Capernwray

The forecasted showers didn't appear yesterday so wet gear was not needed, in fact it was sunny with a gentle breeze to stop us getting overheated & it was really pleasant cruising along between Hest Bank & Carnforth with splendid views over Morecambe Bay
 By 11am  we had moored up on the visitor moorings & doing our grocery shopping in Tesco, also collected my new vacuum so we were pretty laden, it's a good job it's only a few hundred yards back to the boat. After Carnforth had served it's purpose we carried on in search of a rural mooring, as I have already said the sides of the Lancaster Canal are very shallow making mooring a bit of a challenge but up to now we've usually got in somewhere & haven't had to resort to using the gangplank - yet. 
By the time we got to the entrance of the Capernwray Arm we hadn't found anywhere & the arm had plenty of room with just one boat at the top end. We moored down at the bottom on the pontoon & what a delightful spot this is, it is a old quarry ( click link for more information) that is now wooded with bluebells in abundance. Plenty of birdsong, have spotted a pair of jays, greater spotted woodpecker & nuthatches. 

 

 The chairs have been out & we've certainly made the best of another sunny day today (with apologies to all you boaters further south who are struggling in the rain & floods!)& got some jobs done.  I got my new toy out, it has a selection of attachments &  the small lozenge shaped one made short work of sanding the damage to the paintwork, a coat of primer/undercoat has gone on & I'll do a bit more over the next few days, weather permitting. 

Meanwhile Mark removed the cratch cover & making good use of a nearby picnic table, scrubbed it to within an inch of it's life.

 

  It had got some unsightly green algae patches that we'd not managed to get rid off & what with some of the stitching wearing away we had been looking at getting a new one but Mark decided to tidy it up in the meantime & it has come up really well, so much so that we will not be replacing it now but the stitching does need attention so I'll be looking to get that done. We are planning to do the Liverpool link in July/August & I'll see if we can get it sorted then.

Chores out of the way we had a walk up to Tewitfield & the end of the Canal 

 Looking down the arm from the towpath, it has filled up since yesterday, 

we are nearly out of sight at the bottom.

 The humble Dandelion usually gets poor press, especially when in the middle of your lawn but swathes of them in the fields are a refreshing splash of colour 

 The terminus ( for now) of the Lancaster Canal 

 a path round the corner next to the M6

leads to the bottom of the old locks, still in reasonable condition.

Walking back, we followed a path across the fields

a bit of a tight fit...

& an even tighter fit !

Red Campions

 & cowslips.

Tomorrow back to Hest Bank for the weekend

  

Hest Bank

We set off early yesterday morning & were on the service point by 7.30am filling the water tank etc, the sun was shining & I was looking forward to the days cruise - then I spotted this...

...some ******** has keyed the boat, right back down to the metal ! I was livid & am again now as I'm typing. What possesses people to do this stuff ?  Fortunately our boat doesn't have an expensive paint job costing thousands, if we did I would have been claiming on the insurance, as it is I will spend a lot of time ( of which I have in plenty) sanding, filling & painting. It has certainly coloured my judgement of Garstang which is probably unfair as vandals can be found anywhere. 

After walking for several miles I calmed down, reflecting on our way of live which, in the main, has many pleasures, we consider ourselves fortunate to be able to cruise the canals & rivers enjoying the countryside with nobody to please but ourselves. So a bit of scratched paintwork, in the total scale of things, isn't that important - though I might feel differently when I'm repairing the damage !

I had just got back on board (coffee time) & we spotted this tree down over the towpath, brought down no doubt in the recent gales, I'd have struggled to get past so timed the coffee break well.

 Nice stone bridge

 The entrance to the Glasson Arm & top lock, we shall be venturing down there ere long

 The blossom is lovely, good excuse for another bridge picture 

There was no room on the visitor moorings in Lancaster, but we managed to moor just before Penny Street Bridge, we stayed just long enough to eat a sandwich & quick nip for a paper. We didn't find Lancaster particularly welcoming to the boater, it feels a bit like it has turned it's back to the canal. Maybe I'm being unfair, we shall be heading back through at least twice more so we'll see.

 After Lancaster comes the Lune Aqueduct,  it was a bit windy going over!

With the wind getting up, as we approached Hest Bank we started looking for a mooring spot, not always easy on this canal as it can be very shallow near the bank but we found a spot just passed Rakes Head Bridge & it's got a sea view! We spent the rest of the afternoon watching the snooker as the satellite signal came & went in the wind.

This morning we had a walk to the foreshore..

 the tide is out so just miles of sand, mud & dangerous quick sands

 The mountains of Cumbria in the distance, according to an information board the Old Man of Coniston & the Langdale Pikes are amongst them 

 The remains of a causeway & wharf that was built at the time of the canal to enable ships to unload cargo that would be taken by horse & cart up to the canal.

 a beautiful spot...

A few spots of rain so we headed to the Shore Cafe for a spot of lunch & what a little gem. We just had chip butties & coffee & in my case, carrot cake ;)  but the menu was quite varied & inexpensive, certainly recommended & for dog owners, dogs are welcome & even get free biscuits.

Tomorrow hopefully this wind will have abated & we can continue on to Carnforth, rain is forecast so wet gear on.