Monday 30 April 2012

Bardney Lock showing the level of the river





Today (Monday) has been a glorious sunny day.  However when Graham walked the dogs at around 7:00 this morning he reported back that the lock was looking rather full.  Haha!! What he meant was that water was flowing over the top gates, through the lock and across the bottom gates.  There should be approximately a 4 foot drop through the lock but the water was so high it is all level (see photo).  We reversed the boat to the lock so that we could top up with water and whilst there spoke to a guy from BW.  He advised that it would be best to stay put as it was not possible to get back into Lincoln due to the water level.  After some discussion we decided to stay where we are as we are only about 1.5-2 miles from Bardney and a Co-op so at least we can get provisions if we need to.

We spoke to some people this afternoon who told us that the last time the river flooded they rescued people from the visitor’s moorings in canoes as the access to the floating pontoons flooded.  But I think we will be ok as we have plenty of food on board and Graham has planned a route off the pontoon if it floods.  Not sure I can make it though so might have to practice swimmingL

The moorings here are very tranquil and we are on a floating pontoon so the boat is safe.  There is plenty to see and yesterday when it stopped raining Graham and I went for a walk and saw two owls hunting.  Having come back to the boat and looked in the book we think they are short eared owls.  Amazing! I have never seen owls this close other than in captivity.  This evening we sat outside in the sun with a glass of wine watching the swallows swooping over the water and this morning we saw a cuckoo.  The last time I saw a cuckoo was in Ireland several years ago.  It is a bit frustrating that we can’t move but it is a lovely place to moor and later on we may take a walk and see if we can see the owls again.  I think the trick is to just chill and enjoy the moment rather than stressing about having to be somewhere for a specific time.  Not sure how long we will be here for and where we are headed for next but I will update when we know.



Pictures of floating pontoon that we are moored on especially for Vicki!



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