Day 7 MOOOO!!!

Today was spent kayaking the Coventry canal and got underway nice and early with a 7am start feeling refreshed after a good nights sleep a shower and some great pub grub. As for the coventry canal itself it was extremely pretty with plenty of rolling fields and some bridges and.... well not much really, was a pretty mundane day didnt even see much in the way of canal side.

Was looking like a hard day of just head down and paddle with little to entertain myself and with England playing later everyone looked like they were staying off the canal in preparation meaning hours passed with out seeing anyone when thankfully the funniest moment of the trip to date spared me from boredom and let me enjoy a giggle for the rest of the day.

To date I have been attacked by swans and geese but finally today a new nemesis raised its ugly head. As I paddled along the canal a distant cow perked up and stared me down, I shrugged this off and carried on. Next minutet the cow lets out an almighty MOOOO and started to charge down the field towards the canal and my boat. Random I know. However the cow charged me and as I later found out they have smaller legs at the front compared to the rear and therefore struggle down hill. As the cow charged and hit the bank it stumbled forward head first into the canal with an almighty splash. As I picked up the pace and paddled past in tears of laughter I thanked the flailing cow for a humorous midday event. Thankfully the cow did make it out fine and unscathed but will think twice before charging me again LOL.

AS I pushed on it got to 5pm before I finally found a pub canal side which was open and serving so completely shattered having not eaten since 6.30am I tucked into a sandwich and watched the buildup to England v Trinidad and Tobago, and enjoyed a cold drink. As the match kicked off I was left with the dilemma of chill out and watch the game or complete more miles. After 15 mins of the match it was obvious what had to be done, so I jumped in the kayak and began to paddle, only to later find out I had made the right decision as the match had remained boring through out the 90mins, at the end of the coventry canal the Oxford canal loomed which would take me all the way to the Grand Union and onto London and here the first major sign post, 77miles to Oxford!!

With renewed energy from the sign I hit it hard and paddled further down the Oxford before sighting a nice patch of grass canal side which was full of moored barges in the middle of nowhere, so was nice and quiet for the night. Spotting a couple around from one of the barges I asked permission to camp in front of their barge and was pleased to not only receive a plot but also a cup of tea, a nice chair and some great company for the night with Alan and Hazel. Alan used to do a lot of kayaking as well as climbing with the army so we swapped stories over a cup of tea and chilled for the evening before passing out after a hard days work still chuckling at the charging cow.