Family weekend.

Peace has returned to our little corner (57' x 6'10") of the world. After a busy and thoroughly enjoyable weekend with Natalie and Co.

Thursday evening we dined in style at The Bistro at The Waterfront, what a cracking meal we had. Definitely well up in my all time favourite dining out experiences, and there have been a few of those over the years. If you're on the K&A it really is worth programming in a stop at Pewsey, the moorings are not the best but with a restaurant like this and, if you walk down to the bakers in town, the best lardy cake ever, it has definite rewards.
Friday we worked our way up through the Wooton Rivers locks.

You can see who was doing the work,

while some were just not taking it seriously.
Once we were moored on the summit a hunt was organised, off we went searching for the elusive blackberry. A blackberry and apple crumble had been promised if we supplied the blackberries.

we found a virtual cornucopia of berries and, in contrast to last year,

it looks to be a bumper year for sloes. Hopefully we can look forward to winter's evenings with a roaring fire and a warming glass of sloe gin in hand.

Esme and Elliot were delighted to get a cheerful wave and a toot on the air-horn from the driver of a train of empty stone hoppers and to see

a hare lazing in the field, until the mew of a buzzard overhead sent him scuttling for cover in the hedgerow.
That evening we were rewarded for our efforts by one of Jill's roast dinners, pork and apple sauce, followed by the promised crumble with real custard and clotted cream. The lady is a culinary genius.
Saturday we returned to Wooton Rivers where we discovered

this awesome chap crossing the towpath, once Grandad had shown, not without some trepidation on his part, that the fearsome looking jaws were harmless the children were happy to let it walk over their hands. It's a lesser stag beetle according to the ever faithful Readers Digest Field Guide to the Butterflies and Other Insects of Britain (1984).
Once again we dined out, this time at the Royal Oak, and excellent it was.
Back at Pewsey this morning we bade them farewell as they set off back to Plymouth.
Reality kicks in tomorrow, back to moving on and eating on board.

Watch this space.............