The weekend at Berkhamsted

It rained throughout Friday night and into the morning. The canal rose about eight inches, pulling hard on our moorings and listing us towards the bank. At least it proved the firmness of the pins in the very wet ground! The towing path and grass verge were sodden, and muddily puddled. There was one small child with Dad in the playground when I went out to slacken the ropes.

Later in the day, when the rain had eased off, we went for a walk around the town, exploring the ancient backstreets, the huge parish Church of St Peter, the amazing chemist shop from a bygone age. Foolishly, we missed the castle ruin.

Sunday was wet, too. Berkhamsted is less than half an hour's drive from St Albans, and we'd arranged for Steve to drive out to pick us up and take us to the house. Naomi prepared a wonderful Easter Day lunch.

Eddie's dad, Brian, and sister Hannah (from Said the Maiden) joined us, and it was a lovely family occasion. We were back in Kantara by 8:00.