I spent a wonderful 8 days with Bex and Stephen over in Tennessee — and the weather was glorious, not at all what I was expecting! We packed so much in: long walks, helping out in the garden, meals out, and just genuinely relaxing with them, their family, and friends. It was one of those trips that does your soul good.
The flights were long, but Virgin Atlantic were spot on as always — I do try to fly with them whenever I can.
The best part was seeing Bex and Stephen so happy and healthy. I came back to AndAway with a very full and happy heart.
And Chris certainly hadn’t been taking it easy while I was away… he’d been cracking on with the “honey-do” list and surprised me by wallpapering the boat — and I absolutely love it! You’ll have to let me know what you think.
After about 24 hours of finding my feet again, we headed out for a walk to Lyme Park. It’s about a 45-minute walk across fields, passing spring lambs and even a few Highland cattle — a pretty perfect route.
With roots dating back to the 1300s, the estate was home to the Legh family for over 600 years before being handed over to the National Trust. The house you see today began as a Tudor property and was later transformed in the 18th century into the elegant Italianate style, all set within a vast deer park designed by Lancelot Capability Brown.
It’s also instantly recognisable as Mr Darcy’s home, Pemberley, from Pride and Prejudice — yes, that famous lake scene!
All was perfect… right up until the British weather did its thing 🌧️ and absolutely soaked us on the way home 😂
On April 11th, we left the Macclesfield Canal and made our way onto the Peak Forest Canal, mooring up in Disley for a couple of nights. The views along the Peak Forest are absolutely stunning — the kind that really make you stop and think… could this be a place for a future move?
From there, we cruised down to Bugsworth Basin… and wow, what a place. An incredible mooring spot packed with history. Once one of the busiest inland ports in England, the basin was a key hub in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, linking the canal network with the nearby limestone quarries. At its peak, it was a hive of industrial activity, with boats constantly loading and unloading stone destined for construction projects across the country. After years of decline and eventual closure, it was restored in the 20th century and is now one of the best-preserved canal basins in the UK — and you can really feel that history as you wander around.
With the weather looking promising, we decided to break out the new BBQ… which turned into a bit of a comedy moment. Total fail on the first attempt — turns out we had the wrong charcoal! Add in a sudden change in weather and it wasn’t exactly the idyllic evening we’d imagined 😂
But… not to be defeated, we tried again the following night. New charcoal, better conditions — and this time, success! A couple of very nice steaks and a much more relaxed evening made it all worthwhile.
From here, the plan is to head off tomorrow towards Marple and tackle the Marple Locks — all 14 of them. That’s going to be a long day, I think! After that, we’ll continue along the northern section of the Peak Forest Canal for another week or so, hopefully finding more of those stunning views and perfect mooring spots along the way.
If you’d like to support us and what we’re doing, we’ve now got some AndAway merch available! There’s a QR code below if you fancy having a browse — every bit of support really does mean the world to us.
And as always, don’t forget to check out the latest vlog to follow the journey — plenty more views, mishaps, and adventures to come! 🚤
And Away... 
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