The seasons are changing, just 2 weeks after the race of my life for which I’m still smiling I had a week of compete rest at home.

Then this week I have followed that up with a slow leisurely week on a canal badge with hubbie in Wales. The timing is perfect in between seasons. I don’t just mean weather seasons but yes there is a more autumnal feel in the air but the holiday fits perfectly between the end of my triathlon season and the start of the shooting season and winter tri training.

Partridge and pheasant shoots start Monday, hubbie out beating. The shooting syndicates I’m on don’t start until October as we have smaller local shoots but still great fun and fills the larder with fresh wild meat for Sunday roasts and mid week casseroles, stir fry and curry. Whatever you can do with chicken you can cook a pheasant too.

The canal boat is a boat of floating five star luxury, while the Owl is a wide beam barge- at nearly 9 foot / 2.6meters she fills the locks, just grazes through bridges and bumps & grinds along the shallow canal in places.

After a hard day on the tiller as I have assumed the captains role based on experience and navigation skills ! The evenings are rewarded with a soak in our inboard hot tub ! How cool is that ? Or hot at 38c 🙂

The hot tub and boat are quite a talking point and attract a lot of attention – not a boat for the shy or inexperienced canal boater. Inside we have oak panelled four poster bed, wood burner, digital TV & DAB radio, granite worktops in the kitchen, central heating and full height shower and porcelain bathroom suit.

Unlike the canal holidays of my childhood with cold canalside showers. stinky blue loos and no heating. But great holiday memories with family & friends.

Canals are a great way of slowing your life down and relaxing. The scenery along the Brecon & Monmouth canal is stunning. A beautiful pretty tree lined canal which open up to mountain vistas. The Black mountains & Pen-y-Fan have looked moody, serene, craggy & a rainbow of autumnal colours creeping in.

We have gone at a leisurely pace and only encountered 5 locks, 3 draw bridges and Ashford tunnel. An excellently executed 3 point turn in a winding hole and we turned around at bridge 162 to head on back to our marina.

We have sampled Welsh produce to excess along the way from lamb, beef, cheese, ciders, cakes & ales. A bit of a floating food feast really.

Only one more night onboard then we have to hand the big fat Owl back.

Police Officer Safety training at weekend then the winter training program commences on Monday back in the pool, no more lake swims. I need to get back to training as two weeks of no exercise have left me as soft as the canal banks and nearly as heavy as the barge !

Winter season begins – triathlon training means swimming pool, turbo, circuit training, Pilates, trail running and full wet & windy bike rides expected.
Hubbie and I will shoot and beat to the end of January on the pheasants, partridge, duck & woodcock, then the winter season end will be marked with a two week snowboarding holiday before summer season takes over. An all change of seasons again….