Birthday Weekend

Our next port of call is Newark, a market town with many interesting historic buildings and a formidable ruined castle overlooking the river.  It's also good for shopping and as there is a Morrisons in the town centre we took the opportunity to stock up on our supplies.  When it came to stowing them away I realised we'd perhaps overdone it but we won't starve. 

Kev has been looking forward to sampling real ales on our travels and a fellow boater recommended a pub, Just Beers.  This unique little pub only sells real ales.  Lagers, wines, spirits and even soft drinks were not available, it certainly lived up to it's name.  In the small interior we enjoyed a drink or two in the company of the locals who were surprisingly discussing their impressive success with grape vines.  

As we continued upstream the river banks were lower giving us a better view of the landscape.  Herds of cows watched us pass from the water's edge, some even wading into the shallows.  Looking ahead we could no longer see the bank on the right hand side and water was gushing over the edge.  This was Averham Weir.  For approximately 300 yards we sailed along with the water cascading over the weir to our right.   The view was amazing but we kept well away from the edge.  

Sailing past Averham Weir with water cascading down into a branch of the river.
 

Hazelford Island is renowned for it's blackberries and we were not disappointed.  Bramley apples were on board ready for this overnight mooring and we enjoyed a blackberry and apple pie.  

It was Kev's birthday over the weekend and we stopped at Holme Pierrepoint, the National Water Sports Centre.  We were moored up next to the white water course and watched canoeists performing tricks and somersaults into the rapids.  The bong of drums drew our attention to the dragon boat races being held on the long straight rowing lake.  These rowing boats are decorated with dragon's heads and tails and the crew rapidly paddle with short oars in time to the drum.  

An ornate dragon's head on one of the dragon boats

The highlight of the weekend was a visit from Nic, Gaz, Shaun, Laura and the grandkids.  The warm sun was a bonus, enabling us to sit out while the kids had a lot of fun.  The grappling iron and magnet were cast into the river in the hope of finding something valuable, there were walks and games with Bess and the boat horn was sounded on more than one occasion.  We really enjoyed seeing everyone for a lovely afternoon. 

Our route from Cromwell to Holme Peirrepoint.

  

Back on the Trent

From Boston we retraced our route back to Torksey where we went through the lock back onto the River Trent just before dark on Wed 12 Sept.  We stopped on the floating pontoons (jetties fixed to poles so they rise and fall with the tide) overnight.

The tides dictated another early start and at 6.20am we set off to get the best of the incoming tide upstream to Cromwell.  Unfortunately both the tide and the water levels were low.

We chugged along following the red line which indicates the safe channel on our Trent navigation chart.  Brent III suddenly slowed to a halt accompanied by the crunch of gravel under the hull.  We'd run aground!  

After pushing off the bow with the barge pole and rocking the stern she floated off quite quickly.  On checking the charts we hadn't strayed very far from the safe channel but the low water levels meant there was no room for error.  The rest of the journey was uneventful but I was pleased when we pulled into Cromwell Lock.

The moorings at Cromwell are in an isolated spot but they have a useful facility - electric points.   We can function without shore power, the inverter provides power for all our 240 volt appliances except the washing machine which has a delicate constitution.  Our Honda generator provides the pure sine wave electricity required by the washer but shore power is a bonus so the washer was kept going over the next two days and the weather obliged with the drying. 

During the week I started my first attempt at bead embroidery.  Tiny coloured beads are sewn onto the fabric to make up the design.  Sounds simple!   I plotted out a butterfly design on graph paper and retrieved the packs of beads from the many storage tubs on the bookcase. 

Invisible thread is used to sew on the beads, this is like a fine fishing line and the needle has to be very fine to pass through the beads.  Threading the tiny eye on the needle with the invisible thread is quite a challenge.  

I happily started sewing the beads onto the aida fabric but unfortunately this craft is harder than it looks. Unpicking invisible thread is virtually impossible.  I resorted to snipping them off which resulted in beads flying in all directions!  Progress is now being made but in future I'll probably stick to cross-stitch.   

Our route up the Trent from Torksey to Cromwell

An e-disaster

We left Lincoln and the Fossdyke navigation at the Stamp End Lock which is unusual because it has a guillotine gate.  At the press of a button the gate slowly rattles and creaks up   allowing us to enter the lock.   From here we are on the River Witham all the way to Boston.  

One of the reasons we decided to live this lifestyle is because it will give us more time for the things we want to do.  We are both keen to spend more time cooking and fancied trying traditional Cornish Pasties.  

A recipe was obtained from the internet and the ingredients included strong white bread flour for the pastry.  I haven't heard of using bread flour for pastry but apparently it would give the pastry strength to hold the filling and stay in shape.   The pasties were a joint effort - I mixed the pastry which took some effort to achieve the slightly elastic dough described.  This went into the fridge to rest while I went outside to do the same.  Kev chopped the filling ingredients following the quantities given.  

When we rolled out the pastry it became apparent we had more than double the amount of filling required.  I rolled the pastry as thin as I dared and we made up the pasties.  The pastry certainly was strong and held together during cooking but it was rock hard!  The next night we had the remaining filling in a pie with good old shortcrust pastry.   

The River Witham was straightened by the Romans and the result is a rather long and monotonous stretch into Boston but the trip was worthwhile.  The moorings at Boston are excellent and just a short walk from the town centre and an enormous Asda.  The Witham Way footpath follows the route of a disused railway line and an excellent country park meant Bess had plenty of interesting walks.

Boston is famous for St Botolph's Church and it's tower, the Stump.  We decided to go up the Stump which is 145 feet high at the balcony, a climb of over 200 steps .  We read the warning notices advising you not to go up unless your were in good health and feeling enthusiastic we went to pay.  The lady in the shop took our money and asked if we had a mobile phone.  Yes we had - that was good we could use it to ring the shop's phone number if we had an emergency!   How hard was this climb going to be?  The spiral staircase was steep and narrow but the view was well worth it.  Unfortunately I'd forgotten to take the camera with me but I wasn't going up again.

St Botolph taken from our back deck on the moorings at Boston

While we were in Boston I spent the vouchers my colleagues had generously given me for a leaving present.  I bought a Kobo e-reader which will be very useful on the trip - thank-you everyone.  

Back on board I fired up the laptop and was busy working on an email when the internet connection was suddenly lost.   I glanced up to the window ledge where I'd used blu-tack to fix the dongle to receive a better signal.  The dongle wasn't there - it had taken a nose dive into a cup of tea on the bookcase below.   It's surprising how much tea a dongle can hold.  After much shaking, blasting with switch cleaner and being left to dry overnight it was obvious the dongle wasn't going to recover.   Luckily there is a 3 Store in Boston and the next day I was able to buy a replacement which will not be suspended above cups of tea. 

Our route from Lincoln to Boston - the turquoise ovals are our mooring places.

Out of Familiar Waters

It has been a long running joke that we could not sail to Boston.  We've made several attempts that have all been thwarted for one reason or another.  The most notable was during  the 2007 floods which resulted in a 10 day stay at Saxilby until the water levels dropped and then it was time to return home.  Our first destination was therefore going to be Boston.

Thorne was to be our first stop as we had arranged to meet up with Cath & John and the kids for the weekend.  We also had an important date on Saturday – Shaun and Laura’s wedding.  So while we caught the train to Rotherham for the wedding Bess went to the Staniland’s Regatta with Cath & John.   On our return we enjoyed a meal at the Canal Tavern in Thorne and had a good evening before setting off the next day. 

From Thorne we sailed to Keadby, pleased to find all the notorious swing bridges were in good working order and did not cause us any problems.  On the approach to Keadby we noticed a thick covering of green weed, similar to duck weed.   From Keadby Lock we enter the River Trent which is tidal so the tides determine the time to go through the lock.  We were due to leave at 7am on Monday 3^rd September so the incoming tide would give us a helping push upstream to Torksey.

At the allotted time we entered the lock only to find the green weed had pushed in front of us to  create a buffer between the boat and the sides of the lock.  Two other narrowboats were following us in and the depth of the weed increased.  It was quite a struggle for the third boat to push through the weed and come alongside.  We would normally secure the boats in place with ropes but on this occasion no ropes were required, the weed held us firmly in place.   Once out onto the Trent the weed dispersed and we made good time to Torksey, arriving before the tide turned.

Green weed in the lock.  The far bank of the River Trent can be seen through the lock gates.

The weather was glorious at Torksey – I was able to sit out with my patchwork which is going to be made into a bag for the shelves above our bed.  With Bess stretched out on the jetty beside me this was a perfect relaxing afternoon – apart from the strimmer which wailed like a banshee on the opposite bank.

The next day we set off with the intention of shopping at Saxilby and then continuing our journey.   However in the spirit of this lifestyle we changed our minds and stayed overnight in Saxilby.  On Wednesday 5^th September we sailed into Lincoln which is the furthest we've travelled on the Fossdyke navigation. 

We stopped on the visitor moorings outside the University, I don't think I'd want to spend the night on these but they were fine for our purposes.  We walked into town for some shopping and to have a look at the Glory Hole.  This is a narrow alley in the centre of Lincoln under which there is a tunnel for the canal.  This old tunnel passes under an old timbered building and a street.  The entrance is timbered and has limited headroom.   We decided there was enough room without lowering our wheelhouse ( the roof lifts off and windows fold down for such situations) but all the same we took Brent III through very slowly.   

On the other side of the Glory Hole the canal passes through the main shopping centre and we noticed some boaters had moored up against the railings to go for their shopping saving a walk from the University.

The Glory Hole tunnel which passes under the timbered building in the background and a  busy street.

The map below shows our route between Goole and Lincoln.

In the Beginning

Nearly 7 years ago we bought our narrowboat Brent III little realising how it would change our lives.   We were quickly smitten and yearned to spend longer and travel further than annual holidays would allow. 

We met many "continuous cruisers" on our holidays and wished we too could travel the inland waterways and enjoy the freedom this lifestyle offered.  After many discussions and the creation of a spreadsheet, to check our finances would stand up to such a venture, we decided to make the dream a reality. 

We were lucky, Brent III did not need many modifications to enable us to live on board.   Kev's son-in-law, Gaz, made a cratch to maximise use of the front deck and a bookcase which has proved invaluable for my art materials as well as books and tubs of miscellaneous items.  Extra shelves have been put up and underfloor storage created in the galley which is useful for tins of beans and bottles of wine. 

We installed a macerator toilet which uses canal water to flush, an inverter to convert the 12v battery power to 240 volt, an alternator charger to ensure the batteries are charged as we travel and a battery monitor to keep tabs on our consumption.   We bought a washing machine which would fit through the narrow doors and Kev fixed a spike to the roof for a whirlygig washing line.  A woodburning stove will warm the boat, keep a kettle on the boil and cook a pan of stew - an essential piece of equipment.

Kev spent many hours sanding and revarnishing the interior oak panelling to restore it to it's former glory.  Brent III needed her bottom blacking and my sister Sarah came to help out with this - the best job of all was lying on our backs to scrape muscles off the hull!  

Brent III was lowered back into the water and we moved on board in April.  After several car loads our belongings were on board but finding a home for everything was a challenge.   

We started painting Brent III in her new colours but the extremely wet weather caused delays.  We managed to finish just in time for the start of our cruise but at the time of writing we are still waiting for the name transfers to arrive.   

August was a hectic month - Kev didn't get a minute - there was a long list of things to do and an even longer list of things to buy and stow away.   We had everything ready to leave our home mooring, Viking Marina in Goole, on Thursday 30 August.  We've had some good times at Viking and sailed off with mixed emotions.  

On board we have one 'crew' member, Bess a Patterdale Terrier who is 8 months old.  Sadly our rottweiler Mia was suddenly taken ill in August and is no longer with us.  

Bess in her favourite place on the dash as we travel.