We have returned from a 3-day canal boat trip...out of touch with the world. Delightful! We rented a 60-foot flat low boat with 2sleeping rooms, 2 bathrooms and great kitchen. You would have been amused to see 3 old people (one of us refuses to be labeled old) floating up a series of 10 locks (and down)which is a lot of work and requires one to be half-intelligent. We found ourselves to be slow learners but we did master the task. We went through a loooong two-way no-light tunnel with inches to spare between boats. A highlight for me was an early morning walk in the village of welfor. It was old and immaculate. As walked along a high stone wall Sally and I saw a small old door just as I imagined it would look in the book The secret garden, cobwebs and all. We opened it to indeed find a secluded park-like area with flowers and trees and someone's large manor. We sneaked down their cobblestone driveway into a centuries old church with a cemetery of large slabs of slate headstones dated 1700s. Wow! The history around here just talks to you.
On the way home we toured Warwick castle. There was quite a production of rides and presentations of life with old ladies and lords and kings. After seeing the horrible gaols and seeing terrible weapons of war and reading of trysts and scandles, I've decided to renew my contract for my life in this century. We need to rest up several days. This is just the beginning!