Lucky us. Seems we returned at the right time.

Had another disturbed night, not because of any noise outside rather the opposite. I couldn't stop coughing no matter what I did. How I didn't wake Ian was a miracle. Must be the earplugs he uses every night 'cause he say's I snore!!!. In the end I got up at what I thought was 7am only to discover the clocks had gone back and it was still only 6am! By now Ian was also awake so kettle on, green tea for Ian and a good dose of Beechams flu remedy for me.

With no need to hurry it was gone 9.30am before setting off. Only three locks and 4 mile to do before reaching Sandiacre. The wind had picked up and twice I struggled to get FS off the side and into the lock. Didn't help matters that I felt ill and really couldn't be bothered. At Long Eaton Lock I was kept entertained by an aggressive swan defending his patch, and then past the next bridge I thought we were being invaded by Indians. Quite what a teepee was doing on the towpath would be anyone's guess. Have put more photos of the swans on my wildlife blog.

Glad to see the youngster got away

Family waddling up the towpath .

Once in Sandiacre lock we offloaded all the wood on our roof and moved it to the wood store in the bungalow garden. This time next year it should all be nicely dried out and ready for use by the winter of 2015. As I brought FS out of the lock and reversed into the Derby Arm, one of our neighbours was having his cherry tree removed. Apparently it had some sort of disease and with it overhanging the canal, may have been a danger of toppling on visiting boats. Never one to miss an opportunity I asked what was happening with the wood. The majority had already gone but we were told we could take what was left. With this tree now already devoid of the branches all that is left is the trunk. Judging by the width this will keep us going for some time to come. Now all we have to do is wait until its completely down and then cart it all round to the wood store.

Bits and bobs need doing around the place for the tenants so we expect to stay here for a few days and travel to the Mill possibly by mid week.  I doubt there will be much to report until we leave so no posts for a few days. I may continue with the wildlife blog so if you fancy a peep click on the link on my side bar.