A trip to Warwick....

    ....has always been one of our favourite days out.  Its a nice drive through some pleasant countryside, lunch in the Thai restaurant we love, a look around at all the little shops and charity shops, a cream cake from Sainsburys and then a short drive to Hatton Locks for a walk along the canals, watch the barges and eat our cakes, hopefully sat in the sun.
    We have enjoyed this for many years now, and at various times we have taken along girls and friends, so everyone knows the routine.  Once we even planned this for my birthday treat, it was a disaster...it was a Monday....and the Thai restaurant always closes on a Monday.  That was a mistake we only made once!  The trip is only good if we get to eat the best green chicken curry imaginable, its the only time we ever go to a restaurant, and both of us order the same thing.
     So, the weather was good and we took the camper van, and the dog, off to Warwick.

     The canal, as ever was quiet and peaceful, we met only half a dozen people as we walked, and watched as a lone barge made its way slowly through all the downhill locks.  We actually walked for well over an hour and Joe was quite happy, normally he walks for 20 minutes and then refuses to go one more step.  But with all the different smells, and having both of us walk with him, instead of just me, he was happy to carry on, so we did, although I had visions of having to carry him back.  The grass was long, and loads of puddles on the tow path, so he was soaked by the time we got back to the van.

The trees and bushes were ladened with fruit and berries...

              .....and the afternoon sky was bright and clear...

                  .....we stopped by an old Oak tree, and noticed this peculiar thing....

    ....growing from the trunk, it was at head height and about the size of a saucer, my hand could have easily fitted into its strange "mouth".  I should imagine it is some type of fungus and will look it up, but it is something I haven't seen before.

We got back to the van as sun sank and the air started to turn cold, the traffic was so bad that we pulled into a little town on the way home and sat in the car for an hour, people watching, and eating a bag of chips and curry sauce. 

      The drying dog was all wrapped up in his towel on my knee, scoffing far more than his fair share of the chips....THAT was definitely HIS favourite part of the day.