This fortnight, a misty morning dog walk leads to an eerie and mysterious encounter…

I live next to a canal and walk Teddy the Chihuahua really early every morning. He has a certain route that he seems to particularly like – it’s at the back of where I live and takes me down a tree-lined path to a clearing and the canal.

There are lots of boats moored there, but there’s a particularly old mooring which has been boarded up since the beginning of lockdown. It’s by a dry dock now covered in brambles and weeds several feet high. Now I’ve set the scene I can begin my story...

Early one morning I was walking along the path to the canal. It looked truly magical with mist stretching up from the water into the sky and lone ducks silently drifting. I turned to look at the boarded-up boat which also had mist swirling around it. As I was about to leave, I saw an old man who seemed to be securing the ropes on Dolly (as it’s called). Curious about its history, I wandered closer to the strange-looking man, with long straggly hair and a squashed and beaten old hat pulled down over his eyes, a long dirty grey mac and sodden boots as if he’d been walking through muddy waters. “Excuse me,” I said tentatively. Not a glimpse my way or a shrug of the shoulders. I stopped and thought, it’s 6am in the morning... what am I doing?

I turned to leave and as I did, he started to follow me, which was a little disturbing. I picked up my speed and so did he. Teddy wanted to stop for a

■ wee but I whispered, “Not now Teddy, hold it in!” I could feel him right behind me and I was scared. I was all alone next to a canal and it was early morning. Suddenly I thought I felt his hand on my shoulder. It crossed my mind that my little dog couldn’t protect me, but perhaps I could knock the man out?

I swung round with as much force as possible – but no-one was there! Just swirling mist, the old boat and leaves being thrown about in the autumn wind. I stood and stared and checked all around me. Nothing. No longer frightened, and I let poor Teddy relieve himself.

Back in the village I asked about the boat and was told it was a working boat once and sometimes in the summer they use it for day trips. Many years ago a young man used to look after the boat but he became ill and lost his voice, so his mum would take him there every day. When she died he couldn’t go anymore and then he died some years later. The story went that his last wish was to see the boat. Some people say they still see him wandering around as if he’s checking the boat over. Apparently he was 70 on his final visit. Did I see him, I wonder? ‘The canal looked truly magical with mist stretching up from the water’