are top notch. The pub is run by the owners of Box Steam Brewery and usually opens till midnight. It is a proper boaters pub and the bar staff were very welcoming. There was a folk singing session which harked back to times gone by and it was great to join in and feel part of a silver thread of song woven through time. It was good to talk to the local boaters and get some of the local boating information. We had come equipped with head torches for the perilous canal side night cycle home and made it back to the boats in one piece.
Today I managed to locate the CRT Elsan at Dundas (at the right going away from Bath as you near the coal canal). The marina at Dundas has an overpriced cafe (Over £10 for breakfast and a cuppa) and the toilets are dicusting, it would appear they've not been cleaned in a long time and have been used as an Elsan. Boaters breakfast bap at the Cross Guns is only about £4.
Anyway, we'll be on the move again today nearing Bradford on Avon for weekend blacking.
p.s. I realised to late that you can actually get to Limply Stoke from the canal tow path, doh!
