Today is a travel day which involved an early start for the Pencelli Castle crew. Quick breakfast followed by a final clean up of the boat.
Wolfgang also came up with a very ingenius idea of how to fix up the scratches on the outside of the boat that had been caused by tree branches when trying to avoid oncoming canal boats. He got some of the left over margarine with a cloth and used it like a cutting compound to smooth the scratches out and it worked beautifully. Great for the ducco but one does wonder what it does to ones tummy!?!?
There was an hours cruising back to home base followed by a handover and welcome bark from Ozzie the dog. He probably has the best dogs life you could ever imagine as he has his own base that he gets to use as a barking platform at the dogs on the towpath on the other side of the canal.
Farewell to Wales for about a month.
It was then into the car, onto the M4 to Bath to find Ange de L’Eau who we knew was moored up there. Wolfgang and Marlene had left their canal boat in the capable hands of Walter and Suzanne whilst they joined us on the Brecon Beacons canal. A rendezvous point had been organised by them in Bath the night before so it was a matter of following the Sat Nav to an approximate location. We did not have to look very far to find her.
It was then an hours tea, coffee and cake break for us all before we said our farewells and headed off down the towpath back to the car to find out way to the Bristol airport. We do not know why but each time we have used the sat nav in the car it has taken us down a myriad of one lane back alleys lined with hedgerows that you are unable to see over.
In this case it took us all the way from Bath to Bristol through the most tortuous route you could imagine which incurred meetings with huge lorries who were rather reticent to back up plus crazy pommes who insisted upon overtaking us on blind corners scaring the shit out of us!! We arrived back in one piece at the Bristol International Airport (smallest Int we have ever been to but with amazing array of flights) to drop back the rather unused rental 🚗.
So our flight back to Frankfurt is the same puddle jumper we came over on but this time we were actually still booked on the flight and it left on time – whoa, double bonus!!! We hope to be on time into Frankfurt as we have a connecting train to Aschaffenburg which means we get back to Horst and Elfi’s at a reasonable time. Should we miss this 🚂, it puts us back very late at night!!!
Had a beaut view of the English countryside as we took off over the Bristol estuary and banked to the right heading over London. Not the best of photos but it does give you a bit of an idea of the patchwork of countryside which is quintessentially British!!!
Smooth transition from plane to train in Frankfurt – gotta love this European ease of travel. Horst and Elfi there yet again to meet the Canadian gypsies!!!
Rowkin Rovings Blog 