Today was lovely and warm, and the countryside remained stunning. Penkridge was holding its annual fun run day and we arrived as people were finishing, therefore many red faced and exhausted runners were staggering post race along the towpath.

The lock itself was made interesting by the decision of two adult lady ducks to join Hawksmoor in the downward elevator. Mum and I had to instruct Dad in keeping the boat away from them so they weren’t forced too near the whirlpools and get sucked down. I’m certain the men would tell us that was unnecessary due to lock type physics, and we were well aware that as they were adults they could fly off anytime, but we are girlies and softies and didn’t care.

Chris saw two sparrow-hawks whilst operating a lock solo. Stopped at The Boatyard and met Gordon. Apparently Dad forgot that he left Chris holding Hawksmoor to the shore and had a good long gossip while a Spitfire and a Hurricane from the nearby airfield flew over us.

Saw a fantastic heron, which stood at the edge of the canal until we were almost on top of it, clearly posing for photo opportunities.

What had been a very sunny day abruptly ended as two storm fronts came in and the temperature dropped and the wind picked up. Moored for the night in a stunning basin, Tixal Wide (this really is a name, not a condition) with much wildlife. At last we spotted a Great Crested Grebe and its chick, a bird I loved as a child but haven’t seen since. A couple of Roe Deer and a pheasant were spotted in the field behind our mooring also, and some ducks had moved into premises previously occupied by swans, and a kestrel hovered nearby.

During dinner two coots and their chick came cruising by, and an unidentified bird of prey was mobbed by crows.

Mum cooked dinner which was lovely, especially the Tia Maria (Candy sized dose) Beckham Special served up for dessert. Dad and I went for walk after dinner while galley crew washed up.

Met the owners of Beatrice, a narrow boat built by apprentices for handicapped children. Full of British steel and extra thick bulkheads, she was launched in 1979 and is still as robust as ever. Good going when the expected lifespan of a narrow boat is around 14 years.

Found a condominium of reeds housing many wagtails.

Have discovered that Dad is a cruel nasty mean horrible person when it comes to ducks. We played catch with three ducks and two of them obliged by skilfully catching most pieces in their beaks, one did not. However, once all the bread was gone, Dad threw them a bit of random plywood which bounced off an expectant beak.

Spotted the Grebe’s chick wandering about on the water looking for its Mum, piping away in the hopes she would come along. Minutes passed with no sign of Grebe Mum and I got quite worried. Finally Grebe Mum surfaced a long way from chick who was paddling in quite the wrong direction. However, once Grebe Mum got within a few yards chick spotted her and virtually walked on water in its hurry to get to her, the air full of its worried and clearly relieved piping. Bless.

Oh yeah, and England beat Ecuador. Yay.