Berkhamsted (still)

Here I am Rune

Distance 0 miles

Total 422 Locks 8 Tunnels

Running total mileage 580.0 miles

Well after a few days of walking we are now back on the boat and tomorrow moving off and heading north towards Leighton Buzzard and Milton Keynes. The walking that we have been doing has been the completion of The Ridgeway National Trail, the section between Goring and Ivinghoe Beacon which my hand navigator calculates to have been 47 miles. It has been a pleasant walk with a few more hills than the first half from Overton Hill (Avebury) to Streatley and a lot more woodland to walk through. Given the weather forecast before we set out, the walk wasn’t too bad with only Wednesday having a lot of rain. So I can now say that I’ve completed the Ridgeway National Trail. A couple of photos taken en route are below (it’s quite surprising how close to the Prime Minister’s residence at Chequers that the footpath passes).

View of Chequers from the Ridgeway Path

View at Ivinghoe Beacon

Back at the boat we seem to have a bit of an Obsessive/Compulsive swan to deal with! For some reason it has taken a dislike to our rear starboard side fender and has taken to repeatedly attacking it. Now it had started this odd behaviour before we left the boat but has clearly spent most of the last week constantly pecking at the fender. Now I can understand an animal persisting at something for some appreciable benefit, but to spend hours every day packing at a solid fender that it is clearly not going to have any real effect on suggests to me that there is something mentally wrong with the swan! There is nothing to eat on the fender, it is solid rubber so despite the repeated pecking there is little effect on it, it is just becoming a bit annoying with the swan constantly banging the fender against the side of the boat, I have now taken to throwing canal water at the swan which deters him for about 5 minutes. At least tomorrow we move on so he will have to find another toy to play with!