94 degrees fahrenheit in the shade of the boat!

It's 4 o'clock in the afternoon and we have just arrived in Bancroft Basin, Stratford. We are here with a million, trillion others - boaters, locals and tourists from all over the world. John and I have never even been near a canal or river festival before - we usually do our utmost to avoid such things because we don't like being amongst crowds and crowds of people but this festival must be a very popular one judging by the amount of attention it is attracting.

The Basin is as special as I remember it to be - lots of statues of Shakespearean characters, fabulous floral displays and interesting trade boats. Since we were here four years ago a new bridge onto the Avon has been erected - apparently the old one didn't allow wheelchair access.

We have been SO lucky - a boat pulled out of a pontoon mooring slot just as we arrived so we grabbed it! We can stay here tonight and tomorrow but Friday, Saturday and Sunday other boaters have paid to moor so that they can be here for the duration of the festival. I think we will probably start to make our way down river then.

Talking of floral displays - the nasturtiums which I thought were only going to be leaves have decided to erupt with orange and yellow flowers! Thanks Glynis.