This weekend despite the grey skies and sporadic downpours- Rob suggested we had lunch at our local marina, Pillings Lock. This week has been really stressful for us both as the reality of our decision has really sunk its teeth in deep. All those'buts' and 'what ifs' started showing their skeptical faces. I have to admit, if it were up to me, we wouldn't be renting the house for the summer and be sailing the rivers and canals by next month; but truth is I'm not known to be the most sensible one out of the pair. Rob is the analysing, spreadsheet making, budget creating one and bless him for it. I love his rational manner - keeps me grounded, but does make for one stressed out man now and again. So lunch at the marina surrounded by boats and the glorious sound of birds and ducks seemed like the perfect cheer me up.
Pillings Lock of Barrow upon Soar has always been the obvious choice to where we would moor our boat once we find one. Its close to friends,family, and work. Its a modern marina with a gorgeous club house that has bloody fantastic food! Fields of ponies, horses and sheep line the drive up to the marina making a very welcoming entrance. Set back from the main road, other than the train that passes nearby occasionally, there's hardly any noise. It was a no brainer really. I say it was a no brainer, but now we are beginning to have our doubts. After lunch ( the best burger I have had in England by the way), we went for a walk around the moorings. There's one thing that we never really seemed to take into consideration before and that's the fact that all the moorings are pontoon based. This means that to get to and from your boat you have to walk along the dock and the dock can be quite long- not fun when your carrying your groceries or its pouring it down with rain. We have to think about our two cats as well. Preferably, we would like to be near the shore to give the cats somewhere they can easily run off and play - possibly eliminating the need for that damn litter tray. So Rob's analytical assessing mind said we needed more marinas to compare, so we headed off to spend the day looking at different options- fair enough.
Looking online, we found a marina just outside the city of Leicester,where I work, so up the A6 we went. I was really hoping it would impress us, as a shorter commute to work would be quite nice. However, the dreary drive through an industrial park shot those hopes right down. I couldn't think of nothing more unwelcoming or unpleasant than having to navigate your way through noisy factories to get to your 'tranquil' home on the water. Hmmm, NEXT!
As we drove back down the A6 we saw the caravan park in the distance that was situated on the canal. We are very familiar with it and know that they do have moorings available, even moorings right on the river, we just never put a thought into it because- well to put it frankly and not to sound rude- they are along side a caravan park. In the UK, and in the US there are associations with residential caravan parks as being, well not the sort of place we would choose to live. I can even remember saying once, " When we get our boat, I DO NOT want to live next to a caravan site". So I can't tell you why we made that decision to drive in and talk to the manager.
When we pulled into Meadow Farms, the first thing I noticed was the view. Situated on top of a hill, the view of the country side and the canal was surprisingly really lovely. While we walked through the caravan park to get to the canal and the moorings, we started to notice that this wasn't at all like we thought it would be. The caravans were all very well kept and presented. They also didn't seem to be residential, this place was purely a holiday park. Soon, the canal boats were in view and we realised every single one not only was moored near the shore, but they even had their own little garden or as the Americans say "yard". Some even had sheds which we later found out are communal. So, not only was this marina cheaper, had better views of the country side, but we could even have a little garden space as well?! This has just changed the course completely and the captains are confused!James, the site manager showed us available berths and gave us some insight. He was incredibly friendly, in fact everyone there was. As we walked with James to the moorings, a man from one of the caravans joined us and offered friendly banter. Everyone we passed knew James and said their hellos. Later, we went to the club house to refresh and gather our thoughts- who are we kidding, to see what beer they have on tap of course! ;) The bar maid was again, very very friendly. I felt like I had known her for years. She is the owner of a wide beam moored on the river and made the move we are making a just few years ago. "You couldn't get me back in a house if my life depended on it"she claims. That's a serious statement; I'm convinced. I don't know what we were expecting to see at the caravan park, gypsies maybe? lol. I know that sounds horrible, and we really aren't judgemental people- usually. Regardless of our expectations, we were completely won over by Meadow Farms and have some serious thinking to do. Until next time...
Bon voyage and keep it classy. x
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