Ange

I guessed this was probably the case. It'd be nice to know where the cygnets ended up - they just disappeared. They are aggressive buggers aren't they! We witnessed Beaky seeing off a flock of geese that decided to land in the canal near to his brood - they soon took off again when he went for them and he did a great victory dance! We've got a couple of swans near where we're moored at the moment and we always know when someone's walking their dog past the boat because of the hissing (though one Jack Russell, with typical small dog attitude, decided to take the swan on and actually went in the water after it until his owner called him back!)

Here's a question for the ornithologists amongst you. We spent last winter on a section of the Leeds & Liverpool canal and grew very familiar with a couple of swans and their six cygnets. We named the male swan Beaky because of his split beak and fed them all out of our boat windows. The cygnets, when we last saw them, were as big as their parents and showing a lot of white feathers. Spring came and Beaky and his missus and the cygnets all disappeared. Then Beaky and missus reappeared with a new batch of babies - the last we saw when we escaped down the Wigan Flight before the L&L closure they had another six well grown cygnets. So what happened to the original six? Do they suddenly get driven off by their previously protective parents and start life afresh somewhere else? I'm just wondering what happened to Beaky's 2009 offspring.

Yep - got me quite excited too! Now the solution - a l'orange or plum sauce - recommendations for a cure anyone? (For me it's the incessant quacking at all hours of the night drives me bonkers - they can drill at the hull all they like but why don't the buggers sleep!)

It is!! It's a drilling sound - a bit like Woody Woodpecker discovering he prefers steel to wood! We've found the only way to avoid it is to either moor up in the middle of nowhere (there's usually no ducks there as there are no humans to feed them) or in a really popular place where they're being fed so much bread they can't be bothered to peck at the hull!

A very recent anecdote to throw into the conversation. We were cruising on our boat and became aware of shouts and screams on the towpath. As we drew nearer (there were moored boats there so we were chugging very slowly ) we realised the commotion was coming from a woman stood on the towpath with her leashed dog. An unleashed dog was approaching them, it's intentions / nature obviously unknown to her and no owners were in sight, so she feared the worst - she was an hysterical mess. As we passed a point, probably about 50 yards in front of her a couple climbed over a stile, from a public footpath, to join their dog on the towpath. I'd love to have heard the conversation that ensued but unfortunately we were out of earshot by then (but we could hear she was still shouting). I used to walk dogs to earn pocket money as a kid and can remember the fear when an unleashed dog approached us and refused to go away - I'm a huge dog lover with only a rational healthy fear of what they can do if you happen upon a badly trained one (instilled in me by my parents when I kept approaching strange dogs with no fear at all!) Sorry, just one last thing that happened recently. We went on an escorted walk across Morcambe Bay a week or so ago. There were a few dogs present, but two stood out as they were quite large dogs. During the initial part of the walk they were both off the lead and had a lot of fun playing "top dog" with each other - play fighting, running at each other, all very good natured. Towards the end of the walk one of the dogs was put on a lead and the other wasn't. The one off the lead decided to play with the other again to be met with a ferocious response. A puzzled conversation followed - "but they were playing fine earlier". Yeah but the parameters had changed for the dog on the lead hadn't it? Said me piece now

You tell him Mark!!

Yep have seen a sign advertising this - we just have to decide where we can move our boat to that'll make it obvious we're at Tewitfield (apart from the sanitary station!) You've reminded me - must e-mail the Lancaster Trust man you put us onto - the work gang is a couple of weeks away now isn't it! My thoughts exactly!! Why have different cards? (I think I'd rather shit in the woods than do that!)

There are very few marinas with pump out facilities on the Lancy. There are, however, clever little huts with appropriate hoses dotted all around (though I've got to say they're not marked - you have to investigate thoroughly to find them!) The last time we pumped out our boat was at Galgate when CWDF member Chagall very kindly got us a pump out card. Just coming into Tewitfield we spotted a very lovely secluded spot to moor, the discussion ended with me saying "we'll moor there when we've emptied the pump out - I'm not a bear and I don't shit in the woods" Sooo we arrived at Tewitfield, which had a little housey type thing that does pump out. Great, I sez to Dave, we can get Chagall to buy us another card and Bob's your uncle, we can move away from this nasty motorway and moor for 14 days in a lovely spot. Ah, but - Chagall can get us a card for a BWML pump out - this one is a BW pump out - we have to drive to Wigan to buy a card. **¬¬!!! can anyone explain please - I'm baffled!! ETA - we do have a car with us at this point in time but get your maps out and look at the distance between Tewitfield and Wigan! If we didn't have a car we'd be stuffed, with one we're just seething at the diesel and time we'll have to invest in purchasing said card!

Excellent pics Mike - thank you We had our first bit of river experience on the Ribble Link and Dave's chomping at the bit for more - it does scare me a bit - everything's a lot bigger on the rivers isn't it! But then I'm a bit of a big girl's blouse

And the boating ... was that good? Glad you enjoyed it Any pics to share?