Shackerstone

Last night as I put the bungs into the potholes, I saw the evening sky foretold the fine weekend weather ahead. Red sky at night, shepherds delight, as the saying goes.

Sunset at Snarestone

This morning not a cloud in the sky. After breakfast and disposing some rubbish, we got underway. It was 10 am, and the cruise to Shackerstone would take little over an hour. First it was through the crooked tunnel, before emerging back into the warm, glorious sunshine.

Inside the tunnel

As the weather was so nice, I reduced the engine revs below our normal cruising speed, in order to extend our relatively short journey time. This also allowed the opportunity to take some photographs of the Leicestershire countryside.

Views across Leicestershire

All to soon we arrived at Shackerstone. The mooring spot we had identified on the way up was vacant, so we slotted into position. The time 1130, the sun was now high, in the still cloudless sky. This will ensure that the batteries receive a good charge from the solar panel today.

   

Mooring at Shackerstone

After securing the boat, we went off in search of the battlefield line steam railway. It was easy to find, by simply following the sound of the engine whistling, and the huge puffs of smoke, bellowing above the trees from the smoke stack. This was to reintroduce Oscar, to the noise and smells of a hissing steam train. The first blast on the whistle woke him up, but after that he was fine. More about the trains in tomorrow's exciting instalment.

• Totals 3 Miles 1 Tunnel
• Running total 84 Miles 19 Locks 5 Tunnels