Nitten Folk Club once again visited the Linlithgow Canal Boat Society and, as ever, enjoyed a fabulous evening of foo0d, drink and song as we wound our way from the canal basin in Linlithgow to the Avon Aqueduct, which carries the Union Canal over the River Avon. The Avon Aqueduct is the longest and tallest in Scotland and the second longest in Britain, after the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct in Wales.
This is always a popular outing and our beautiful vessel, The Saint Michael, was packed to capacity with an enthusiastic crowd, all eager to make the best of the June sunshine. Jim and May Weatherston were, once again, the organisers and we owe them an enormous vote of thanks for the time and effort they put into making it a hugely enjoyable day out. The food was delicious and there was plenty of it to sustain our hungry revellers. We had some new members, Luke, Jen and Amy, joining us for their first Nitten trip and they had a wonderful time, as did we call, of course. Jim and May’s granddaughters joined us and had just as much fun as their elder companions.
Tom and Jane Fairnie had only just returned from a holiday in France that morning and, travel weary as they must have been, they were determined not to miss the trip. That’s dedication for you.
After a leisurely meander along the canal to the viaduct, where we stopped to stretch our legs and savour the impressive views, the return trip began and the music started. Just about every song required community singing and there are few clubs that do it better then Nitten. I’m sure a few brave souls thought about joining in with Paul Ashcroft’s song about the the marriage of Mary Mac – but nobody really had the confidence (or the teeth) to give it a shot. As we hauled back into the basin, two hours after setting off, Ian Duncan led us all in the traditional ‘Rolling Home’ and the journey was over for another year. By the time the bus drove into Loanhead a lot of the happy wanderers were pretty close to nodding off but it had been another wonderful day in the company of the marvellous members and friends of Nitten Folk Club.