Still a bit of a movie

Today we're in more open countryside from Elton westwards towards Islip, possibly mooring at Irthlingborough tonight. Now the movie is much more American road movie: big Anglian skies, rolling countryside.


Two red kites performing in front of us, and then being chased off by the adult rooks in a huge, noisy rookery.


Oh and achingly beautiful Fotheringay church. As Jim said: in them good old days when wrong was done, somebody paid a penance. They demolished Fotheringay Castle where Mary, Queen of Scots, had been done down, and built a mini-cathedral, complete with flying butresses to atone.

Bit like a film really

What a marvellous day, the first day was (bit of a blog cock-up yesterday, when uploading from the pub - wonder why?).

For me, the first time proper boating, outside the one previous Little Venice-Limehouse trip.

Even just the first mile out of Bill Fen, along the Nene Old Course, was an astonishing treat of nature.For boaters, it's perhaps ordinary, but for the newbie the scene up the straight-and-narrow is so movie. Had the sensation of watching a pianola roll unfold before me. A coot; a (not sure which) duck; a beautiful goose and goslings, a dragonfly of the most iridescent hue, four swans line abreast taking off in front of us, only slighter faster than us, and (my all-time favourite) martins ducking and diving (actually do neither of those things, but you know what I mean).

All this - and it just unfolds (or unrolls) before you.

Fantastic