The Bedwyn interlude

Well there we were at Great Bedwyn and where are we now? Great Bedwyn. It was the wrong kind of ice or snow or mud or whatever and so what the day before had been "We're just a couple of days behind," has turned into a two week extension of the stoppage at Kintbury. First passage through on Saturday 21 March. Thank heaven for the bakery. At least we can console ourselves with fresh bread every day...... and of course cake.

While herself was away He's been and explored Marlborough. "You'll like Marlborough dear, about every third shop is a coffee house or tea shop." And she did. Good bus service every hour and market Wednesday and Saturday.

Well If we are going to have to hang about for another couple of weeks we might as well do it in Bedwyn. Definitely a doggy village; even has it's own professional dog walker. Lots of footpaths and walks up the hillsides and through the forest. Savernake forest, (beech and oak with the occasional carpet of snowdrops); pronounced Sav-ver-nak we are told. The dogs enjoy a morning walk to Little Bedwyn along the tow-path each day and halfway there in the evenings. Tow-path walking good as both can be let off the lead, being fenced in on two sides.

Now you see some remarkable sights along the tow-path at times. Things to take your breath away. One in particular was presaged by big dog suddenly ducking (I've never seen a dog duck before) as this ghostly white apparition suddenly emerged from over the hedge. A barn owl, out on the hunt just as the sun was setting. As it swooped low over the wetlands, the low sun reflecting off its pale underside, flight that looked like a huge butterfly in slow motion. Amazingly beautiful as it circled round past us and we looked it full in the face. On the other side of the canal is an iron-age hill fort by which is an ancient chapel now used for storage, which we learned later is where it lives.

We had said, when we were in Devizes, that a trip to Avebury stone circle would be good; but because of the bad weather we never made it. Well yesterday we did. A lovely sunny day and bus to Marlborough and then the Swindon bus to Avebury and a delightful day. What's there to see is all down to marmalade! Alexander Keiller the archaeologist in the 1930's used his inherited fortune from his family's marmalade business to uncover buried stones and restore the monument to what can be seen today it seems. It's now in the care of the National Trust.

Today is miserable. It's trying to rain and the weather forecast is for possible snow. But are we bovered????? Well not as long as it just comes for a day. Tomorrow is market day and we need to go and see if the laundrette we have heard of in Marlborough is still open. The washing machine on the boat is fine when we are on the move. (Even he did a couple of loads while she was away). The problem this time of year is getting stuff dry. Oh the trials of the boating life; though you could hardly call backing up 100 yards once a week to refill the water tank boating.

15 mar
So there I was, peacefully drinking the mid-morning coffee and suddenly the boat starts to rock violently from side to side. No it wasn't the after effects of the red wine! Then again, sound of tremendous wash from a passing boat; some maniac not slowing down, clonk on side of boat. Didn't hear an engine, in fact didn't see a boat. Are we being bombed by enraged ducks demanding breakfast? There goes another. Peak out of the window and........mad canoeists! It's the Pewsey to Newbury time trial. One of the preliminary events on the K&A before the Annual Easter big one - Devizes to Westminster. A hundred and twenty six miles in about twenty hours we were informed by a squad of eager Royal Engineers out on a training day during the week.

We were about to start on one of our trips into Marlborough when we met them; market day, laundrette or some such. The laundrette is down a little alley behind an antique shop. You get it all to yourself on non-service wash days and Krumbs sandwich bar three doors down makes the whole thing bearable - takeaway soup and baguettes to die for. After a delicious nut and bean creation herself is now on an urgent quest for a supplier of chilli jam!

Anyway, getting back to the canoeists; rather than sitting and getting sea-sick himself and the dogs set off on the morning walk down the tow-path. There are not just one or two of these guys. There's an entry of something like 200! Setting off in pairs at minute intervals they keep coming for hours. By the time they reach us they've already been going for over and hour and a quarter. What a way to spend Sunday. And it's not just straight paddling. On the K&A about every mile it's pull your boat out f the water, pick it up and run round a lock, back in the water and off you go till the next one. Mind you, the enthusiasm varies a great deal. It ranges from the real hard cases (with their team of supporters arriving by car or bike at the next lock, stuffing energy giving bits of banana or chocolate into the paddlers' mouths as they race past with canoe on shoulder and topping up their water bottles) to the pair of lads lustily singing Jerusalem and Christmas Carols as they paddled on in apparently no particular hurry.

Spring is definitely in the air. Even big dog had a mad canter round in circles in pure delight this evening. Temperatures are rising. We let the fire die during the day. This evening was lovely and balmy, still air, fish rising. Needed a fly line and a rolling cast. A pair of young lads camping by Burnt Mill lock had a 12lb carp the night before. The local paper reported a Salmon caught in the K&A - the first reported in the waterway for 150 years! And another surprise, we saw a Little Egret down by the river (white, small heron-like bird). We will miss the place.