The 300 bus from Sir Thomas Street dropped us at Haskayne at 11.15 and we made our way to the canalside and boarded the Pride of Sefton barge for a trip on the canal. It had been a gloriously warm and sunny week but the weather had changed: it was still warm but had turned cloudy with spots of rain, preventing us from sitting out on the bow at our leisure.
We chugged slowly north as far as Rufford Marina then turned back south. There were no particularly interesting birds, and certainly not the Kingfisher we had been hoping for. There were plenty of Mallards and Coots on the canal, Moorhens on the verges, Magpies, Blackbirds, a Robin and a Mistle Thrush in the hedges, a big flock of Black-headed Gulls came up off a stubble field and a pair of Mute Swans had three well-grown cygnets. There were Lapwings flying above, a group of Red Admirals feeding on some Ivy, and one very cheeky young Mallard which hung about when we moored for a while, hoping for a share of our lunch.
Of more interest were the other boats moored along the towpath, some very brightly painted, others apparently needing serious attention!
As we passed Haskayne going southwards we were joined by the Pride of Sefton 2.
We continued in convoy under the swing bridge and turned together south of Downholland Cross, returning to Haskayne in time for the bus back to Liverpool.