Just before we were plunged in to Tier 4 on Boxing Day, Kate & I met up with Claire & Jack for a walk by the canal at the lovely village of Gt Bedwyn, 7 miles south of the M4 in Wiltshire.
The weather was cold but glorious, and we did a few miles out-and-back on the muddy towpath before unfolding the picnic chairs and tucking in to a late lunch by the canal, and then exchanging presents before returning home.
This section of the Kennet and Avon canal is higher than any reliable natural nearby source of water, so two Watt beam engines were installed in the shed at Crofton pumping station in the 17th century, and one of them is still in functioning order today.
