On the move

I'm not the only family member who seems to be constantly on the move these days.  Last week, wee Brother has once again flown the nest and headed to Beijing to start his new job.  He is officially the most adventurous member of the family, having lived and worked in Scotland, West Palm Beach, Hong Kong, and now Beijing.  For the rest of us, while we rarely migrate, we do love travelling - trip to Beijing is now top of the list!

Mum on Windchime some years ago

Not to be out-done by wee Brother, wee Sis is also in the middle of an epic adventure.  At three to four miles per hour, she is currently bringing Windchime back to Cambridge from Birmingham after a major refit.  Along with promises of eternal gratitude and decent beer stops, and unexpected but superb weather, a small army of friends have been persuaded to help along the way.  Even my water-resistant (that is resistant to getting into water - any pool, canal, river or open water) climbing partner has been persuaded to trade climbing for cruising for a week.

Sadly for me, I don't get to join in the fun as I have my own European tour to come - eight European cities in five weeks; all work and no play.  I had often wanted to be Phileas Fogg when I was a child, perhaps Golf Boy can be my Jean Passepartout...

Windchime Journey Projections Waterway	From	To	Miles	Locks	Hours
Worcester Birmingham Canal	Stoke Prior	Kings Norton Junction	11.75	35	8.5
North Stratford Canal	Kings Norton Junction	Kingswood Junction	12.5	18	7.5
Grand Union Canal	Kingswood Junction	Gayton Junction	43.25	59	24.5
Northampton Arm	Gayton Junction	Northampton	5	17	5
River Nene	Northampton	Peterborough	61	37	36
Middle Levels	Peterborough	Denver	30	4	11
Great Ouse	Denver	Popes Corner	20	1	7
River Cam	Popes Corner	Cambridge	14.25	3	5.5
			197.75	174	105