This is Steve & Viv Carter's log of the trips and travails on the narrowboat Adagio – liveaboards from October 2015. Then back to the shore, in Trefin, Wales from November 2019. "Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover." (Mark Twain)” narrowboatadagio@gmail.com cranog5@gmail.com
Four’s Company with Two’s Company
A lovely morning’s cruise down through Great Haywood – just three little locks and moor at Wolseley Bridge to await the arrival of Stephen & Lucia on Twos Company.
Colwich lock and a fairly quiet cruiseWe only had 2 hours to get to Wolseley bridge, so we were there about 11. Another hour later and . . “They’re here!”. They were doing the Leicester Ring but had spurred up the 4 – 5 hrs from Fradley Junction to meet up with us at bridge 70 – so very nice of them . . . just so we can all go to the Shimla Palace restaurant. They needed to turn their boat around, so they shanghaied me to help them do the 3 locks (twice!) . . .Yes, they do hail from SyracusaBye Steve! See you in an hour or so.Our final mooring spot – chairs out for cocktails at 1845 – time for a “Bitter Lady” – very niceHere they are moored ahead of us.It turned out to be a very nice eveningSpeaks for itselfAnd there’s the mighty Trent – yes, Toby get his promised swim earlier on but he’ll have to be a good boy and stay on the boat tonight.Here’s the Indian restaurant, Shimla PalaceAnd curiously, a Wine Loft, formed from the former bull pen, moved brick by brick from Bishton.A veritable Aladdin’s Cave of wines, gins etcAnd here’s the team after the splendid meal – having had their fill of Tawa’s, Achari’s and Naga dishes – highly recommended.