The calm after the storm

Grace and I have just come back from a walk. It was nearing sunset.  The air was cool, the sky clear, and the air and the water both still.  The ground, however, was wet and muddy, with huge puddles across the footpaths and towpath.

Yesterday, we were hammered for most of the day by very strong winds, and frequent, squally showers. This came to a head after dark, when the boat was constantly subject to extreme wind, the like of which we'd never before encountered whilst on a boat.  The BBC Weather website suggested the winds were in the region of 16 mph, but this was far from the truth where we are, and the boat rocked and swayed, and bumped hard against the pier, despite our tight mooring.  It was really quite exciting!  When we went to bed after midnight, it was at its worst, but it did not stop us sleeping, strangely enough.  Lying in bed, the sound of the water breaking in waves against the hull was persistent, but oddly soothing, and we had a good night's sleep, despite the weather.

Of course, strong winds must be a feature of this part of the country, for there is talk of building a wind farm just a few miles from here, and the wind turbines at Crick are always turning at quite a speed.

We awoke to the tail end of the storm, and eventually it all died down and cleared to the calmer, brighter day we enjoyed on our walk.  Crazy weather!