Many of the barges are brightly decorated reflecting the colourful characters of their owners. Some are for hire, or holiday use but many are full time homes, some with permanent moorings.
My first lock since I was a child. Try to spot the “tiger”. Yes, even the dogs dressed up! The photo is not so good he looked splendid!
Inside the lock gates ( a little claustrophobic with high walls all around and water pouring in lol!)
Open water. It was a beautiful 1 hour trip.
Many barges have pot plants on top like mobile gardens (not to mention, wood, bicycles, and even a motor bike!)
Flags, flowers, and bright painted tankards and pots lent a carnival vitality.
This was one of the barges featured in the tug of war which was great fun requiring many spectators to climb on board and act as ballast and featuring some slightly inebriated colourful characters (I decided against “just in case” for my camera’s sake.
They waterside folige gave some beautiful views. (We also “collected” a bit on the bows after a tight turn lol!)
Returning to the lock gates. Our “skipper” had a sense of homor having volunteers help heave the gate bars open. We were all chuckling since he put them pushing the wrong side so they couldn’t understand why one old guy could open his gate so easily when two young ones couldn’t move theirs an inch – they caught on eventually.
Song Bird Songs 