Perfect summers day in Eckington

At least it was perfect after a rather disturbed night.   Barney normally does not stir from after his last walk until the morning but last night he was prowling around about 3am!!!   We think he had been off the boat, although how he managed to force his way out of the cratch covers and up the steep and non to stable high bank, is a mystery.   He remained unsettled so in the end we left the cratch open and tried to get back to sleep............it was a bit chilly with the cratch open as it had been a beautifully clear and starry night........

We subsequently discovered from the two boats in front that they had heard a vehicle drive into the car park around then and someone was wandering around with a torch so maybe Barney was just being a good guard dog.....wonders will never cease....I didn't think Guard Dog was in the Labrador Dog Description.....

We were expecting more visitors today as Tony and Di had called to check our whereabouts.   We were undecided whether to stay a day or move on to Pershore.   It all hinged on whether the other two boats were leaving so that we could move to a more stable position....we were still vacillating when Tony checked with us in the morning.   Eventually Geoff wandered up to chat to them and ascertained that they were planning to move on so decision was made.   As soon as they left we moved ourselves up to the proper quay.  It was still a climb down but at least from a stable platform.    We must be at least 18 inches below the quay so it is hard to picture this with the car park flooded.   A picnicker sitting near our boat was telling us all about winters here and how often the river rises and how they were flooded out and lost everything from a boatyard a little further up the river, back in 1998.

Eckington Bridge 

Eckington Bridge is apparently 17th century but has had necessary repairs over the centuries.  It was closed this year for several weeks again.   It is single file traffic controlled by traffic lights and a lot of traffic uses it including big heavy lorries.

It has been a lovely lazy summer day.  Geoff and Tony walked to the pub for a pint at lunch time whilst Di & I were forced to sit in either the sun or the dappled shade, both of which are abundantly supplied in this picnic place.   There are quite a few motoring picknickers but not enough to make it feel crowded.

This has been one of the very few days this year where the sky has been completely blue with not a cloud in sight.   Not much boat traffic until later in the afternoon when a few went by, obviously the weekenders after finishing work.