Glasson Basin

Last night as we laid in bed I wished for a power cut as the untuneful howlings of a karaoke wafted across the basin from some sort of do on the far side. Luckily it quietened down just gone midnight allowing us to get to sleep. This morning we woke to wind and rain buffeting us against the side. Once we were up Mick deployed our tyre fenders which helped a great deal.

As it was such a miserable morning we decided to see if Lantern O’re Lune lived up to its reputation of being in the top 5 Lancashire breakfasts. We managed to dodge the rain but arrived at the swing bridge when it was swung. A visiting yacht was coming up in the lock, the second boat this morning. Two lock keepers wound windlasses and chatted to the crew, pointing out where to head in the basin to moor. Plenty of people were watching and being Sunday several cars waited, empty, to cross the bridge. A route was open to cross the bottom gates so we carried on and found plenty of seats free in the cafe.

A full breakfast was described as not for the faint hearted. We decided to opt for a veggie breakfast but with pork sausages, Mick had fried eggs whilst I had scrambled. A generous plateful and they had gluten free bread too, so we were both happy. As we ate the tables filled up, cyclists, walkers and quite a few regulars, the proprietor placing their orders before they’d even entered the door. We enjoyed our meal only one slight criticism was that even thought the sausages were nice, they could have been even nicer. But that was only a very small thing.

Very serious twitchers were watching the mud banks and salt marsh when we went to look at the high tide. This was the first time we’ve seen the river full since we’ve been here.

For most of the rest of the day we stayed indoors avoiding the weather. Tilly sat watching the rain under the pramhood, It was far too windy out there! I continued to make a giant crochet bag. Much of the day I’ve worked on this, but sadly the fabric I bought is very fluffy and the boat now has a layer of dust everywhere despite ripping it up outdoors. I’ve persevered with it to try to get a pattern, but the fabric will have to be a different type, cotton sheeting most probably.

Later in the afternoon the rain eventually stopped so we went out to see if we could find where the music was coming from last night. We walked up the canal to the first bridge and then round to the marina. Nowhere suitable showed it’s face and we’d seen lights further along. The next entrance from the road was into a field. A traffic cone sat by the gate along with a water tap, but other than that there was nothing. This looked like it was the right place for the lights, but unless they had power from the school or generators we didn’t see how there would have been power for the karaoke. Maybe it hadn’t been powered, maybe it was a spectral karaoke that just disappeared into thin air at midnight!

By the dock is an imposing building, The Caribou. This is the oldest building in Glasson. In 1787 it was known as Pier Hall a hotel for the dock. In the 1820’s it became known as The Caribou Hotel. In 2002 it was divided into seven houses and apartments. £160,000 will get you a three bedroomed house right now. The railway ran up the road in front, the station being nothing more than a small hut which has since been demolished. By the dock there is a metal plate which marks the boundary of the railway.

Garlic chicken this evening made with some of the smoked garlic I bought yesterday was very tasty and the mackerel Mick put in the kedgeree last night was very nice too. I may have to pop back to the smoke house before we leave for some more.

0 locks, 0 miles, 1 miserable day,  2 boats, 1 bridge, 4 held up, 2 veggie breakfasts with meat, 1 Americano, 1 tea, 1 refill of tea, 0 need for lunch, 3 twitchers, 2.5m ripped, 1 dusty semi trad, 2 much fluff, 1 and only PB, 1 bag, 1 dusty sofa, 0 power, 0 karaoke, 1 very bored cat, can we move tomorrow please!