On the waterfront...........

Shafts of sunlight were playing on the cabin walls as I awoke today. A lovely start, we had but 5 miles to go with no locks and only one mechanised swing bridge at the Selby basin entrance. We cast off closely followed by Nb ‘Free Spirit’ with Nigel in charge. We were soon accosted by a protective swan, he pushed against the hull as we went past and just for good measure, had a peck at the back end. We eventually saw his mate on her nest some half mile further on, perhaps he was just out looking for trouble. A heron was using the boat to stir the fish up for him and did about a mile of ‘circuits and bumps’ before catching one and swinging away behind us like a flying creature from Jurassic Park. The moorings at Burn Bridge remain in existence, which is more than can be said for the pub that was nearby, all shuttered and fenced off, the first change that we would see today. On the outskirts of Selby, we could see a man walking a Jack Russell and another small unidentified dog. The identity was soon revealed – it was a cat! Looking back, there could be no doubt that all three were together as the cat continually ran to keep up with the others. We kept a good lookout, but saw no old ladies with budgies or canaries on leads.
Myra operated the swing bridge and I followed Nigel into the basin. One boat only was tied up so we had a choice of moorings. My word, what a change we saw; the old warehouses on the town side had been replaced by two 4 storied buildings divided into flats. The lockie sadly told us that they belonged to a housing association, that they were occupied by a lot of people that you would not choose to have as neighbours. The Police were always around, his house was now overlooked on two sides and his television signal had really deteriorated.
As far as we were concerned, the flats now completely dominated and changed the nature of the basin area for the worse. So much for conserving the heritage of the waterways. We wandered around Selby making a few purchases in the small market outside the Abbey and stocking up with Bus timetables, for tomorrow we head (by road)for York. We had a walk along the riverbank after supper and on our return, were invited for drinks aboard 'Free Spirit' which I am pleased to report dutifully lived up to it's name - thanks Nigel!

Weather today – very warm and sunny.

The 2008 journey thus far: 83 Locks & 216.5 Miles & 18 Swing Bridges