Time for a walk

Is this what they mean by a doggy bag?

Back at Hungerford our travelling partner Mac dipped out for a few days of visiting family and friends so to let him catch back up we slowed our pace too.
The original plan was for us to find somewhere to leave the boat then do some visiting as well but finding a suitable place to leave Harry on this summit stretch of the K&A has been harder than finding a nine pound note.
The whole canal has been shallow but this stretch is shallowest of the lot. We found a slot at the friendly Pewsey Wharf Boat Club but frustratingly couldn't get the stern closer than the centre of the channel. And to tie up on pins at the bankside, like the many 'locals' to be found hereabouts do, was nigh on impossible too for a deep drafted boat like ours, certainly not for a few days away.
So we abandoned the visiting and have been dawdling through those moorings we could make and taking a closer look at some of the fine scenery in the rolling Wiltshire downs.

One man and his dog

The last couple of days we've been moored outside the little village of All Cannings (fine village pub and excellent little volunteer manned community shop). A couple of hours walking took us to the top of the local high spot, Cliffords Hill, and back so yesterday we adventured a bit further, a couple of miles down the towpath and then a climb up the next ridge of hills.

The beautiful rolling chalk downs of Wiltshire

Only snag is that while Nicholson's marks canalside footpaths, once you're half a mile off the towpath you're off piste so it wasn't long before we were somewhat lost and struggling round a recently ploughed cornfield in the vague hope that we were heading towards a proper path again.
Bristly rough ploughed stubble is bad enough for humans to walk on; for Seadog Brian whose nether regions are rather close to the ground it became a cause for mutiny. He stopped. We stopped – and decided that maybe he was just small enough to fit in the rucksack. He agreed and once we had reached smoother going would have been quite content to stay there.
 Finally, four hours and six or seven miles after we started we finally found our way back to Harry. It was a great walk (well, for two of us); fabulous scenery, far reaching views, sunshine and a fresh, cooling breeze. Reminds you what a glorious country Britain is.