MoonlightHolly

August 1
Up early for a quick trip to the Lincoln Public Library to update the web site. Again, problems were incurred and it was not possible to up load files. Hopefully it is something to do with the computer setup in this Library and the problem will disappear when computers in the next town’s Library are used.
Left Lincoln just after mid-day and had a good two-hour run to Saxilby where we moored alongside a grassy bank in the middle of the village. Peter reinforced the edges of the steps over the engine compartment with aluminum angle obtained from the local DIY shop.

August 2
We were on our way again by 10:30 for the short run to Torksey Locks from where we had access to the tidal River Trent. Arriving at Torksey we contacted the British Waterways Lock Keeper who advised us that the Flood Tide, i.e. the time when we could safely go out on the river, at Torksey early next morning would be at 07:30. To save having to get up extra early the following day we immediately went through the locks and moored on the pontoons the other side. In the afternoon we explored the village of Torksey (two pubs, one Post Office, no shops) and the ruins of one old castle. In the evening we took measurements of the rise and fall of the tide in preparation for the next day.

August 3
Departed Torksey pontoons at 07.30 which was 20 minutes after the tide had started to flood. Thank goodness the current in the river was nowhere near as strong as that encountered on leaving Keadby. In fact this trip turned out to be a very pleasant cruise up a wide (100 metres) and winding river. We once again had to be careful of hidden sandbanks and shallow areas, all of which were shown on the Sissons Charts. We, together with Medina, were the first boats to leave and were followed later by two Dutch barges and four cruisers. These caught us up and passed us a couple of hours afterwards. At 10 o’clock we met boats coming down from Cromwell Locks which were our destination. These were reached at 11.30, the traffic lights were on red and we had to moor at the bottom of the lock until the lock keeper gave us the OK to proceed.
The lock was huge and easily held the cruiser and four narrow boats that locked with us. Upstream of Cromwell Locks the river was very wide and again we had good cruising. The situation at Newark Nether Lock was similar to Cromwell but by 14.00 we were upstream of the lock and looking for a mooring in Newark. The guide book showed there were moorings either side of the river but these were fully occupied, so we turned around and moored in King’s Marina.
Newark is a delightful old town and interesting historically because of the part it played in the civil war. Only a shell remains of the first castle constructed in 1129. The castle was rebuilt various times but was eventually dismantled in 1646 when the Roundheads took the town which had been a Royalist stronghold for many years. On our walk that evening we met Phil and Connie on board their cruiser Tiger of Penrose. This boat is more than twenty years old and was in a poor condition when they purchased it. The two of them have spent many hundreds of hours reconditioning the entire vessel which now looks like new.

August 4
Shortly after leaving King’s Marina we passed through the Town Lock after which the river became much narrower as it twisted and turned towards Nottingham. The weather had become very windy which did not help us trying to keep the boat in the middle of the channel. We had to take special care to avoid the large Averham Weir which takes the main channel of the river around the north side of Newark. The waterway immediately became much wider as it passed the old Staythorpe Power Station and continued to be over 100 metres wide for the remainder of the day. We cruised past the village of Fiskerton with its high steel shuttering making it unattractive to look at from the navigation. We continued towards Gunthorpe through an area which is reputed to be the prettiest on the River Trent, with wooded cliffs rising almost sheer from the flat valley floor to a height of 200 feet allowing here and there the presence of a strip of fertile land on which cattle grazed.
Another large lock and accompanying weir brought us to Gunthorpe where we moored on the pontoons, upstream from the lock, alongside three Dutch barges, some beautiful cruisers and other narrowboats. We heard from other boaters that there was a festival at Nottingham this coming weekend and that moorings would be difficult to find. It was decided therefore to remain in Gunthorpe until after the weekend.

August 5 – 7
Gunthorpe is a popular spot visited by many tourists who come for meals in the riverside pubs, admire the boats moored on the pontoons or alongside the concrete walls upstream of the lock and to watch boats passing through the lock. Water skiing is also a popular sport on this stretch of the river. There are four pubs, two churches but no shops in Gunthorpe! We spent the time hiking along the river banks in both directions picking blackberries and carrying out minor maintenance on the boat.

August 8
Sunshine at last – there was not a cloud to be seen until 10.00 a.m. when a few wispy clouds ruined the first azure sky in weeks! After relocating the boat’s spotlight and improving the easy chair covers we set off after lunch for Nottingham. Stoke Lock was passed without problem as was Holme Lock. At the latter we replenished our water supply and also spent some interesting minutes watching kayakers and white water enthusiasts training at the National Water Sports Centre and Country Park. Two miles further on we approached the outskirts of Nottingham leaving behind the rural countryside of the upper reaches of the Trent River. The normal route on approaching Nottingham is to temporarily leave the river turning north to enter the Nottingham Canal. However, we continued a further half mile along the river passing under Trent Bridge (famed for its cricket ground) and moored against the County Hall steps. We should explain that these are not the entrance steps to the County Hall but a half mile length of river bank in front of the County Hall that has been concreted in the form of steps as protection against flooding.

August 9
The morning was spent at the public library updating the website and doing some shopping. The afternoon we spent exploring the opposite side of the river including the Memorial Gardens and the Meadow Lane lock.

August 10
Started at 10.00 am traveling the short distance downstream to the Meadow Lane lock. This was the first “narrow” lock (but still wide enough for two boats) since leaving the Leeds and Liverpool Canal. It was also the first for a little while that had to be operated manually. The canal extended around the north of Nottingham and appeared to be very narrow after the wide expanses of the River Trent and it took a little while to get used to operating the boat in shallow waters again. Many of the old warehouses have been modernized and replaced by modern buildings along this stretch of the canal. A stop was made just above Castle Lock for provisions (a large Sainsburys is alongside the canal). The River Trent was rejoined after Beeston Lock and once again we were on a 100 metre wide waterway. Signs were placed to guide boats around Barton Island and on a couple of corners with very shallow edges. The four-way junction at Trent Lock is very well signposted and it was easy to determine the route the river took and we were soon moored up in Sawley Marina, our overnight stop. Narrow boat Medina (Graham and Shirley Neale) moored in their permanent moorings next door at the Derby Motor Boat Club. It was here that we would say goodbye to them after traveling with them for the last three weeks or so. A final dinner was held with them at the Plank and Leggit pub opposite the Marina.

August 11
Spent the day exploring the surroundings of Sawley Marina which included walking along the towpath and through some rough ground where Jason nearly pulled Peter’s arm when he (Jason) disturbed a couple of grouse. We still don’t trust Jason sufficiently to let him run free especially when there might be rabbits, chickens, birds, sheep, squirrels etc around!

August 12
After filling up with water and fuel we left Sawley Marina for the small village of Shardlow, approximately an hour’s cruise away. Passing through the Derwent Mouth Lock we experienced the first heavy downpour of rain for a couple of weeks. It caught us both by surprise and we were drenched to the skin before we could put on our waterproof clothing. It was also at Derwent Mouth Lock that we left the River Trent and entered the Trent and Mersey Canal.
Shardlow is a very pretty little village with living examples of large scale canal architecture, as well as long established necessities such as canal pubs. The biggest and best of these buildings is the 18th century Trent Mill, now the Clock Warehouse, a superb looking three storied restaurant. We moored by the former Dobsons boatyard along with at least eight other narrowboats.

August 13
It rained on and off all day so we stayed in Shardlow, occasionally taking trips out on foot to visit local sights. One of these was the Heritage Centre which comprised a tremendous collection of artifacts and photographs from Shardlow’s part in the canal history of England. Phil, Connie and Verena (Connie’s godmother) arrived on “Tiger of Trevose” to join us for dinner in the The Lady in Grey, a Thai restaurant on the side of the canal.

August 14
The rain had stopped but it remained cool and cloudy. Today’s destination was Willington and the canal en route passed through lovely treed countryside with views of the River Trent to the south. We arrived in sunshine at Willington in mid-afternoon and just managed to find a vacancy in the visitors’ moorings. We had previously been advised not to overnight in Willington and wondered why as the village seemed to be very pretty and narrowboat friendly. However, within half an hour we understood the reasoning from the number of high speed trains that passed within 50 yards of the canal. It can be said that most of this noise is not heard when one is inside the narrowboat.

August 15
The journey today included cruising through Burton upon Trent where, like so many other cities with canals, the towpaths have been tidied up and give off a very pleasing aspect. Dallow Lock was the first of the narrow locks and altogether an easier job of work than the wider ones we had been used to in the last couple of weeks. Single locks allow only one narrowboat to go through at a time whereas two boats can pass through the wider locks simultaneously. It’s a shame that narrowboats don’t have tenders as we could have filled one from the masses of large blackberries found growing along the offside of the canal.
Above Wychnor Lock the River Trent was once again joined for approximately one mile. It was interesting to note the increase in the amount of weed, and the improved clarity of the water along this stretch of the canal. We overnighted at Alrewas, another very attractive village whose rambling back lanes harboured some excellent timbered cottages. More important, from Jason’s point of view, were the open, sheep free fields where he could roam off the leash.

August 16
A lovely hot summer’s day. We remained in Alrewas all day as Jenn and Maggie, friends from Brighton, paid us a visit. After lunch we went to the National Memorial Arboretum, a 150 acre site dedicated to the remembrance of people from all walks of life who lost their lives serving their country during wartime. See www.memorialtreesuk.org.uk
Jenn and Maggie returned to Brighton that evening.

August 17
Another lovely hot day so we decided to extend our stay in Alrewas and paid a second visit to the Arboretum to go to the areas we had been unable to see the day before.
We finally departed after lunch and motored a few miles down the canal to Fradley Junction. At this point the canal is extremely busy as there are five locks within half a mile, a British Waterways facility, a boatyard, several pubs and the Coventry Canal joining from the south-east. Our passage was down the Coventry Canal and we moored for the night just south of King’s Orchard Bridge.

August 18
Yet another lovely hot day which spurred us into an early start. We found the canal to be quite narrow, relatively shallow and twisty with reeds along both sides. These if anything improved the beauty and remoteness of the canal as it passed through the Staffordshire countryside. Our schedule was to travel as far as Fazeley, turn around and head back to Fradley Junction. However we decided to moor up early as black, thunderous clouds threatened overhead. These only produced one light shower so we were able to exercise ourselves and Jason in an adjoining field of clover. The hedges along the canal produced enough blackberries for our supper.

August 19
The storm clouds had left and we were back with clear skies. To our surprise and great delight within fifteen minutes of setting off we came across narrowboat “Bide Your Time” with John and Liz taking a leisurely cup of coffee whilst moored up. We had last seen this couple on the River Weaver some two months ago. During this time they had spent a full month on that river and the remaining time on the canals in the Manchester area. We were all pleased, and relieved, to note that Jason, whom they had not met before, immediately befriended Tara, their little Yorkie.
We stopped for lunch just before Fradley and then joined the fray at the junction, this time heading west to moor in the village of Handsacre, four miles further on. Adjoining Handsacre is the village of Armitage, where the world famous toilet ware manufacturer, Armitage Shanks, has its factory.

August 20
The canal seemed to be extra narrow after Handsacre and as the weather was perfect there were many more boaters than usual enjoying the waterways. We moored in Rugeley for a couple of hours to use the public library to update the website and catch up on our e-mails. We also visited the lively local market and did one or two other bits of shopping. Continuing our journey the scenery vastly improved as we approached Great Haywood Junction passing through the parkland of Cannock Chase. The RiverTrent, now a mere shadow of its former self, flowed parallel with the canal. At the junction a hard left was made and we entered the waters of the Staffs and Worcester Canal. A mile further on the navigation entered Tixall Wide – an amazing and delightful stretch of water more resembling a lake than a canal. By the time we arrived most of the better moorings were already taken but we did manage to find a good spot at the far end.

August 21
As the weather was still good we explored the area on foot. We had been told that it was possible to Pick Your Own Strawberries but in the event the facility was closed. In the distance we could hear the sound of a brass band and our curiosity took us over the Essex Bridge into the grounds of Shugborough Park with its strange sculptures in the grounds of the Mansion House and a collection of rare breed cattle. This property used to belong to Lord Anson but is now run by the National Trust. One could easily have spent the whole day here but we contented ourselves with just passing a pleasant afternoon in the splendidly cared for gardens and listening to the brass band in one of the courtyards.
August 22
Leaving Tixall Wide the cruise was very smooth until just before Stafford Boat Club where we came upon a line of narrowboats moored alongside the towpath. The owners advised us to do the same because during the night a large tree had fallen across the canal. British Waterways were already on the scene cutting up the large branches and loading them on to their barge for removal. It took them a further two hours to clear a passage through and allowed the boats to proceed. This sounded fine until we arrived at the next lock to find the ten boats that had been in front of us previously were now moored up waiting to pass through the lock. This took a further hour during which time many pleasantries were exchanged between crew members. The fallen tree was the talk of the locks for the next couple of days. We moored at Penkridge that night.

August 23
We left Penkridge and arrived at Gailey and handed the boat over to the original boat builder so that he could modify the hot water system ready for the winter.

August 24 – 31
A pleasant break was spent with Peter’s mother in Shrewsbury during this time and we included a quick trip to London to meet up with Angela’s nephew, Rowan, who was passing through on his way back to Australia.

Piczo