The morning was beautiful and sunny which we were grateful for because the plan of the day was to take our friends on the boat from where we are moored, up to the next winding hole, which is about an hour’s journey. We then had a pub in mind for lunch but it was fully booked, unsurprisingly given the weather and the fact that it is halfterm. So we made wraps and ate them at a distance from each other on the boat! Luckily this boat has a sofa, then a longish galley kitchen and then a dinnette so it is relatively simple to keep 6ft from each other when necessary. We turned the boat and headed back to our original mooring next to the previous winding circle, where we turned the boat againb before our friends jumped off and returned to their car. Luckily for us, they turned to wave and saw R’s hat floating in the water. It had blown off suddenly. Using the boat’s pole they managed to rescue the hat and we continued on our journey.
As I mentioned previously, I really am quite impressed seeing MK from the water’s edge and some of the canalside buildings are attractive to look at. As we travelled along I noticed that we were passing close by to the Peace Pagoda, a six minute walk from bridge 81 in Willen Park. It was erected in 1980 by the nuns and monks of Nipponzan Myohoji and is surrounded by a thousand specially planted cherry and cedar trees that enshrine the memory of victims of all war. It stands in the specific hope that the earth will be spared from nucleur annihilation. It was worth the walk in the pouring rain to see this pagoda and sobering to think what it stands for.
Our drenching continued as we advanced further on our journey, stopping just after bridge 85 in a place called Woolstone.
NarrowboatTLC 