Always take the weather with you.

My day in ten easy steps:

1. Breakfast on the patio.

2. Take a wander along the canal.

3. Admire the pretty flowers.

4. Cycle up, up and up heading westwards, pass Little Bedwyn.

5. Get all excited about a visit to The Stone Museum in Great Bedwyn. What, I ask myself, could a stone museum be dedicated to? A study of local geology related to the building of the canals and the materials used in creating the plethora (6) of white chalk horses which litter the hills around?

Surprisingly, its a museum of old grave stones. Lady in the post office tells me that the stone mason went bust a couple of years ago and museum is closed. I wonder if this indicates a population of sturdy, healthy and long living people.... Lady in the post office also tells me that the baliffs came round to reposses his 'stuff'. Now that would have been a sight to see.

Post repossession. Left over 'stuff'.

Cheery stuff.

Loving the done/gone ryhme. Do we say dun and gun or don and gon?
Lucky his name was Wiggs, eh? It'd never have worked if he'd been called Hows.
Unless, of course, he'd killed cows....

 6. Decide to stop off (at the top of one hill and the highest point on the canal) at the Crofton Beam Station. A place which once pumped all the water up to the top locks of the canal.

Nice tower.

Old boiler.

  7. Have a cake. This is (was) a Fat Rascal.

To scale

 8. Discover a hobbit cave.

To scale.

9. Consider building a canal of my own. Begin a  programme of thorough research.

Wonder where I'd put my canal.

One I didn't make earlier.

 10. Discover how beautiful Wiltshire is. Seriously. A huge proportion of the houses are thatched and many of them look like this:

A short thesis on the history of thatch appreciation OR 

'Enamoured to not-fussed-much, a sliding scale':

1. Wow, look at that beautiful thatched cottage, it's gorgeous, it looks SO idyllic. (Follow comment with wistful 'aaahhhh')

2. Oh there's another, and another.

3. And more others.

4. Some more thatched houses. They look nice.

5. It must take a bit of effort to keep the thatch trim and smart.

6. I wonder if thatched houses are occasionally dusty.

7. I imagine birds and little creatures live in the thatch.

8. They probably have mice and rats. 

9. It must be ridiculously expensive to replace that thatch.

10. Margaret Thatcher, what a terrible woman. The way she treated the miners and ran down the NHS. Wicked.

So that, dearly beloved, is the end of today's tale.

Miles yesterday: 20.81

Miles today: 16.75