The Wharf was indeed a good experience. It was never going to be busy on a wet and windy Monday night early in November, but we had a good meal and a warm welcome. It was not cheap but the quality of food was restaurant standard and the presentation of the food very good. It was a far better experience than the last time we had visited, but that was under the old management. We sat in the bar by the blazing fire on soft settees enjoying a cider and a pint of Frog Island and then ate on a nearby table - very comfortable. We liked the way the menu gave details of their suppliers; they are obviously going for the local gourmet food market. Maggie had a prawn based starter and scrumpy pork, and I had field mushrooms and a black pudding lamb chop stack.
The morning was brighter weather. We were keen to get home in good time and, unpack in day light; we left promptly. The trip down to Blisworth was again windy, but not as bad as on the way north. There were hardly any boats on the move. We got to the tunnel and I could see all the way through the bore to the other end. I expected a good trip through, and got it, but part way through I had the brief disappointment of seeing the headlight of a boat entering the other end - it then disappeared! Being familiar with the tunnel I recognised this as the behaviour of a trip boat, although I wondered what it was doing operating on a Tuesday morning in November. We saw the boat again just as we left the tunnel. It was Mike Partridge on Charlie with a school trip.
We lunched at Stoke and went down the lock singly. It was getting cold and dull as we travelled to Yardley and by the time we had unloaded we were keen to get home to the warmth. We were greeted by our cat Daisy who had stayed home being looked after by our neighbours. She spent what was to be her last night with us lying in front of warm fire - she died in a freak accident during the early hours of Wednesday. We are missing her.
Daisy in the snow earlier in the year
