Just Around the River Bend

This morning the group was met by Martin Whalley, a biology professor at Manchester Metropolitan University.  Martin escorted us to Whaley Bridge for a canal boat tour of the English countryside.  The canal is actually part of a restoration project Martin has worked on for over forty years, cleaning the waterway and preserving the landscape.  The area is absolutely beautiful! 

Throughout our tour Martin and his wife, Anna, told us the history of the area and pointed out sites of interest as we passed them.  We docked the boat for a lunch Anna had prepared for us, a delicious smorgasbord of meats, vegetables, salads, and two desserts! 

Upon resuming our boat tour, Martin asked for volunteers to drive the boat down the narrow canal.  John and Jeff were brave enough to try and did well.  Kim decided to give it a try and found it wasn’t easy as it looked; she nearly hit both sides of the canal and had a near-miss involving Kyle’s head and a tree. Thankfully she gave up the reigns before any major damage was done.

The boat tour ended with SDSU-MMU cake, courtesy of Martin and Anna.  We had an excellent day and definitely enjoyed the relaxation and fresh air after eight days in busy London.

Billie