This is a short story on travels, boats and horses from a fellow writer and friend, Alison Alderton.

It’s very special.

To find out why you’ll have to read to the end… Here’s Alison’s pretty barge ‘Lily’

Dutch barge Lily moored at Mustadfors

What do horse shoe nails and boating have in common? by Alison Alderton

“Not a lot” I hear you reply. Well at first glance perhaps not but recently I drifted into the small town of Mustadfors on Sweden’s Dalsland Canal and made a discovery as well as a link to a friend.

The horse shoe symbol on the side of the lift bridge

On the lift-bridge by the town’s lock is a horse shoe symbol, it reflects the town’s long association with the production of horse shoe nails. In conversation with the Lock Keeper, he told how the company, which no longer works out of the town, once specialised in light weight nails. These were made from aluminium and used in the race horse industry. With a little research of my own I later discovered these are also used with shoes specially designed for trotting horses.

The entrance to the former horse shoe nail manufacturers

Mustadfors lift bridge

Mustadfors lock on the Dalslands Canal

Horse-trotting has a long history in Sweden; people have competed with their horses since the 19th century and at the nearby Amal’s racetrack there are regular events from April through to September each year.

Home, 5 horses nearby and our tents

Friends
A boating friend, Jackie Parry recently published a book about her amazing adventures with five ex-trotting horses which she and her husband, Noel rescued from an unknown fate. “A Standard Journey” is an exciting read; about how they sold up and set off with their horses to hack Australia’s Bi-centennial National Trail and brings my visit to the pretty little canal-side town of Mustadfors full circle.

I am thankful for this most unusual discovery which triggered thoughts of a dear friend.

And why is this so special?

Well, Alison’s publisher is keen for her to finish her book on her life with a rather special companion. Yes, there’s Roger, her lovely husband, but there’s also Buster the Beagle.

Boating with Buster – The life & times of a barge beagle will be a story you’ll want to read. Follow Alison here and/or here and try to be patient, it is a work in progress.

What I can promise you, knowing the ethos behind the story, is that it will be a book that will stay with you forever – I can hardly wait!

Here are more photos to whet your appetite.

And here’s our Dutch Barge (for sale) you can have a good look around here….

Rouge Corsair is for sale!

Here of course….. sailing along the NSW coast in Australia, on our way to our next adventure.

Sailing (and writing) in my slippers along the NSW coast

Sailing in my slippers! And Writing – this was the beginning of Of Foreign Build… Note the bikes (bike wheels upside down outside the stanchions), the outboard is under the blue canvas by my head. We were on our way!

Perhaps in a TSR (Travelling Stock Route) on the BNT (Bicentennial National Trail) with 5 horses and a tent…

Somewhere nearby there are five very happy horses, gallavanting, galloping, and rolling in the creek! Meanwhile, notes on the horse trekking book A Standard Journey started here….

What about on a 1920s Dutch barge in France? Not bad, but we were (and still are) renovating – it’s a noisy, dusty, and messy place to live and work.

Magdalena Bay, Mexico – the cafe was closed but wifi was on!

In beautiful locations the work doesn't stop!

We’d recently purchased Pyewacket in San Francisco and were on our way to La Paz… but plans changed rapidly. We spent two years sailing back to Australia via Pitcairn and Easter Island, etc…. a tough journey – detail of which in my next book This Is It, out January 2016.

On a barrel in the boat yard in Panama?