Ripples followed by Bugsworth Basin

We were very lazy last weekend and couldn't muster the energy to cruise down to Marple which is no distance at all. Instead, we thought it time for a little low stress visit to Whaley Bridge.

We wanted to try leaving Mr Jones on the boat for a couple of hours which we did for the first time on Friday night. We easily got a table at Zayka and can't understand why it is suddenly an empty restaurant when it used to be fulled booked. The food was better than ever and so beautifully presented.

Jones barked a lot as we left but when we got back, judging by the time it took him to get to the doors, he must have been fast asleep in the front cabin in his bed. So this went well given how noisy that tow path is. It must surely be the busiest tow path and is always full of people, and screaming teenagers who seem to traffic between Tesco and the town.

The next morning, after a really good night's sleep, we took Mr Jones down to the sunny river bank where Rocky had played on his pallet.

Rocky loved this shallow fast flowing bit of river and so did Mr Jones who likes to bark at anything that ripples unpredictably. For example, when the boat is in reverse gear Jonesy is most unhappy and barks fiercely at the water, but inexplicably he is fine in the forward gear.

After a trip to Tesco for barbecue food, we moved Princess Lucy to Bugsworth Basin, just to see how easy it is to moor up there and how many people are around. We found a quiet mooring which was on the other side of the A6 but there is nowhere in the basin that you can avoid the constant traffic noise. That said, we enjoyed our barbecue and wombling round the basin. The next time we will be here, it will be to meet up with Sarah and Jim.

We are looking forward to seeing them and Rocky but fear that the greyhound/terrier combo will inevitably spell trouble.