Bathampton by bus then Dundas by narrowboat..

Bradford-on-Avon to Dundas Aqueduct, 3.5 miles 0 locks, K&A Canal

Bradford-on-Avon Post Office tends to ‘lose’ my mail.. so I chose to collect it at Bathampton this time.  Not quite being there yet and not looking as if we ever will, I jumped on a bus to take me there.. but attitudes there are much the same as at Bradford Post Office.. “Huh, nobody told me mail was coming for you”.. Gawd here we go again.. “But I phoned a few days ago to say”..

Why on earth customers of Royal Mail have to put up with this I do not know.  They don’t know their jobs around here for sure. 

“Well yes we have your mail”… Good I thought.. but didn’t expect “But we don’t keep it in the post office, there isn’t enough room, we keep it behind the counter in the shop”.. “Eh??” “That is not very safe is it?” I retorted.

I got my mail, but have to go back again for one more bit.. I hope they didn’t withold it I will really complain..

It’s been one of those weeks.. but then I am used to that round here.. last week I needed a doc, no chance, this week Vic needs a blood test.. Managed to get him an appointment at the Docs by saying we were staying for 2 weeks.  Doc wrote it all up, the forms, the I.T. on the computer, and the actual form for the blood test.. but no blood test.. “Go see the receptionist and she will book one”.. OK, so then “2 weeks time is the earliest we can do”…”What???!!!” “Oh and then it will be 10 days before the results are back”.. “But my husband could be dead by then!”.. “Sorry best we can do”

“You could go to Bath”, says she, but we have to be there by 9am via 2 buses and then wait an hour or so to get a blood test.. I left the surgery in disgust at the NHS.

A phone call to my village surgery in Hampshire where our own Doctor practices.. “Yes can do one anytime day next week..” etc etc.. Sheesh, so I will take hubby to Hampshire and get it done ‘dan saff’.  It’s only a two hour trip and will cost about £18.. a trip to Bath Hospital and the wait will take longer and will actually cost more!!

Enough, enough!!

Pulling the pins this afternoon was a real pleasure.. for a couple of reasons.. one is the hassle of the above and the other is because we were going to spend the weekend at Dundas Aqueduct.  I love it.  The short 3 miles or so is a delight firstly over the Avoncliffe Aqueduct.. here the right turn to cross it..

Then through the lovely wooded areas with steep rock and woodland on one side of the canal and on the other the River Avon far below the embankment.. perhaps one of the nicest areas in the country, very peaceful indeed, and much needed today I’ll tell you!

This is a bit of a magic place to live.. it is very remote, and I suppose if I didn’t live on No Problem, then perhaps this is the place I would choose to live…

Mr Bean (AKA Rowan Atkinson) also lives around here somewhere high on the hill to the right.. I would love to go meet him.  I am one of the many who think Mr Bean is just such a funny character.. Wendie my daughter does not.. well it’s not often we beg to differ!

I also love the rail station here.. it is a request stop!  If you want to get off there you have to tell the guard who informs the driver.. if you want to get on, you hold your hand out like you would for a bus!  There is also a phone you can lift to find out the times of the next train.. all very civil if you ask me!

So we have settled tonight at Dundas.. Not busy on the mooring here surprisingly.. there is one boat on the 24 hour mooring and we have chosen the 72hr mooring a little further from the aqueduct.. but that won’t stop me walking back for the fabulous views and of course a visit to the Somerset Coal Canal, in water for a hundred yards or so with a nice canal centre at the end.. good weekend no doubt we will have.