Hail to the Hive!

I know what most people think when they think of being on the water in winter, cold, cold, wet, crap weather and cold and to be honest all of that does apply with freezing mist thrown into the equation every now and then to make driving the boat that little bit more unbearable.

However.....

we have found that for a large part of the winter months the cruising can be quite rewarding with fresh ,crisp cold days with sunshine and blue skies.

Yes, really it can be a real pleasure to be moving about the waterways at this time of year and as long as you're dressed properly it's alot of fun.

Woolly hats are essential!

Waking up and looking out the window in whatever location we happen to be ay becomes a real joy. I couldn't go back to living in a fixed abode with the same view every day.

A big part of the fun of this lifestyle is being able to change your surroundings and yet still be at home.

And as you can see, winter can be extremely beautiful also and no matter what the outside temp, its always toasty warm inside. I'm often heard telling folks thatask if its cold on the boat in the winter that there are only 2 temperatures on board in the winter,

1, overcoat

2, underpants

It's either so warm you have to open windows and doors or if the heating is off it's like the arctic.

There are other factors that dictate where we go in the winter. Flooding being one and this year ( touch wood) I chose wisely as there has been extensive flooding in the UK. The lake in the background here isn't actually a lake it's normally just a field but as you can see it is very watery indeed.

But the canal itself here doesn't succumb to extreme fluctuations in water levels, which can cause serious issues for mooring. So I specifically decided to stick to these waterways in the Staffordshirs area. So far so good.

And it's convenient for supplies as well as being rather pretty.

We still cruise about taking note of where there are sections closed for winter repairs keeping our environment changing.

And we even took a nip up an unfamiliar section to see what was what.

And found a neat little mooring for a few weeks. Almost like our own private dock.

And despite the rain and the storms and the flooding we have had many a sunny , if very cold, day to cruise and take in the scenery and hardly any boat traffic at all as most folks stay at their home moorings or move about very little. Not like us.

It's like having the canal network to ourselves. Amazing really.

And you have to make the most of winter no matter what it throws at you.

The view this morning....

Ice Ice Baby!

and thick too so we are not going anywhere. I smashed alot of it around the boat to free her up and turn her around but it proved too thick to break while in forward motion so we had to resign ourselves to staying put a few days.

We are moored right outside a nice little pub called 'The Plough' though so all in all it could be worse. We had a lovely dinner of slow cooked pork belly washed down with a few pints of IPA

So I can cope with being iced in if that's what I have to deal with 😁

All being well we will be defrosted and free to move in a few days......fingers crossed!