West Hadderseley Flood Lock to Selby Swing Bridge

Still warm this morning, but we kept the doors closed as we were wanting to move onwards. Mick refreshed our solids bucket so that we can dispose of it’s contents before heading onto the Ouse.

Our two neighbours had pushed off this morning and three boats from Strawberry Island in Doncaster came past from Selby. The last chap said he thought five or six boats were leaving Selby today, so there should be room for us.

We finally pushed off at around 11am, our planned mooring not quite at the other end of the canal.

Yesterday I omitted to mention that we’d had a visitor come in through the side hatch. A Golden Snitch flew in twice and thankfully managed to find it’s own way back out. I think our panic out weighed it’s as it crashed into things making sounds as if it’s structure were made of thin metal rods. Today we would be accompanied by many more snitches darting back and forth. Some gold some blue, but all of them beautifully glinting in the sunshine. Their presence almost making the muggy air bearable.

The Selby Canal at this time of year is filled with duck weed, nothing new as the water gradually got greener and greener the closer we got to Selby.

The high wall mooring was free apart from walkers taking a breather sat on the bench and two boats filled the available length at the barbecue mooring where we’d spent a very pleasant afternoon with the Margees four years ago when we spotted Otters in the cut.

Selby Boat Centre looked as busy as ever, chaps were out sanding boat roofs. We’d been wanting a top up of diesel, the first chap I asked didn’t know if they sold it. Then Mick caught the eye of another chap who was stood nearer the old diesel pump. ‘No, sorry. There’s a petrol station just over there’. We weren’t that desperate our tank will last us to Boroughbridge where the price would be more attractive than from a standard forecourt.

The Selby branch of Enterprise came into view along with the recycling centre, this was our aimed mooring. Mick tried to pull us in where we might benefit from some trees, but the depth was shallow three foot out. We pulled along further to see what it was like between a couple of moored boats. A chap coming for a chat from the first one.

Here we got right into the side and had a good position for a supermarket delivery in the morning as we were right by a layby. The chap from behind was in two minds to carry on up to York, his boat one with a tarpaulin cratch cover and a lot boaters gold on the roof doesn’t have a very powerful engine so he was worried about coming back in at Selby. Yesterday he’d watch boats returning, one managing to hit the lock in three different places!

Tilly didn’t take much persuading that shore leave was cancelled as the temperature inside Oleanna rose to around 29C. Curtains were closed, kitchen windows wide open with the blinds closed, front doors open with the bathroom door closed. I offered Tilly a damp flannel on the bathroom floor, but she wasn’t impressed. Maybe we should invest in a cool mat for such days.

Mick did a milk and bread shop at the nearby Home Bargains. After lunch we all became inanimate objects, the temperature far too high to do anything. That second coat of primer/filler will have to wait for another day.

The sun is setting earlier and earlier now, today it set over the recycling centre, I didn’t bother taking a photo as it wasn’t that picturesque. People walked the towpath in the dark taking advantage of the now cooling air.

We heard voices, a couple of chaps walking a touch too close to Oleanna with a torch. We stood up to see what was happening as one of the chaps squatted down beside our open hatch.

It was the Fire Brigade. There had been reports of a lady in distress at the bridge and she’d been seen coming this way. Had we seen anything? We hadn’t, some rowdy lads had been past, but nothing more. We couldn’t help. They spent the next half hour or so shining their bright torch around the canal. We heard nothing more, so hopefully the lady made her way home safe and sound.

The temperature is due to drop tomorrow, here’s hoping so as we’ll be stood out the back for some time making our way upstream to Naburn.

0 locks, 4.97 miles, 29.5 C, 30+ outside, 1 christened Christmas tree, 1 cooking cat, 2 cooking boaters, 1 shopping order complete, 4 boxes, 4 bottles, 1 inactive afternoon, 1 phone call, 3 bums, 2 firemen, 1 lady, 1 very hot night ahead.