Slimbridge, Cheeky Otters and a Visit from Annie and Paddy.

We awoke to a peerless morning, having both slept well; it is blissfully peaceful here.

Anyone need a chimney sweep? Apart from helping Father Christmas, it seems he specialises in narrowboat chimneys.

Wecome to Slimbridge, a half mile walk down the lane from our mooring. We've never been, having missed it the last time we were down here in 2014.

We arrived at otter feeding time, always a favourite with school parties. The Keeper gave a very amusing talk, which kept the children (and the adults) laughing.

These are American otters, which are not as shy as English otters and they certainly enjoyed showing off to the assembled audience. There is a mother and her two daughters here and her two sons are in Bristol Zoo.

The flamingoes are always a draw. Slimbridge has one of the most successful breeding programmes in the world and had several flocks of different breeds of flamingoes.

It was the first time that we had seen a Bewick swan with its characteristic yellow topped beak and, again, Slimbridge is famous for its work with these endangered swans.

Although we had an excellent guidebook listing the many different species of wildfowl, and particularlly of ducks, we soon gave up trying to check off the many, many different breeds; there were just too many - although "spotting" was easy as they just sat there as you walked inches away from them.
We were lucky enough to see a very rare and elusive water vole. There are efforts to try to encourage these lovely creatures back on to the canals but they are a long way from the top of the food chain, so it is not easy.

We would highly recommend a visit to Slimbridge, it really is excellent, very well laid out and fascinating even if you are not a twitcher.
On our return to MM, R set up our anchor for the trip down the Estuary. It needs to be ready for any emergency as, without it, you could be swept on to the sandbanks if there were any problem with the engine.

Annie and Paddy drove over from Lydney and, bless them, they brought scones, cream and jam for tea! Truly lovely to see them. After tea we went for a walk across the bridge and along the towpath to work up an appetite.

 They stayed to have supper with us at the "Tudor Arms" next to the bridge. It was an excellent meal and wonderful company. A perfect evening.
Today: Just 1.3 hours for power.
Trip: 66.8 hours.