One beautifully glorious day, I decided to go out for the day to a village called Honeystreet. Honeystreet is nestled on the banks of the Kennet and Avon Canal. There is an inn there called the Barge Inn that has a campsite attached. Non patrons are welcome to use the shower and laundry facilities provided. I had a shower and waited for a washing machine to become available. As soon as one did, I went to get my laundry. On returning, I was confronted by a woman who came across aggressively. She told me that I had to queue to use the machines. I politely told her that I was well aware of that fact and had been doing just that. However, I didn’t want any confrontation, so told her that I was more than happy to get another pint and wait a little longer. In fact, I bought a small lunch with my beer and continued to read my book sat under a parasol by the bank of the canal. I was in no hurry.
After doing my laundry, I decided to go for a walk along the towpath. I walked until I reached a village called All Cannings. There, I plumped to return. The thing about towpaths is that they are of course, as long as the canals themselves, so one could literally walk for many, many miles. I stopped and chatted to a few people along the way, particularly those moored along the banks.
Lovely. Used to walk along this canal lots miles away in space and time in my childhood in Newbury, Berks.