Messing about on the River

The river cruise element of my 60at60 was intended to be a multi day boating trip down a river, driving the boat and making stop offs as the mood took us. Something many people enjoy every year, but which have been a first for me. Add this to the point that given a selection of outdoor activities I would set a low priority for boat trips. For me they are usually a means to an end, or a compromise on a family holiday in exchange for also doing more interesting things. Therefor I put this event in the challenge category while others would have seen it as a straight pleasure, presumably leading to the misnomer "Pleasure Boats".

The hire of the boat was duly booked and the event scheduled to take place in late May, when life intervened. Jane, my wife, has been waiting for a hip replacement for several months and was firmly scheduled for mid June, but the date of the surgery was changed and brought forward. There was no choice really between missing the boat trip or declining the operation slot, so this trip became the third Jane has had to cancel due to the wayward hip. Jane now takes the view that any forward booking of trips is just a fruitless and expensive exercise, best avoided. I guess we may become more spontaneous for a while.

So that we would not be cheated of a boat trip, the adventure daughter arranged for us to take an excursion on a barge at Cambridge run by Camboats  www.camboats.co.uk/  and organised by the Cambridge Museum of Technology  www.museumoftechnology.com/ which is currently closed for lottery funded upgrading, giving its curators the opportunity to #getoutside.

The journey went into Cambridge and then back out into the countryside with lots of wildlife and expert commentary on the history of the locality, from medieval trade fares to the technological phenomenon that is the present day local economy of Cambridge. That this history included a fair slice of dealing with municipal rubbish and sewage was bonus for me. Looking forward to a return visit when the work is finished and the museum is reopened.