Messing about in boats

And after all the excitement on Sunday, we had a busy Bank Holiday too. Dad bought us vouchers for a trip on the River Stour (with the River Stour Trust) for Christmas and they would run out at the end of September! So in a desperate effort to get on a trip in time before we move we booked up for Monday (although I think neither of us really felt like it Monday morning!).

It was actually a great little trip - on the Stour from Sudbury to Great Henny, lunch at the Henny Swan and then back again. We learnt lots of interesting bits and pieces about the river and its deemed importance during the First World War (hence pill boxes every half mile along the route) as the dividing line between Suffolk and Essex. One of the aims of the Trust is to make the river navigable again to the sea, which includes building and restoring locks along the way. A very expensive process, but they have two sections of the river open and another lock in the process of being built which will extend the Stratford St Mary end of the river.

This lock was completed about 4 years ago at a cost of around £350,000 (I think!)



Passed a fete and duck race on the way home - yes, hundreds of plastic duckies set free in the river and raced to the finish line. We only saw the aftermath...



And I finally managed to get a reasonable picture of the swan and cygnets we passed twice



It was a really good day, although I'm not sure how Zachary felt about his first time on the water!