21-22nd. Canal’s end

We’d decided we might revisit the pool which looked like a good place for lunch but after breakfast it was looking a little gloomy for a picnic. We took a couple of apples and, having missed the opportunity of using the bridge,  which was now open for the day, we re traced our steps from the previous evening along the canal and under the canal back to the road beside the burn. To make a change we crossed the burn near the bottom to make  and found ourselves with little in the way of a path to follow so were quite slow in ascending the burn. Eventually, despite some scratches and a fair amount of paddling in the river we arrived at the fallen tree over the deer fence at which point I was going to hop over and re join the forest road back to the canal but Sue wanted to carry on. We found a wee waterfall and sat beside it eating the apples and then carried on to the pool where Sue wanted to swim. She went in for about 15 minutes, I went in for about 2 minutes. Refreshing. It was by now sunny again and a picnic would have been lovely,  had we only brought one. From here we carried on up to the original ford and crossed to the road before realising I’d left my glasses at the swimming spot. Walking back down I missed the swimming spot as I was, stupidly, looking for the apple eating spot, however Sue didn’t and recovered the glasses which I’d left hanging in a tree. Back on the other side again we returned to the boat had some lunch and then let go and motored along the final bit of canal to Neptune’s staircase. We were a little late for the descent so secured to the wall at the top and went for a walk to a shop to buy some onions, potatoes, milk and crisps, the shop was on a council estate and had little in the way of fresh food being longer fizzy drinks, sweeties, crisps, pizzas and so on.

Back on the boat Sue did a spag bol with the remains of the bol sauce from two nights previously and we went to bed.

In the morning we were ready for an 0830 start when the canal opened. The lock keepers were ready by 0900 and we went into the lock and were the only ones to take the first downwards journey. By 1015 we were at the bottom but waiting for, first, a steam train and then, after a tease when the road barriers closed and then opened again for an Ambulance, eventually got out of the bottom lock at about 1115. By this time there wasn’t enough water outside for us to get out and we had to wait for the tide and the ‘Lord of the Glens’ to come back in again, before we could get out at 1430. We took the dogs for a walk.  Sue was now going to stay with us until Oban where we needed to go to get fuel as there was none available in Ft William. I booked a berth at Kerrera having checked that they would sell fuel on the Saturday and it appeared that they had an open mic night planned along with pizzas and burgers. Once the ‘Lord of the Glens’ had bertheed, we went into the final lock, gave our loo and shower  key the the lock keeper and exited the canal. We had a motor down, against a 4 knot tide at the Corran narrows, partly ameliorated by hugging the Morvern shore, and were berthed at Kerrera by 1930.

Up at the club house we ordered a burger and a pizza. I was going to sit outside with the dogs but Sue found that the dogs were welcome inside so we went in and sat down with a couple of drinks. Before going to the club there had been a version of a ‘Beatles’ song being murdered on the sound system, however by the time we got there, the quality was very good with various members of the audience getting up to do a turn, mostly on guitar and voice but with one set having a saxophone with guitars and voices all together appearing to be jamming but very well, were it not rehearsed it was very good, actually it was very good in any event. A woman got up and did a poem she’d just written about ‘Big Ted the arse sniffer’ a local dog.  I did  The Holy Ground and soon it was 2100 when the final boat was supposed to be leaving although they then put on another one at 2130 and, I suspect, a final one for the people doing the music.

By  now it was  bed time so we took the dogs for a quick walk before returning to the boat and retiring for the night.