The Odyssey 2011: Day 36

Kegworth to Loughborough

Saturday 30th July

Moorings by Devil's Elbow....

We had a quiet night on the moorings (apart from the odd passing plane :-)) and woke to a bright morning. We were better disposed towards the river today but as the day progressed the world and his boat came out to play, making this the busiest stretch of water we’ve ever cruised (with the arguable exception of Braunston). There was a multitude of weekend cruisers and day boats on the water, mainly fuelled by alcohol, which made for cheerful but erratic locking. We drove straight into the first lock of the day – Zouch Lock, which we shared with another narrowboat. Thereafter there were queues at every lock.

We’d set off early by our standards and got to Zouch by around 10am – we were surprised to see that there were lots of mooring spaces available – maybe we should have come up and checked last night. However, it’s possible that locals who know how busy this stretch gets may have been on the move early to beat the rush.

The calm before the boats......

Loughborough lock was heaving with boats – we eventually shared the lock with two cruisers out for the weekend. One skipper told me “we’re new to this” as he hastened to kick the boat forward when the back fender got stuck in the lock gate – I’m amazed he didn’t catch his foot as well; his boat rocked alarmingly but the lady of the boat, drinking an alcopop and reading ‘Hello’ magazine, didn’t even look up! A day boat above the lock, crewed by drunken pirates, almost lost a member of their crew when she slipped and fell inside the boat, banging the back of her head nastily on the steel side – we thought she’d broken her neck. Great hilarity ensued – even though said crew member was in tears – she seemed to be fine which just shows the power of alcohol as a restorative 🙂

It was only a few weary miles to our destination in Loughborough but we were glad to moor up. We did have a little exploration of Loughborough Wharf/Basin which has handy services and mooring pontoons to accommodate at least half a dozen narrowboats. But they are only short-term moorings and we needed to leave Indigo Dream for a week so we winded and went back to the main canal. We moored just after the turn, a few boat lengths past the junction. This spot was recommended by the crew of Matilda Rose and was perfect for us – it’s within walking distance of the shops (towards the basin) and the station (just off bridge 38 – Nottingham Road Bridge) and there’s weekend parking in the adjacent industrial estate which made it easy to on/off-load the boat. The canal wall slopes a bit so the edge of the baseplate ground a little on the stones – reminiscent of the Shroppie shelf but nowhere near as bad! There is mooring further along by the pub (bridge 39), but it’s not as quiet or dog-friendly, being directly flanked by a road.

We’d moored up at lunchtime so we ate then went about various chores – I took the train back to Shireoaks to get the car and Richard painted the remaining gunwhale. The afternoon had some entertainment for both of us…..

Loughborough basin...

I got to see the famous crooked spire at Chesterfield and then got stuck in Sheffield train station for an hour because of the parlous state of their information systems – human and computerised! I got to enjoy a glimpse of the Chesterfield Canal – bright green with algae in the strong sunshine – the station is within easy walking distance of the marina. I asked some fishermen how many boats they’d seen – none had passed them that day….

By contrast, Richard got to watch the endless procession of boats travelling through Loughborough as he settled down to paint the gunwhales. While he was painting, a localised ‘tornado’ sprang up – enough to generate a foot-high waterspout and to whisk the adjacent boat’s umbrella high into the sky and deposit it on the main road several hundred yards awy  on the  opposites side of the canal. Sadly it also plastered some grass cuttings onto his wet paint! The gunwhales still looked very fine though!

With my unwelcome stop in Sheffield, it was gone 6pm by the time I got back to the boat. We weren’t sure whether to drive home straight away so that we’d have a full day at home on Sunday or whether to stay over and have a more relaxed time. We dithered before finally deciding to stay the night. We went out in search of food and found a range of restaurants at Loughborough Wharf and in the street beyond. We decided to eat at Moomba – an Autralian restaurant, though we declined the kangaroo and emu burgers in favour of more conventional meats! It was an impressive meal, though my burger (beef and lamb) was undercooked – I sent it back and I’m not convinced that the chef actually re-cooked it as it came back in much the same state. It was a shame because we overall we really liked the service and atmosphere.

We had a quiet night on the mooring – if it hadn’t been recommended to us we might have doubted the spot, but it was perfectly peaceful.

Sunday 31st July

Would you believe it – a year ago this weekend we were moored up in Limehouse basin and getting ready to drive to Ipswich to introduce Lou and Blue to our foster boy Lynx. We’ve had a year full of interest since that momentous day – the time has passed in the blink of an eye, yet it feels as if Lynx has been with us forever!

We packed the boat up and got away mid-morning. I was looking forward to seeing cousin Denise and family, who’d been using our house as a holiday base for the week. Sadly her husband Wyn had been called back to Wales to look after his ailing father but Denise and Rhodri were still with us. We had a merry homecoming and I press-ganged Denise into picking blackberries – if Wyn had been here the ladders would have come out and I’d have had them picking plums as well! It’s so hard for poor welsh immigrants being forced into labour……

Photoblog:

"Mardi Gras" - unique day boat...

The cow on the left fell into the river with a great splash just after we passed! She made it out again though....

Flood control - hard to believe that this benign river can quickly become fierce after heavy rain...

Reflections....

You'd have to be desperate to moor there....

The river gets deceptively narrow in places - in places the navigable channel is narrower than the inviting waters that lead to the weirs!

Busy busy.....

And the queue above the lock...

Huge AstraZeneca plant just outside Loughborough - it's due to close with, I imagine, a tremendous loss of jobs...

It's a wonder that day boats don't capsize....

Johny Depp has a lot to answer for....

Half a house...?

This day boat looks a bit low at the back ....

Good moorings in Loughborough...

See the tiny red dot in the top left of the photo - that's how high the 'mini tornado' took our neighbour's umbrella!

Colorful buildings around Loughborough Basin - there's obviously more development to come at the far end of the basin....

The Odyssey 2011: Day 35

Nottingham (Castle Park) – Kegworth (River Soar)

Friday 29th July

Leaving Nottingham - that plant on the right belongs to Boots - Nottingham is the company's home and they have an enormous estate...

We had a quiet night on the mooring but after our busy day yesterday we were very slow to get going. We were up and dressed and sitting in a little trance with our coffees when we were woken by a loud banging on side of the boat. We looked up with a start to see the welcome faces of Jill and Graham from nb Matilda Rose, together with their young grand-daughter. It was a most welcome diversion and it really cheered us up – we sat and talked boats and boating and lent them our Trent charts – they’re hoping to do a trip to Boston before the winter. In return, we picked up some useful information about where to moor in Loughborough. We must have chatted for the best part of an hour and we were rejuvenated after they left – the good news was that we’d see them again next weekend – they needed to get back to Loughborough for an appointment before heading off on their Trent trip.

Their visit motivated us to move – we picked up a few supplies from the nearby Sainsbury’s and Pets at Home before finally headed out of the city at 2pm.

Note: there are good services including a rubbish point below/adjacent to Beeston Lock.

We soon got to the junction with the Soar and delicately picked our way past the kids and their sailing boats, avoided the weir with ease (there is next to no flow in the river) and set off along the Soar.

Everyone has told us how much we would love the Soar but it seemed anti-climactic after the Trent. The junction is promising, with the Soar looking mysteriously narrow and winding – so far so good! But we were soon passing a lengthy expanse of online moorings – the pontoons seemed a bit shabby and with the river so narrow we moved along at a crawl, though the first lock is quite attractive. We did consider mooring here, but it seemed a little early, so we pressed on.

The Soar was nice enough but it didn’t speak to my soul in the same way as the Trent and Chesterfield. I’m a week behind with the blog so I’ve had time to reflect on whether the Soar just bore the brunt of my fatigue and it might look a lot better if I came to it with fresh eyes. Only one way to find out really 🙂

You don't need your own windlass at Beeston lock - they've got their own welded on....

We plodded on and finally came to a mooring below Kegworth Deep Lock. Now, I really liked this mooring – at the time it was silent and there is perfect dog-walking in the adjacent fields. I took the hounds for a walk and looked forward to taking them out again at dusk so that they could have a proper run around in the cool of the evening. But when I got back to the boat, Richard was frowning mightily and motioned that we should move on – I’d barely noticed but we were very close to the flight path to East Midlands airport and there were aeroplanes queuing to land! I have to say that I wasn’t bothered, assuming that the flights would become less frequent as the evening wore on. But on we went – through Kegworth Deep Lock, which was disconcertingly turbulent.

There were lots of boats on the move – everyone was cheerful and polite (and so were we!) but it seemed unpleasantly crowded to us – the river was busier than any waterway than we’ve cruised all year.

We searched for a mooring above Kegw0rth Deep Lock – there is a long length of armco through Kegworth, but when we tried to moor we found it to be quite shallow and rocky in places. We thought of cruising on to Zouch, which had been recommended, but when we got to Zouch lock we met a boat coming down. They reported that the moorings in Zouch were full – they’d just been up to look and had turned back. We decided to turn back too and headed back towards Kegworth. We tested different spots and finally found a place where we could get the stern close into the bank with the bow sticking out a few feet.  We decided that it was good enough – we were tired and grumpy and in dire need of supper and an early night. The atmosphere on board was not improved when the mooring proved be right under the flight path of planes taking off from East Midlands Airport – though, as I’d predicted, there were fewer flights overnight. [Well we were now 2 miles from the flight path as opposed to a few yards but the problem was that the wind had changed and planes were now taking off to the east rather than to the west and they are far noiser taking off then landing] I cooked up some supper and the world became a better place…..

I think we moored up just before 7pm – by no means the latest finish we’ve had; nonetheless we were amazed as the moorings gradually filled up with boats, each wriggling their way past the underwater obstructions to get close to the bank. It was a harbringer of things to come but that’s tomorrow’s story….

Photoblog:

nb Matilda Rose - great to see you!

A local told us that Boots pay handsomely for water, which they extract for use in their factory - for cooling rather than manufacturing drugs I believe 🙂

Old landing craft...

Waiting at Cranfleet lock - the hounds had a good bobble here...

Look how low the river levels are - hard to believe how much water will be needed to bring the level up to the red....

Approaching the junction - look at the height of those flood gates...

Keep a look-out at the junction - some of the sailors are very young indeed!

Onto the Soar....

The first part of the Soar looked quite promising...

Most of the locks along this stretch are stop locks - open at the moment....

The power station looms over the moorings - I'd love to go inside a cooling tower and find out exactly how they work....

There are defunct locks next to many of the current locks....

There are very scenic stretches....

Kegworth Deep lock - pretty turbulent...

Another derelict lock adjacent to Kegworth Deep lock....

The weirs are quite something - attractive from below and daunting from above...

Flightpath.....

Was this fine building an old mill I wonder....

There's a similar structure on the Trent - apparently the cables enable them to hoist underwater monitoring equipment from the river bed...

A welcome watering hole in Kegworth - there aren't that many along this rural stretch....

The best moorings are just around this bend (full when we got there) but there are spaces downstream - it's just a question of finding a deep spot....

The Odyssey 2011: Day 34

Thursday 28th July

Newark to Nottingham (Castle Park)

Trent views (1)...

We woke up early, having realised last night that our water tank was probably getting low and we had a multitude of visitors joining us later on. We decided to move early and go back the short distance to Kings Marina, fill up with water and do a pumpout. This had the added benefit of allowing us to walk the dogs there, saving Lou the leap over the wall.

The plan almost worked perfectly – water and pump-out – not problem; Lou not leaping – well, she managed to slip off the pontoon and got a back leg stuck between the pontoon and the boat – fortunately no damage done apart from a little scrape – it could have been much worse! I took the hounds for a walk round the marina while Richard saw to the domestics – we have found this marina to be really friendly and we were glad of their services today. The pump-out is excellent, if you need a pump out near Newark then Kings Marina is worth a visit. To get to the service pontoon, drive down the middle of the pontoons and it is the last pontoon on the left )makes sense when you see it).

We got back to the wall in Newark just as our first guests arrived – Paul and John together with John’s wife and daughter. We picked them up quickly and headed for Town Lock, we had heard on the VHF that there were some issues at the lock, starting with the lock keeper getting confused – we were downstream and he wanted to fill the lock for us first! There was an engineering team working on one of the gates who actually wanted the lock filled so it all worked out well once we asked the lock keeper not to fill the lock till we got there. The flotilla from Leicester did not fare so well as they started a little after us and got mixed up with other boats.

Our guests are local so they know the river well, nonetheless they were impressed by the view from a fully equipped narrowboat – everything looks better when you have proper coffee in hand! John’s wife is a beekeeper and brought us a jar of her honey – it’s delicious!

Our guests stayed on as far as Fiskerton, where they’d left one car. The pub mooring was empty so we stopped off to say goodby to them. I also had the chance to take the dogs for a good walk and let Lou have a big splosh in the river. She loves to paddle and was grinning from ear to ear when I got back to the boat ready to greet Kym and Nick again. Kym says it’s the happiest she’s seen Lou – that made me happy. Only Kym would join us today – poor Nick had work to do.

Hope you had a good time - thanks for all the help!

We met with a dutch barge at the locks, they had spent 10 hours aground on the previous day on the tidal  Trent – a cautionary tale.

We had a wonderful afternoon – the stretch upriver of Fiskerton is one of my favourite waterway spots – effortlessly beautiful with all the natural virtues of a river at rest. Even the outskirts of Nottingham were interesting, including the legions of rowers on the approach to Trent Bridge. It would have been very interesting to thread our way through them to the County Hall moorings, but we were heading for the Castle Park moorings along the Nottingham and Beeston canal.

It was getting late by now and although the afternoon had been a perfect mix of warm sunshine and cooling breezes, it had been a relentlessly sunny morning and I was coming down with another migraine – I really must wear more of my sun hat – even if people do make fun of it!

So it was that the Nottingham and Beeston canal failed to delight – it seemed very dreary after the river and the small drama of some kindly passersby pulling a dead dog out of the water above Castle lock did nothing to lighten my mood. Nonetheless, there are signs that Nottingham is turning its face to the canal and the stretch after Poplar Arms corner (a right angle bend – do a better job of it than I did!!) perks up considerably. We got to Castle Park – the moorings were quite busy (always a good sign) but with plenty of space by Tinkers Lane footbridge. There were a few spaces a little further along by Sainsbury’s, but a boat’s cat had taken possession of the towpath so we thought it better to moor further away!

Nick came to pick Kym up at 6pm and they drove us to see their house – they’ve been restoring this most amazing property since 1987 – Nick is a total perfectionist and parts of the building dating back to the 1500’s have been lovingly crafted back to life. But it’s far from habitable yet – Nick was teased relentlessly, but having resisted finishing the project for so many years he’s not going to be shifted by a few gentle taunts. They then took us to the best chinese restaurant in Belper – coincidentally the village where Matthew and Daniel, last weekend’s guests, come from.

Belper was delightful and the chinese was delectable, but I’d reached the end of my tether by now and was grateful to get back to the boat and fall into bed, accompanied by my headache. which ambushed me on the walk from the car to the boat. It had been a busy day….

Photoblog:

Trent views (2)...

The pub moorings at Fiskerton ....

Kym has really taken to boating...

Waiting for Hazelford lock - we brested up to this fine old steam tug - a real labour of love for the restorers....

Plenty of room - Hazelford lock...

Aground? No, just fishing...

Trent views (3)....

Trent views (4)...

These herons look like they're up to something....

Swans enjoying the fresh food being brought down by the outfall...

I think this is an egret...

Trent views (5)...

Reflections.....

Watch out, there's a Lynx about...and he loves ice cream - better eat that quick Kym!

The old ammunition wharf....

The flow into the Trent locks is quite fierce but the boat was very steady...

The flows generate impressive amounts of foam...

Now that's a fine mooring...

Moody shot of Trent bridge (ahead) and the turn into the lock leading to the Nottingham Canal...

Leaving the river at Meadow Lane lock...

The canal is quite enclosed from the roads so Lou and Lynx could have a little rummage...

Informative....

Busy road or quiet canal - where would you rather be?

This industrial plant looks incongruous amidst the gentrification of the surrounding canalside properties...

Fine old buildings - I was fascinated by the chimneys - imagine the network of fireplaces that they connect to inside...

Thriving waterfront....

Window cleaning with a difference....

Nottingham is turning its face to the canal....

Lynx’s Diary

Monday 15th August

Lou on holeeday....

Ooh me poor fans, you’s bin crooelly deprived of me hadventures – mummy Sue’s bin usin’ the computer non-stop – I wants my own….

Is dun loadsa stuff since I last wrote me diary – I’s bin on holeeday all over the place, and Is bin at home and I’s had loads of me houndie friends to visit an’ we had a sleepova on the boat. I’s got hexciting news – wen we had a sleepova, Miffy cuddled up to me – I luves Miffy and she luves me – at last! I’s bin qwite lucky wif the laydeez on me hols – I’s had a cuddle wif a dainty little girl called Heidi too, but then we’s had to move on – mummy Sue sez “never mind, holiday romances never last….”

We’s even dun a record – we’s had EIGHT greyhounds on our boat – that’s the most eva – wif top girl Susie – she is well tough!

Ty comed on holeedays wif us but he woz a big scaredy wuss jelly boy and Lou is sad coz she’s not hallowed to do chargin’ around – the vet man sez that her skelington can’t do chargin’ around no more. Vets is so borin’ they is alway sayin’ “yous can’t do….” – that’s no fun…

I’s bin on the towpaf all over the place and I’s bin to Nottingham, an’ to Loncoln an’ to Newark – I’s wee’d on stuff in ev’ry place so’s that ev’ryone would know I’s bin.

Wot I reelly wants to tell you about tho’ is cats – I’s seen lots of cats on holeeday and I’s bin such a good boy – I just dun lookin’ – even wen they woz twitchin’ their tails an’ hissin’ and bein’ reelly annoying – honest! Then, THEN, I woz wanderin’ round the shops in Lincoln mindin’ me own bizziness wen a cat jumped right into my mouf!!!!

I sed “ummf ummf ummf” – mummy Sue thought I was being rude, but I woz actooally sayin’ “get this cat out of me mouf…”

Mummy Sue sez this bridge in Lincoln is my bridge coz she's always askin' "where have you bin, Lynx" and "what have you bin up to?" - how rude...

Lucky for me it jumped right out of me mouf and runned away. Wot a commotion – mummy Sue woz worried about the cat and the cat’s mummy woz wurried about ME – her cat keeps attacking dogs in the street – see, mummy Sue, I TOLDS you it wozn’t my fault!

Mummy Sue kept mutterin’ –  “blah blah blah hooligan blah bla blah back to dog training blah blah Lynx….”

I woz a bit sad coz I thought maybe mummy Sue duzn’t love me no more so I goes up her an’ I rubs my face on her leg so’s that she would fuss me ears…

Rub rub rub “I luves you mummy Sue”

Fuss fuss fuss “I love you too Lynx”

Rub rub rub “I really duz loves you mummy Sue”

Fuss fuss fuss “You’re my best lovliest boy Lynx”

Rub rub rub “I’s will always be your best boy mummy Sue”

Fuss fuss fuss, Sniff sniff sniff…..

Mummy’s Sue’s sniffin’ – I woz qwite hinterested – wen we duz sniffin’ we duz wees straight after – I wunder if mummy’s do the same fing?

Rub rub rub “don’t stop fussin’ me mummy Sue”

Fuss fuss fuss, Sniff sniff sniff SNIFF…………… “AWW YOU REVOULTING’ HOUND YOU’RE COVERED IN COW POO AND SO AM I NOW – WAAAAAH”

Me an' Lou hexplorin' Newark....

Well, daddy Richard come runnin’ to see wot the fuss woz all about and mummy Sue made him drive the boat while she gots the dog shampoo and a big towel. She scrubbed me neck ’til all the cow poo woz all gone an’ she washed me collar – so I’s woz naked! I duzn’t unnerstand hu-mums at all – I luves cow poo and I woz only tryin’ to get her to smell nice like wot I duz…..

She sed I couldn’t go wifout a collar so I’s had to wear the harness of shame wot Ty boy wears to show ev’ryone that he’s a big wuss jelly boy, an’ Lou wears it to show she’s an old girl, but I is bold, I is in my prime – pleeze don’t make me wear it mummy Sue. But she woz mutterin’ again – she sez if I duzn’t wear sumfink then people might fink I is not luved an’ take me to the dogs home and mummy Sue duz luv me loads reelly.

Anyhoo, I woz feelin’ a bit mis-hunderstood and hunhappreciated – if mummy Sue sez I’s a desperado hooligan then that’s wot I better be. I’s got on the forums an’ I hasked me houndie friends to join me gang for a raid on Pets at Home – I woz lookin’ at all the taystee wabbits and hamsters by the till  and I though “I wants you, I needs you, is my doggie right to haves you” – is not fair that I is not hallowed to pick up a wabbit wif me piggy lugs wen we goes shoppin’. Mummy Sue sez puttin’ the furry animals by the ’til is hencouraging houndie pester power! All me houndie friends in Essex is goody four-paws, but I’s got a good gang in Suffolk – me friend David got a proper hoodie and a swag ban and everyfing!

But then we gots found out – awwwww! Mummy Sue sed I wozn’t hallowed to go raidin’. I is the brains o’ the gang, o’ course, but maybe I shouldn’t have used mummy’s log-in to get in touch wif me friends – I SED I needs my own computer. So, laters gang…….. I’s need to find a Pets at Home next to a PC World……….

Me Holeeday Snaps

Oh, swans......

Bovvered, wot us, wif swans, don't make me larf....

See, we is such good hounds...

Lou doin' soopervisin'...

Is a hard life.....

So where's the pie then daddy Richard? An wot is in Whitsunday pie - I coulds fancy steak....

Lou's doin' chillin'....

Ohh look, it's jelly boy....

Mummy Sue sez this is the prettiest place on a canal anywhere - is ever prettier wif me in the pictchoor o' course...

Oh sure, it look like holeedays is relaxin' but I never get s a wink o' sleeps - I's doin' lookin' all day long...

I is not sure if this sofa is big enuff for two top girls....

Eight has an hadventures...

Wif seven hounds we's can do top holympic lookin'....

Top girl Susie....

We's havin' a commotion - on owr own island...

Uh Susie, I duzn't fink we's will all fit under Archie...

We's all tired but the deck isn't half big enuff for eight houndies - plenty of room for five tho'...

My babe Heidi wot we met on holeeday....

All of us boys fancied Heidi!

Sleepova' - do you know what - they's expected auntie Sarah to sleeps in that bed as well!!

That's better - me houndie friends haz gone home so I's can have two beds all to meself...

Me, Lou an' Ty havin' a bobble in Nottingham...

Ty is just lookin' - I woz asleep the whole time - so woz Lou - we is such good hounds....

I s'pose I duz get to sleep sumtimes....

Hu-dads is good for stoppin' the drafts....

They never gets my bed right....

That's better...

I's had to work so hard - this is me reedin' the river chart so's we duzn't get stuck on the mud...

Mind that weir mummy Sue....

The Odyssey 2011: Day 33

Muskham Ferry to Newark

Wednesday 27th July

Interesting building just above Newark Nether lock....

As usual, we had grand plans for the day but the joy of having our own boat (as opposed to share) is being able to change plans at will!

We had a good night on the Muskham Ferry moorings and weren’t in a rush to get away so we had a relaxing morning and bobbled down to Newark. The mooring pontoons were full, but there was a space on the lowest part of the wall, town side. It was a bit noisy- there was working scrapyard in full rattle behind the moorings. The wall wasn’t ideal – it was quite a jump up and down for the hounds and we’ve been concerned about Lou’s various muscle pains. However, you can’t beat the town-side wall for access – Morrisons and all other amenities are within 5 minutes walk. Luckily the hounds weren’t very active in the heat so they didn’t have to do the leap too often.

We took the hounds for a rummage around the town – Newark is an interesting place and well worth a stop. It has a good mix of modern and traditional shops and there was an attractive open market in full swing too. The town’s church of St Mary Magalene is as magnificent as a cathedral – parts of it have been there since Norman times then it’s been rebuilt and extended over the centuries – it’s quite amazing inside – do take a look.

As always, the hounds attracted loads of attention – we ended up talking to several other greyhound owners – so many, in fact, that we spent so much time chatting we didn’t get to see many more landmarks before we had to dash to meet some friends for lunch!

It’s a bit of saga, but a fortnight ago a kindly man called John, along with his friend Paul, helped us to moor at Muskam Ferry against a strong wind and later on found us a bolt for Indigo Dream’s engine filter, the lack of which would have scuppered our tideway plans. As a “thank you” we invited John, Paul and whoever else wanted to come, for a cruise on our way back up. We had intended to move on towards Nottingham in the afternoon but we had a most pleasant surprise. John texted to say that he always meets friend Paul for fish’nchips in Newark on Thursdays.We joined them for lunch in Newark’s castle gardens – a welcome green space bounded by the remnants of the castle walls. It was lovely to meet them again and we made arrangements for them and John’s family to come for a short cruise the following morning.

The interior of St Mary Magdalene Church - it's so grand I thought it was a cathedral...

So our plans were set – we’d stay the night in Newark and cruise to Nottingham tomorrow…

We had a quiet afternoon on board – Richard caught up with the his emails and I settled down with a Lynda La Plante novel – I’ve been reading is at bedtime over several weeks and it made a change to read it while fully awake! The hounds snoozed and the scrapyard performed its cacophanous symphony – like an explosion in a brass band factory! Luckily it stops at 5pm-ish and doesn’t start again until 8.30am so it was a quiet overnight mooring. We’d been keeping a close eye on the mooring pontoons opposite, in the vain hope that a space might come free. On the contrary, the pontoons were soon jam-packed with a raft of narrowboats as the flotilla from Leicester brested up and set up some bunting and a pergola.

We had a late afternoon wander round town (minus hounds) to get some supplies including a hot chicken from Morrisons and to have a look through the historic buttermarket. Sadly we’d missed the open market – we’d planned to have a longer wander there, though there was nothing specific that we needed.

Numerous locals had told us that the New King Wah chinese takeaway was the best in Newark so we got a takeaway and settled down for a quiet evening in. We’ve been watching the “Lord of the Rings” trilogy, marvelling again at the sheer craft that went into its making (though as a reader of the books I will always resent how they mis-represented Faramir’s story :-))

Photoblog:

Lou and Lynx having a little rummage in Newark...

Interior detail - St Mary Magdalene Chruch, Newark...

There's a nice mixture of old and new buildings in Newark - we felt very comfortable here...

The market and I think that the colonnaded building is the old Buttermarket....

For the record - we're bound to lose this bit of paper!

The Odyssey 2011: Day 32

Tuesday 26th July

Saxilby (Fossdyke Navigation) to Muskham Ferry (River Trent)

A trip to Lincoln by train…. then getting flushed out of a lock

Lincoln scene (1)...

We had the best part of a full day’s wait for the tide at Torksey so we decided to have a quick trip ito Lincoln – we’ve never been there before, though one of our old friends hails from the area. We were very slow to get going – there is one train an hour to Lincoln and we missed one, then another, while we willed ourselves to move. Interestingly, the moorings had really filled up during the evening and by the time we emerged they were full. We invited nb Quodlibet to brest up to us – it would be a guaranteed mooring spot for them later as we had to move on by 3pm. We had a nice chat with them and shared a decent coffee.

We finally got a late morning train and, because he seemed so keen, we took Lynx with us. We left Lou behind – she’s really not been well with her muscles and we thought a walk around town would be too much for her.

We got to the station in good time and joined a surprisingly busy 2-carriage train to Lincoln – the next stop. We’d only have a couple of hours in the city so we were a bit dismayed at the queue to buy tickets at Lincoln station (for the princely sum of £4.90 for two!). But we needn’t have worried – Lincoln has a compact town centre and it was easy to get around for a quick look in the time available.

We enjoyed the town centre with its range of old and new shops. We explored the basin, though from the land we couldn’t work out whether there were moorings available or not. There were several occupied pontoons but they looked like a marina. The basin was very pleasant and we were interested to see the ‘high flow’ warning on the channel leading to the Witham navigation beyond. We then took a wander up to the aptly named “Steep Hill” for a look at the magnificent cathedral and remains of the castle. As always we were stunned by the foresight of their builders – these thousand-year-old cathedrals are unique – I doubt whether anything we build today has a hope of lasting a fraction of that time.

We were having a lovely time, with Lynx lapping up all the fuss and attention as always, when we had a cat incident – we hadn’t realised, but one of Lincoln’s street has a shop cat which likes to sit in doorways and attack passing dogs (honest!). There was a bit of a fracas – Lynx was unhurt and the cat got away – I got scratched! It was all very embarrassing – the cat’s owner was apologising for her cat’s behaviour (he’s notorious) and was concerned that Lynx had been hurt; we were more concerned about her cat! We hope that it was ok – we offered to wait while she checked him out and offered to contribute to any vet’s bills, but she thought he’d be fine and we left, unable to do any more.

After that excitement we needed a sit down and some refreshment so we had an excellent lunch at High Bridge cafe, whose ancient building straddles the navigation. We sat outside and had a superior sandwich and coffee while my heart rate slowly returned to normal. We’d taken a sheepskin for Lynx so he settled comfortably while the waitresses made a big fuss of him – he took it all with great aplomb.

We got the train back to Saxilby in good time and found out that it is possible to turn a 60′ narrowboat at the Saxilby moorings between the railway and road bridges – we had about 18″ to spare but the canal is deep! The kindly crew of nb Quodlibet (who’d found a proper mooring space while we were out) came to help – the man of the boat tugged Indigo Dream’s back around which gave us a bit more leeway.

Saxilby to Torksey

Interesting side-arm on the Fossdyke navigation - I doubt whether Indigo Dream would fit in there though!

We noticed a few more items of interest on the way back to Torksey – there are services at Saxilby – access via the footbridge to the ‘road’ side of the canal – there’s also a water point on the offside beyond the footbridge. There’s an interesting side ‘drain’ that runs off from the canal at Tom Otter’s bridge – I wondered if it was navigable – by smaller craft than us, of course. There are signs warning of “deer ramps” that extend several metres into the canal – now I imagined that these would be smooth ramps but they’re just piles of rocks – it sparked off a trail of questions – how do the deer cope with the jumbled rocks? Can deer read – how do they know where the ramps are?:-)

A little further on there is a long platform – “ummm, nice mooring” I thought – but it is a ramp and platform for “less able anglers”.

We got to Torksey in good time and were astonished to see 10 or more boats queuing for the lock (which was firmly shut). We stopped off at the fuel point and filled with diesel – I took the hounds for a long pre-tideway walk and Richard tried to negotiate our passage through the lock. The majority of the waiting boats were part of a  flotilla from Leicester who were just going down to the lock with a view to mooring overnight on the pontoons below to catch the 6am tide the following morning. We, on the other hand, needed to get to Cromwell Lock, which shuts at 9pm – it made a lot of sense for use to go out  in the first locking.

But that wasn’t to be for a while – we’d understood that they could lock us onto the river at 5pm – when we got there the lockies said “no, high tide’s not until 6.45pm – we won’t have enough water over the cill for hours yet” – Oh no, if we couldn’t get out of the lock until that time we’d have to fly in order to get to Cromwell. There is a mooring pontoon below Cromwell lock but we hadn’t scouted out it’s suitability for hounds, so although that was an option for us we’d rather get off the tideway this evening. We made the lockie aware of our situation and he said he’d see what he could do – we settled down to wait….

Torksey to Muskham Ferry

Tidal Trent: Now there's a boating combination that you don't usually meet 🙂

At 6pm, the lock-keeper called us to the lock and told us that there was enough water to flush us out of the lock – ooh errr! We entered the lock and, as instructed, passed ropes through the guide wires right at the front of the lock – the lockies emptied the lock and we were ready to push a few revs as they opened the top paddles and sent a wash of water down the lock. It was all very thrilling – Indigo Dream was basically sitting on the side cill as we found when we tried to move her before the water arrived. Full revs and the first  bit of water got us moving, Richard then throttled back, lifting the back just before we got to the main cill. By this time Eric had opened both paddles and the wall of water flowing down the lock was enough to literally flush us over the cill and we were on our way!

We hadn’t realised what a dramatic sight is must have been – the boats moored below the locks commented “have you just been flushed?” – apparently Indigo Dream flew out of the lock!

It was the start of an exciting few hours – as we entered the tideway I looked back towards Torksey viaduct and there was the looming sight of a huge gravel barge coming upriver behind us. We hit the revs – with a low high tide we really didn’t want to be overtaken – we’d have to give way to the barge but wondered whether we’d then run aground to make room for them. Best not to find out really, so on we went!

The next bit of excitement was the waterskiers – now that’s a first. We maintained a steady course and let the speedboats work around us – they’re far more manoeuvrable – though it came as a shock to see the skiers themselves at right angles to the boats. The speedboats created a huge wash considering they’re so tiny – as usual we turned into the waves but had to be quick to get back on course and into the deep channel.

With the twists and turns in the river, the barge behind us was out of sight most of the time, but on the odd straight it looked as if it was slowly gaining on us. We kept the revs up and eventually left it  behind. This gave us the next drama – I heard a noise and commented to Richard that the bilge pump was running – uh oh, that’s not good. We slipped into neutral and lifted the back deck plate – there were several inches of water in the engine bilges – a quick burst of gear showed that it was the water being driven in through the weed hatch. Richard checked the seals, reinstated the hatch and used our mooring mallet to tighten the screw fixing. We tried the engine again – no more leaks – phew!

The last bit of excitement was the sight of a cruiser – apparently grounded – we came a bit closer to see if we could offer them a snatch but they were anchored and enjoying an evening’s fishing!

The barge did loom from time to time - but it never caught up!

We got to Cromwell lock with half an hour to spare – the lock was ready for us and we were relieved to be off the tideway – the mooring pontoons below the lock are fine if you can stay on your boat, but the ramp up to shore is precipitous – Lou would never have managed it (I might have had trouble too!).

It seemed to take an age to fill Cromwell Lock – it is enormous and Indigo Dream seemed quite lost and alone in the vast chamber.

With the light waning, we pressed on to Muskham Ferry and this time we moored easily – there was no wind and the river had next to no flow. We tied our centre ropes a little differently so that we wouldn’t be troubled by their creaking overnight. The pub had stopped serving food so I made a quick pasta and we took our supper up to the pub garden to eat. We had a pleasant evening and got chatting to some friendly locals – it made for a late night but we’d had a much more eventful day than we’re used to and a few beers seemed in order 🙂

Photoblog:

Lincoln scene (2)....

Lincoln scene (3)....

Lincoln scene (4) - the city was heaving...

Lincoln Scene (5) - this street is called "Steep Hill"...

Lincoln Scene (6) - built before the plumb bob was invented?

Lincoln scene (7) - cathedral full of light...

Lincoln scene (8) - the castle..

Fossdyke navigation: the deer ramps are well signposted but you can see in the photo that they are made up of a jumble of rocks - not at all what I expected...

Tidal Trent: House overlooking Laleham Reach - stay near the centre of the river here!

Tidal Trent: We took lots of photos - it was such a novelty to be sharing the water with waterskiers!

Tidal Trent: Dunham moorings....

Tidal Trent: Locals demonstrating the correct technique for meeting oncoming gravel barges...

Tidal Trent: maybe we take the tideway too seriously - these guys are having great fun...

Tidal Trent: Marnham boat club moorings - might come in useful...

Tidal Trent: Look out for these variations on the water - shallow waters are sometimes smoother - there's a submerged island here....

Tidal Trent: Old gravel wharf with associated sunken barges...

Tidal Trent: Crepuscular rays - there was a good explanation of their science on Radio 4's "questions questions" this week!

Tidal Trent: Aground? No, just fishin'....

Tidal Trent: Useful depth gauge!

Tidal Trent: Don't fancy that mooring....

Tidal Trent: Tributary?

Tidal Trent: AWACS planes are a common sight around here...

Tidal Trent: Working wharf - most barges stop here but they sometimes turn upstream so it's still worth keeping a look-out...

Tidal Trent: Note the mooring bollards set at three different heights...

The Odyssey 2011: Day 31 – Part 3

Monday 25th July

Part 3: Torksey Lock to Saxilby (Fossdyke Navigation)

The Fossdyke navigation - a Roman waterway....

It was quite late in the day by the time we locked up to Torksey – just after 5pm in fact, as we found when we enquired about fuel –  the pumps had just closed. Never mind, we’d have time to fill up in the morning.

We toyed with  mooring in Torksey but we decided to cruise to the village of Saxilby, which the guides and lock-keepers had recommended as a good spot for mooring. It’s also a short train ride from Lincoln – the lockies recommended seeing the city by train rather than taking the boat in (shortage of moorings apparently).

So we set off along another ‘new’ waterway – well, new to us, it’s been there since Roman times! Saxilby is about an hour’s cruise away so we got a brief feel for the Fossdyke Navigation. It’s pleasant enough but it is basically a straight long drain i.e. rather boring! Past the extensive visitor moorings at Torksey (which are hound-perfect), the banks are mainly steep and overgrown – further along, the road runs right next to the navigation (not hound friendly).

We became increasingly dispirited, well, it had been a long day and the weather was starting to deteriorate. Maybe this explains why we so dismayed to arrive in Saxilby – I’d expected great things – not a down-at-heel little village with forbidding piled walls facing the canal and a length of mooring set next to a scrappy little park wedged between the railway line and the road across the canal. We were so disappointed, but it was gone 6pm and time to stop. We were relieved to find a few mooring spaces and settled on one the furthest from the road (which put us next to the noisy railway but the trains don’t run late).

We took the hounds for a desultory wander round the parkland. Saxilby is working hard to promote itself – there are several information boards – it certainly has a long and interesting history. When we wandered into the village itself later, many of the historic buildings have information plaques. Actually, it’s not a bad place to stop – there are a few pubs (which looked a little run down), several takeaways – including a chip shop whose wares looked quite enticing and a decent chinese. It also has a tidy convenience store. All in all, Saxilby is fine – just not as charming/picturesque as we’d imagined. Moorings were a bit busy when we got there but we suspect that was due to a party of 10 boats out from Leicester who had been on a two week jaunt down to Boston and were now heading back.

After an aimless wander, we decided on a chinese takeaway and went back to the boat – it had been a very tiring day but we were pleased to have had the opportunity to explore a new waterway – allbeit briefly. Although we were disturbed by the trains at first, they seem to stop running quite early so we got a good night’s sleep – just as well, the day after was to prove to be quite action-packed – but more on that in the next post…..

Photoblog:

I wonder what industry is housed in this building?

Interesting....

Neighbourhood watch...

Coming under the railway bridge at Saxilby - the mooring are on the right just after the bridge (just out of shot....)

The Odyssey 2011: Day 31 – Part 2

Monday 25th July

Part 2: West Stockwith to Torksey Lock (Tidal Trent)

All clear.....

It was a long drop from the basin to the river – we were joining the tideway just after slack water when the tide was just starting to rise. There was no danger of the encountering the Aegir (tidal bore) though – this was the month’s lowest tide and there was very little flow upstream.

We turned upstream and thought that we’d see the big craft that had passed earlier, but it had disappeared. We’d hoped to follow them through the navigable channel as they’re about four foot deeper than us, but we consulted the charts and found our own way upriver. But not for long – we turned around one bend and there it was – the huge dredger that had passed us earlier – apparently aground and at a right angle to the flow. We tried hailing it on the VHF (channel 6 & 74) but got no reply – a quick inspection via our binoculars showed that the wheelhouse was empty, but then we saw the dredger bucket being used. The dredger had grounded its bow in the bank  and was running its engine in gear to stay in place. It seemed that we had no option but to creep past its stern – hoping that the flow from its propeller wouldn’t put us into shallow water.

We really enjoyed this section of the tideway, marvelling again at Gainsborough’s waterfront – its high walls and wharves are so evocative – you can just imagine big ships working here. But we were soon back in the countryside and I wondered at the sight of sand martins flitting in and out of their nesting holes. It’s not a sight I see every day.

Or maybe not - what's that dredger up to?

Although we were a little concerned, we passed the dredger without incident and pressed on up the tideway – we passed Laleham Reach without running aground – there are shallows on both sides of the river with the channel roughly in the centre – the man who lives in the house overlooking the river says that cruisers often go too far over to the outside of the bend and regularly ground there.

I was interested by the railway bridge crossing the river past Gainsborough – it’s looking a bit weary and had old-fashioned paddle signals – we were speculating whether the line was disused but then we saw a 2-carriage train crossing – there’s our answer then!

Unfortunately Lou wasn’t well on our trip – we’re not sure what was amiss – she was panting and restless, which is very unlike her. We were desperate to moor up so we could let her off and we could do a proper inspection. So it was that we had a quick trip up the tideway – apart from the dredger we had the river to ourselves and soon reached Torksey lock. There was a boat coming out of the lock and a surprising number waiting on the pontoons to go in. We moored up on the right- hand pontoon – this is a lock landing only – the ones on the right are a 48-hour mooring. With a low tide, the slipway was very steep but Lou and Lynx were able to get off for a bobble. We never did work out what was amiss with Lou – maybe she was just in a bit of pain from her various joint/muscle ailments.

The lock-keeper fitted in the first six or so boats which left no room for us, but the delay suited us as it gave us time to sort the dogs out. A boat came out of the lock and we locked up smoothly. We quizzed the lock-keepers and we were both convinced that they told us to turn up at 4.30pm the next day, though it might be 5pm before they could let us out of the lock – it turned out not be the case but I’ll come to that on Day 32!…

Photoblog:

Aah, the dredger was dredging...

Creeping past....

View of Gainsborough...

I wonder what's embedded in that mud?

Old style signals - there are still trains running on this line....

There was very little water coming up with this tide...

Procession....

There were many of these little runnels - most leading from storm drains set into the bank....

Sentinel....

I wonder what caused this bit of erosion?

Sand Martins and their nesting holes...

I wonder whether the water is drinkable? The tide must bring in a fair amount of seawater - even up here...

The Roman Causeway is here somewhere - we thought we might see some signs with the water being so low but it eluded us....

The entrance to Torksey Lock is on the left by the BW sign....

The first locking at Torksey - it was a busy afternoon for the lockies...

The lock moorings at Torksey - good spot to get the hounds off while waiting for the lock - wouldn't want that ramp any steeper though!

Looking back at Torksey lock 'cut'...

Locking up at Torksey....

The Odyssey 2011: Day 31 – Part 1

Monday 25th July

It’s been a day of three halves so I’ll spread it over three posts….. 😉

Part 1: Hop Pole to West Stockwith (Chesterfield Canal)

Reflections....

We were up early today and were underway by 7.30am – we had to get to the lock in West Stockwith by 2pm or we’d miss the tide. Today was the lowest high tide of the month and we’d not have much water to spare for the trip up to Torksey. We didn’t panic though – as the lock-keepers had told us, the gravel barges drawing 6ft or more made the trip every day at whatever state of the tide. There is always a channel available – the trick is finding it!

In a total contrast to yesterday, the day was overcast – with the weather cool and no visitors to watch over, Lou and Lynx seemed to be in better humour today. The canal was extremely quiet (until we got to a very narrow bit of course!) and the hounds were able to come off for a bobble at most of the locks.

We passed another familiar boat today (moored at the Gate pub I think) – nb Ryelands, who was a member of one of our Thames convoys last year. Unfortunately the crew wasn’t around – it would have been nice to say ‘hello’. We also passed nb Kalikamara later on, moored on the online moorings at Clayworth – her crew didn’t seem to be around either. We asked a local whether this was nb Kalikamara’s home mooring but he thought they were just visitors – shame, if it had been their home mooring we could have sent them a CD of photos from the tideway.

We did meet a few boats on the move though – we waved joyfully at another boating greyhound (who was very reluctant to get up from her bed to greet us!) and later we were greeted with the call “you’re Richard N” – he’d been recognised by another member of Canalworld Forum – always nice to put a face to a name!

Once again I enjoyed this section of the canal immensely – it really is the landscape of my childhood and I found memories playing in my mind like some flickering film reel. Obviously I don’t have any memories of being here – it’s just that the landscape allowed the ‘now’ to greet and share a platonic handshake with the ‘then’ before moving on. In the soft morning light it was a canal of reflections – both literal and metaphorical.In one place, the sight of a bus apparently driving through a cornfield seemed utterly surreal – the road was invisible in the contours. We were accompanied by the chittering of house sparrows and the echoes of  swallows in the Drakeholes tunnel. A fishing tern followed the boat – I’ve put some photos on facebook – I just can’t capture the beauty of its movement on the blog.

The plant life is so varied here – today I noticed the teasels with spiky tops circled by rings of purple flowers like some punk monk’s tonsure.

We made good time along the canal and got to West Stockwith Lock at just the right time – we waited briefly as the lockie filled the lock – we moved in, grabbed the lock’s own ropes (it would be a big fall) and got ready to the next part of the day’s cruising. As we were waiting for the lock, something disturbingly big crossed the lock entrance going upstream on the tidal Trent – the ‘crane’ was level with the top of the lock. We were relieved that it would be in front of us rather than behind us, or worst still, overtaking us – but more on that later….

Photoblog:

nb Ryeland at the Gate moorings...

I wonder who lives in this nest tucked into a niche just below the lock gates...

I could fancy living here....

Beautifully clipped hawthorn hedge - a great contrast with the rampant bank...

Look at the fabulous detail on the Louis and Joshua boat - see the 'acorn' fender stud...

Old man bridge...

Swallow in the Drakeholes tunnel - focus in on top centre to see it,,,,

The swallows nest in here - it must feel safe from predators - focus in on the left centre of the picture to see a swallow sitting in its nest...

Nicholson's mentions that this road bridge is a bit of an intrusion - to be honest, it's soon overwhelmed by the vitality of the canal's vegetation!

We shared Torksey lock with these good folk last week - they're on their way to Keadby - so, the tidal Trent is perfectly manageable!

Teasels...

Look, it's another boating greyhound...

The merry crew of nb Faires wear boots - the lady of boat wears patchwork trousers too - hurrah!

This place would do nicely too - the gardens (and mooring) are fabulous....

The canal gets narrow in places.....

But there is enough room to pass 🙂

Opening the gates at West Stockwith - there's quite a drop from basin to river at this state of the tide...

The Odyssey 2011: Day 30

Rhodesia to Hope Pole pub (East of Retford)

Sunday 24th July

A great place for hounds - Forest middle bottom lock...

We got up reasonably early – prompted by various hound shennanigans and by the fact that we were expecting some more guests – Kym and Nick, who came cruising on the Trent with us last week. Kym and Nick have really taken to boating and joined us twice this week.

We started the day with the usual car shuffle – we needed to end up with Nick’s car at the Hop Pole and Richard’s car back in Shireoaks Marina. In the meantime, we had a girlie cruise – Sarah and I took Indigo Dream down to Worksop Town Lock, with Kym enjoying the view from the front (Kym is a willing crew member but is unwell so can’t do the muscular stuff). It is a great joy to have guests on board, but experienced crew like Sarah who can turn her hand to anything are a sheer delight – we took turns to helm/do the hard work and had a lovely bobble down the canal.

I did have some trouble in getting Sarah to drive the boat past the canalside Costa in Worksop -she wanted to stop – even though she had a large home-made latte in her hand, though a little on the dark side as we were low on milk. It’s so sad when you see an addict so out of control – I just had to stop her – she’ll thank me one day! 🙂

In a superb bit of timing (unassisted by mobile phone technology) – I was just closing Town Lock’s bottom gate having let Indigo Dream through, when I spotted Richard’s car on the road bridge – Nick quickly joined us on the boat with much needed extra milk supplies while Richard took the car to Shireoaks and cycled back to meet us. His trip was not without incident – coming back over a steep hump-backed bridge, his handlebars locked on the way down and he flew a”£$ over tip onto the towpath. I was impressed – he managed not to break anything though he was in some pain and had a fine collection of cuts and bruises. He says he’s learnt by my example – having broken bones trying to “save myself” when falling, he made a point of not doing so, bounced a few times on his beer gut (he wrote that – honest!) and fortunately came away without major injuries.

I was pleased that we had guests – we were enraptured by the Chesterfield last week and it’s been a great pleasure to share our delight with others. As a newcomer to canals, Kym was particularly excited to be cruising what has become one of our favourite waterways. Nick is a fisherman and was enjoying the clear water and the sight of all the fish passing by. Sarah, of course, knows the area, and was reliving some more  family memories and myths as we passed through Retford and took photographs of the Packet, known to Sarah because her aunt always referred to it as the “filthy Packet” – not so much a problem of hygiene but more the fine collection of lady customers in her old uncle’s day.

Chesterfield view (1)

With fewer locks to do, we had time to enjoy the scenery once more – I’ll let the photos do the talking, though it is a landscape that makes me come over all poetic! Nick pointed out the flock of lapwings in the fields near Osberton and some huge carp in the winding hole below the lock. Past Ranby, the landscape was enhanced by the sculptured shapes of scots pines outlined against the perfect sky. It was a glorious summer’s day so I’ll just indulge in a quintessential British pastime and complain that it was too hot for me 🙂

Our guests were equally entranced and we had a vote on whether Osberton Lock surpassed Forest bottom lock as the prettiest place on the waterways. The consensus was that Osberton lock won it – Kym thought it fulfilled her vision of how a canal should look. However we did decide the Forest bottom was the best for the hounds – Sarah and I had a bobble with the pack between Forest middle bottom and Forest bottom lock – they had a great off-lead rummage and Lou found a route into the canal where the shallow sides made it a perfect place for paddling. Lou loves to paddle and leapt out of the water with a big grin on her face, energised by the cooling water. A little cruiser had moored on the lock moorings below Forest bottom lock – they were having a picnic and I wondered whether they’d stay the night – I was very envious!

We met a few boats coming through Retford – wow, the canal has been busy this weekend! While we were waiting at one lock we spotted nb Deryn Du and said “Hi” to their crew in passing – we last met them two years ago on the Stratford Canal.

We reached the Hop Pole in the early evening and said a regretful goodbye to Sarah and her pack – they had a long drive home. Kim and Nick stayed on for a meal at the Hop Pole. But first we filled with water (fantastic pressure and flow at the tap here) – I’d estimated that we’d have just enough for the day’s cruising and, sure enough, as Kym was doing the end-of-day washing up the taps started to stutter – what timing! Having reached our target for the day, we were also able to book our passage through West Stockwith lock on the following day – we’d spend the morning on the Chesterfield Canal then the afternoon traversing the tideway and exploring the first few miles of the Fossdyke navigation.

Picnic at Forest bottom lock - so tempting...

Unlike the Gate pub, a little way along the canal, the Hop Pole combined classy decor with very fine food indeed. The pub had some extremely colorful patchwork sofas – as Nick quipped “don’t sit there Sue, we’ll never find you again” – I was wearing my own very colourful patchwork cruising outfits! Dogs are not allowed inside the pub, but they are allowed in the garden and on the upstairs terrace so Lou and Lynx came out for some leftovers and a bit of a fuss. A few of the locals were the worst for wear, though one man did give us some useful advice about getting past Laleham on the tidal Trent – he lives in a large house overlooking the ‘narrows’ (I’ll explain in the next post) and often sees boats going aground there.

We were set for a comfortable evening on the terrace when I succumbed to a sun-induced migraine which I’d been holding off all afternoon. Richard and Lynx stayed on for a drink with Kym and Nick while I went back to the boat with Lou, whom I thought would benefit from some peace and quiet………..Ha!

I was getting ready for bed when I heard Richard bellowing from the pub balcony “Oi, what are you doing on that boat” – I dashed outside and found a young man lying flat on our roof

“Gerroff” I told him “what do you think you’re doing – this is our home””

“Just doin’ a plank” he explained, as if this legitimised the trespass.

He and his friend with the camera phone seemed harmless enough and scarpered immediately. I didn’t know whether to be cross or not – the only other plonker planker I’ve heard of is Gordon Ramsey so that is one fad that is now so last year. It must have been their intention to be a nuisance though – they didn’t ‘plank’ on the unoccupied canal trust boat moored behind us!

Richard came back soon after and we settled to quiet night on the mooring – both pub and car park were deserted by 10pm and we slept untroubled.

Photoblog:

Bridge made of railway sleepers at Osberton Hall...

Another view of Osberton Hall...

Gongoozlers come in all shapes and sizes....

The BW workboats are still brested up but at least their equipment isn't in the canal this time...

Big works on the railway by Manton viaduct...

Haystack jenga (1)

Haystack Jenga (2)

Hello gorgeous!

Nursery - this huge 'farm' was cultivating all types - including orchard trees....

Chesterfield views (2)

Chesterfield views (3)

Chesterfield views (4)

Chesterfield views (5)

That looks like a good place to explore....

Fine facades on the outskirts of Retford....

Sarah at the Packet - a fine bit of family history there!

Our overnight mooring - those people had all gone by 9.30pm leaving us a very peaceful spot...