This morning Toby decided to start the 750 hour engine service.  The oil filter was changed in a jiffy and all went well until the diesel fuel filter refused to budge.  It was extremely stubborn resisting everything, including Peter’s previously irresistible device fabricated in the refinery workshops.  Leaving this for a future day Toby changed the air filter and then the engine oil.

We eventually set off at 11:15.  We called in Moon Bridge Marina by Bridge 36 in the hope of buying a “gripper” for the filter but the chandlery was set up to support the armada of yoghurt pots moored there.  The “store” was non existent and they said they had very little passing traffic.

In fact our impression was that this is the land of the yoghurt pot.  Most of them were moored in marinas or along the banks but the majority of boats actually moving were narrow boats – strange.

We stopped briefly at Bilsborrow, contemplated our plans for the rest of the day and opted to carry on to Garstang.  

We also had a brief stop just after Bridge 49 for the Spar Shop attached to a Shell Petrol station.  This turned out to have a rather poor supply of fresh fruit and vegetables.  We were however able to replenish our supply of milk.

The canal was very varied today.  The first section was what we might have expected on any canal but after a while it became quite a bit wider than we had anticipated.  There were stretches where the edges were quite overgrown with reeds, yellow iris and large clumps of cow parsley.  There were however many opportunities for mooring.

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We passed one maintenance barge and a dredger but there were not many signs of work actually being carried out.

We saw several herons and were thankful for digital photography in which wasted shots don’t come at too high a price.  Our special duck today, not quite as special perhaps as the pompom ducks, was a bleached mallard?

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The weather was much better than the forecast suggested and it was bright and sunny for most of the day though a touch chilly when the sun did hide behind the clouds.

We are now positioned nicely for a pub for dinner, some good shops and a convenient place to leave tomorrow for Glasson Dock.