Thursday 8th September, 2022 - Narrowboat

 We had a very easy morning, watching the rain fall for a while, then making our way to the pub for coffee and to again use the wifi.  We updated the blog and then made the remainder of our accomodation bookings for the next week.  We decided to spend 4 nights in the Peak District, 1 night in Tamworth and 1 night just outside London, to make it easier to return the hire car. Just as we were leaving, the pub there was a news item on the TV saying that the Queen was under medical supervision

 

The swing bridge at Stanley Ferry

After lunch at the pub and then left Stanley Ferry across the aqueduct heading towards Castleford,

At the first lock, we noticed another boat, not far behind and decided to wait for them to join us in the lock.  Wow, so glad we did !!! There were 2 couples on the boat, Andy and Daphne and Sam and Sue, we navigated all the locks to Castleford together, chatting at every opportunity.  On arrival at Castleford, after mooring the boats, John, Andy, Sam and Sue went shopping for groceries, ending up at an Aldi.  

Andy & Sam invited John to go to the pub for a beer with them, and I sat on their narrowboat with Sue and Daphne, we all got on famously.  They invited us to have dinner with them and it was during this time that the news of Queen Elizabeth II's death came through.  We were all in tears and, and John and I were very thankful that we were with likeminded people when the news came through.  We sat and talked about the Queen and what the protocol was for  Daphne and Andy, who are Bell Ringers.  We all decided to leave early the next morning in the hope of them getting to Selby, in time to ring the Bells at the local church there.