11-12.07.23

Leaving our home from home, Woodlands Farm in Chichester, we headed to Bletchley Park. I visited it in January with Maddy and had an annual ticket, so just J’s to pay for … a mere £23 for a concession! J and I pretty much did the same sections that I did with Maddy, so we’ll need to go back some time to finish it off. Too much information to absorb in one visit. Trying to understand the Enigma machine and the Bombe just made us feel particularly stupid. There really are some clever people, but not us!

I want one….

A narrowboat, that is. James said I could, but only if we sold Jez. Perhaps one day. What has prompted this is that we parked up on good friend’s private mooring. Pat and Jim are motorhomers, but happen to live on a narrowboat on the Grand Union Canal near Northampton. We had a fabulous Pat cooked meal. Wine and chat flowed.

At 0800 hours the crew reported for duty and we cruised along the canal for about 2 hours to a marina for an excellent breakfast. There were about 40 narrowboats for sale and Jim explained the pros and cons of layouts, hull construction and value for money. Prices reflect house prices … when people can’t afford houses they will look for alternative accommodation. We’ve seen this with the increase in van lifers. A good time to put in a low offer is November/ December as owners will be happy to not have to pay the winter maintenance or mooring costs.

On the return leg, Jim handed me the tiller. No stress there then … handling 60ft of someone’s home! Even when I panicked at a narrow bridge on a bend, he refused to take back control. Took a lot of concentration.

But absolutely loved the peaceful tranquility of oozing on the water.