Day 5 - Wednesday 8 July

3 miles, 5 locks and 3 swingbridges

Total so far 20 miles. 13 locks. 10 swingbridges

The air was fufffing at us a lot today and the sky leaked all over us! It was OK though; the fireball appeared later to dry us and warm us up. Even better than that, I got to kanoodle with a girlfriend! Molly, the Staffie x Jack Russell was at the last lock with her human man Maffi. I like Maffi but I REALLY like Molly. She smelt extra delectable today because she had found some lovely fox poo to roll in!

After working that lock, Mum and I set off to walk to do the first swingbridge. It was then that I noticed that Molly and Maffi weren't coming with us. When Dad caught up with us on the boat and went through the open swingbridge, I discovered why: Maffi and Molly were on the boat! Flippin cheek! Heehee!

We carried on walking and doing the last couple of swingbridges (Maffi and Molly helped with the last one), then we found our mooring for today/tonight. Mum and I hopped aboard the boat once it was moored up and then I found Molly in my bed! That was fine by me. It meant I didn't have to lie down in it, I could choose where to snooze instead. I chose the back deck where I could keep a check on passers-by. Mum and Dad and Maffi did loads of the inevitable yacketyyacking and drinking hot brown water while Molly and I dozed away the exertions of the day. Eventually though Maffi had to go and Molly reluctantly got off my bed to follow him. I may just have had a bit of a squeak as they walked away! Mum said I sounded pathetic! Huff!

The rest of the day has been spent snoozing while Mum and Dad have been clicketyfingersing and talkyboning. Apparently I need to preserve my strength for tomorrow, which is going to be a big day for locks. Well.....if I need extra strength and energy then surely I should have extra food?......It would seem not! Harrumph!

Day 4 - Tuesday 7 July

4 miles, 2 locks and 4 swingbridges.

 
Total so far 17 miles. 8 locks. 7 swingbridges.

We did set off earlier this morning. The sky leaked and then the big hot football appeared and made us hot. I got to greet a few doggy pals on the way - including a black labrador like me (well almost like me - but a girlie so she had one bit missing!) called Molly and a snorting bulldog whose name I didn't bother to find out! I just wanted to play! Of course, I wasn't allowed because I was in harness. Huff!

It was a good walk though and Mum was pleased with me. A couple of the swingbridges were a bit unnerving - they bounced and boinged and clanged as we walked on them! Four paws, of course, are good though and I just spread out my legs into a kind of starshape and we kept on going!

We did have to stop and wait for Dad to catch us up with the boat at one point. We waited under a big bridge to shelter from the leaky sky. Mum just popped aboard the boat while I waited with Dad. Apparently Mum needed a wee! I don't know why she can't just cock her leg and water the bushes or trees like I do!

Another strange bit of human behaviour came at the end of today's walk. We got back aboard the boat, once Dad had moored it up, and, despite having been out walking under a leaky sky all morning, Mum went straight into the warm rain box! We had only just got dried off! I stayed well away - enjoying a leisurely snooze on the back deck!

Now - Dad is doing some peely-choppy-slicy-stuff and I smell carrots.......I shall take up my dutiful place beside him to supervise and make sure the trimmings go in the right bowl.......

Day 3 - Monday 6 July

Only a littlish walk today and no locks. Mum says this is because we ended up going further than planned yesterday, including doing the one lock that was scheduled for today. This was all because we couldn't find the mooring that somebody called CaRT had said they would reserve for us. Dad says that it seems that somebody else pinched it! That meant we had to moor alongside another boat (something called 'breasting up') and going to and fro across their deck to get ashore. It was OK though. Not a problem. I almost got to nip inside their boat to explore, but Mum was too quick! Huff! 

So, today, we have just walked along the towpath about 3 miles, bringing our total so far to 13 miles and 6 locks. The sky was a bit leaky today so there weren't many people around to stop and admire me. This meant that we reached today's destination quite quickly, but it also meant that we didn't get many shiny disks or flappy rectangles.

Mum has been on her talkybone quite a lot though and it sounds like we are heading towards some exciting stuff.

One bit of excitement today was when I spotted a hissing furball ahead on the towpath. I almost managed to pull Mum onto the moored boat that it ran to. Only almost though! Maybe next time......

Here is a couple of photos from today.

One of Mum and me in action, walking along the towpath. Mum is wearing her black and yellow Guide Dogs fur substitute top, her dark eyecovers and a hat that has a sticky-out flat front.

Mum and me with the nice man at Hilperton ABC Boathire, who have given us a nice mooring for tonight. There are lots of boats in a big pond here. Mum says it is called a marina. There are also lots of quacking featherballs around. I would love to play but they seem to be scared of me!

Day 2 - Sunday 5 July

Today must be Sunday. We went to a church service! It was great; I got masses of tummytickles!
We got a lift there in a nice man's car, then, after all the human howling etc, we got a lift back in another car. That was after a nice walk through town and along the riverbank too. Back at the boat, the nice humans who drove us back came aboard for lunch and the inevitable oodles of yacketying. I do like it when we have extra eaters aboard. I get extra carrot trimmings! Yummy

After this, it was time for Mum and me to set off on today's walk. Thankfully, most of the skyleakies had stopped by then, but we did get a few damping on our way. I had to work a bit extra hard to steer Mum around the puddles but they had dried up as we came further along the way.

Not too long after setting off I met up with a very tall Doberman called Nikita. She was really lovely and she wanted to play. Meanie Mum wouldn't let me play though! She said that playing when I'm in harness is not allowed! Well....she could've taken my bra off couldn't she?!! Huff! 'We have to walk on' she said. 'You have work to do' she said. 'Huff'! Said I

We walked just 4.3 miles today and did one lock. This lock shouldn't have been done until tomorrow but we ended up going up it to find our mooring. We stopped many times for Mum to yackety-yack, and for me to get a good supply of fuss and admiration! Some humans put shiny disks into a little pouch that Mum had attached to my harness. It seems these disks are very important and all add to something called 'our fundraising total'. I think it would be much more valuable if people just put edible contributions into my mouth!

I do love guests!

Our overnight mooring last night.

Meeting and posing with my public!

Day 1 - Saturday 4 July

Pheewwwyyyy! I am kn..... Very tired! Mum says I can't go sleep til I've updated you though. So.......
It has been a FAB day! There! Will that do? Can I go night night now? No! Oooooh..... All right then......

Well, actually, it really has been a fab day. It started with a trip to Sainsbury's, then a quiet time back aboard. Mum and Dad were flitting about doing what they called 'getting ready'. They put a big flappy thing on the roof of the boat, and some strings of little triangular flappy things along each side. Next, we set off for a brief cruise. We didn't get far though. Dad soon realized that tge big flappy thing on the roof wouldn't fit under the bridge! Oops! So we pulled over to the side of the river and Mum kept it still by holding onto a chain against the wall. Dad then climbed up into the roof and took down this flappy thing called a banner. The cruise resumed. We didn't go far - just around the corner and back. We turned around when we came to a huge V-shaped noisy frothy tumbly sploshy place. I don't think the boat could have gone up those steps

Upon return to our mooring, more of that 'getting ready' stuff went on. The flappy banner was fastened onto the side of tge boat and the flappy triangles fiddled, twiddled and adjusted. A bit of clicketyfingersing went on and a few other bits and bobs. Then we set off to Green Park. Well! That was good enough for me in itself, but, when we got there, I found a fabulous friend: A German Shepherd x Rottie named Harley. His humans were snoozing in the park with blankets and bags. Mum got yacketying with them while Harley and I had a great game of chase. Then another bonus! A fellow Guide Dog appeared! Now that really was a treat! Her name is Dusty and she us a German Shepherd x Golden Retriever and she is gorgeous! She is also very fast and great fun! So, we ended up with a three-way massive fun game of chase

After an exhausting time of exuberant freerun fun, a lady called Sarah came along too. She was wearing familiar fur-substitute; Guide Dogs uniform! I thought she might be one of those Obey-Me-Or-Else humans. I was wrong (phew!). She is something called a Fundraiser. That meant that Dusty and I could carry on being loonies! Heehee

All good things come to an end and this was no exception! Our humans put our harnesses on us and we were back into work mode. We walked along the towpath to our boat, stopped for some one-eyed-clickybox stuff, then we were off! The MEGAWALK began! Dusty came with us (as well as the humans) to the first lock, then it was just Mum and me - and Dad driving the boat

It has been a superb day! 5 miles, 6 locks and 3 twirly-roundly-bridges. Along the way, I have had ooooooodles of fusses and admiration. (Quite rightly, especially after Mum gave me a super grooming session this morning, including a shammy-gleam and teeth-tickling with a yummy minty whiskerstick). We did a lot of stopping while Mum yacketyyacked with looooooaads of other humans. It seems that lots of people knew about our MegaWalk. Lots of people gave Mum those shiny disks and/or the flat rectangles that seem to be so very important in the human world

When we were working the locks, Dad gave us both drinks if water. It was very hot, so we were glad of those. As we passed one boat, a man came out and called us back. He insisted on giving Mum and Dad a yummy each. They were those pointy bottomed crunchy things with the white cold stuff on top. By this time, it was getting way past my dinner time. My tumbly was rumblying. Mummy loves me though! She gave me the pointy end bit of her yummy, and it had a bit of the cold white stuff in it! Shhhhhh! Don't tell anyone! Guide a Dogs are not supposed to have naughties like that! I wuv you, Mummy

As soon as we got to a place where Dad could get the boat in close to the bank, we stopped for a few moments so I could have my proper dinner! I felt better after that and we finished our walk for the day at a slightly brighter pace

I still found the energy for a bit of a play with a couple of passing doggy pals while Dad was mooring up, but I have to admit that I am struggling to keep my head up this evening!
Now pleeeeease may I go slee......zzzzzzzzz

The water steps in Bath that the boat couldn't climb.

Photo shows Pulteny Weir in Bath, taken, looking down the length of the boat. The flower boxes on the boat roof are visible. The weir is a huge V-shape of white water cascDing down three big steps. There are lots of white featherballs that Dad says are called gulls all standing along the top of the weir. There are huge sandy coloured buildings all around.

One-eyed-clickybox session before we set off. This is Dusty.

Photo shows Mum and me bedside the boat along with Dusty (GSD x GR) and her human man. Both dogs in harness. Dusty looking at camera, me looking lovingly at Dusty. The boat is all draped up with flappy banner and little flappy triangles.

Checking up on Dad in the lock.

Photo of my head, peering over the lock wall, taken from below.

Meeting my admiring fans along the way. Mum in her blue Guide Dogs fur-substitute top, holding my lead. My harness handle is lying along my back. I am greeting a Rottweiler lurcher while Mum is yacketying to his two humans, by a lock beam.

Mum with her yummy.
Photo of Mum, taken across the top of the boat called the Dawdling Dairy. Mum is holding her crunchy thing with cold white stuff on it. There is a big sign on top of the boat telling humans to moor and eat. I am standing beside Mum gazing along the towpath.

Taking a break after my (late) dinner.

Photo shows me lying in the cool grass while Mum is drinking a glass of water and yacketying to a man on a wheeliewizzer. He didn't wizz very fast though!

Greeting another admirer at a swing bridge.

Today's the day! in just over an hour, Mum & I will be starting our sponsored walk. Please come and see us off in Green Park, Bath, if you can get there.

Dad is back! Yayy! (He's been away for a day, moving Debbi's stuff out because she has had to leave her student accommodation).

We've had visitors - Guide Dogs people - Rob and Lorraine. Something to do with our MegaWalk. I .....errrm....may have got just a tad too excited when they arrived and I may just have leapt about on the sofa like a looney! Oooopsie! Sorry! They are nice people though! They brought goodies for us - nothing edible sadly, but all sorts of things to decorate the boat with and to give to humans and other doggy pals if they come along to join us on the walk.

The MegaWalk begins tomorrow! Yippppeeeee! Bring it on......

Mum says she would be uber-happy if we started off having cracked something called a £2000 level on the funds and we are VERY close to it. 
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