Home to Goole

The weather turned wet and water levels started to rise turning our thoughts to the return journey on the tidal Trent.  We moved on to Cromwell and had a walk down to the lock.  A dredger was working so we stopped to watch as bucket-loads of silt were scooped up and deposited in a barge.  Then we noticed a camera crew on the dredger and an interview taking place with us in the background.  When we watched the local news there we were - 2 minuscule blobs in the distance.  

That evening torrential rain and wind added to the noise of waves slapping against the hull so it wasn't a peaceful night.  In the morning we found a tree trunk had jammed under the jetty and against our stern.  Moving Brent III forward released the trunk which hurtled away towards the weir.  

At 12 o'clock the lockie let us through the lock and advised us the recent rain had raised the water level on the river by 10 feet.  There was no danger of grounding but in places we encountered 2 feet high waves.  We stopped overnight on the pontoons at Torksey and set off at 11.45am the next day.  This was the best time to gain an advantage from the tide and it certainly worked in our favour, after the tide had turned we sped along at 9.5mph.   We arrived at Keadby at 3.30pm, our fastest return journey. 

Passing the ruins of Torkey Castle which overlook the Trent

The approaching storm was making the news headlines so we decided to moor up at Thorne until it had passed.  On Sunday afternoon the wind picked up and we prepared for the gales, adding extra mooring ropes and clearing the roof of anything that might blow away.  The evening was quiet and so was the night.  Luckily the storm didn't come as far north as Thorne and on Monday morning we sailed up to the Junction and completed the journey home to Viking Marina on Tuesday morning. 

Moored up for the winter at Viking Marina.  

Since leaving Tattenhall we've travelled 1002 miles and come through 512 locks.  We haven't moored up for a rest, Kev has a list of jobs and minor modifications for us to do and I have been working on the plot for my November novel.  

The map shows the canals we've travelled during 2013

Full Circle

From Loughborough we travelled 9 miles up the River Soar to arrive back at Trent End, the junction between the Trent, Soar and Erewash Canal.  It had taken 46 days to complete the ring and we both agreed it had been a very good trip. 

The weather had turned and as we didn't have any more low bridges to encounter we were glad to keep the wheelhouse up.  We turned west and headed back to Shardlow for the weekend as Nic, Gaz, Shaun and Laura and the kids were coming to see us. 

Shaun and Laura brought their new pup, Teddy a 10 week old chihuahau lapso cross who was adorable.  His tiny size and long soft fur hid a sharp set of teeth as Kev found to his cost when Teddy bit his nose!  

Teddy 

We drove over to the Ragley Boat Stop, the pub whose moorings we used on the Trent and Mersey Canal.   We all had an excellent meal but Shaun found the 48 ounce steak a bit on the large side.  

Heavy rain was bringing up the river levels as we headed north and although the flood locks were shut the indicator boards still showed we were safe to proceed.  Luckily the lockies are manning the electric locks on the Trent until the end of the month so we didn't have to operate them ourselves.   The sun came out when we moored at Hazelford Island so we enjoyed a walk into the nearby village of Fiskerton.

Hazelford Weir taken from the footbridge across the river.  Hazelford Lock is on the left, the white mooring bollards can be seen at the top of the bank. 

At Newark Sarah came to visit us.  Sarah & I enjoyed  a walk round the town and making some purchases in Boyes' haberdashery.   Sarah has tempted me with a challenge - to write a 50,000 word novel in November for the National Novel Writing Month.  Sarah and I have signed up and are giving our plots some thought.  If anyone is tempted to have a go the website is     National Novel Writing Month   

Our journey from Loughborough to Newark

Kingfishers

From Foxton we followed the pretty winding canal to Market Harborough and took a mooring with the hire boat company in the canal basin.   Another piece of canal art stands on the wharf, a labourer with a plank which has been designed for a sundial.

The labourer sundial sculpture in Market Harborough Basin

 The busy town has some interesting shops and an unusual building whose original purpose was to combine a grammar school with a market.  

The old grammar school at Market Harborough.  On the left of the photo is the church which doesn't have any grounds, the pavement runs alongside it's walls. 

On our return journey to Foxton I was surprised when the driver and passengers jumped out of their car after I'd closed the road with a swingbridge barrier.  They wanted to take some photos as Brent III sailed through and Bess obligingly posed on the roof. 

Returning to our northern route we had one more tunnel.  Saddington is a short tunnel and is home to some bats.  On our way through we checked the roof but disappointingly only saw spiders, the bats were out of sight in the numerous bat boxes fixed to the tunnel walls.  

The next day locks took over from tunnels as we started the descent into Leicester and then moored up on the jetties outside Castle Gardens.  Our waterway key let us into the park which is shut to the public at 5.30 so we enjoyed a private garden in the evening.  Leicester has an excellent fruit and vegetable market with a difference.  Most of the produce is sold by the bowl, each bowlful costing a pound.  Leicester deserves it's reputation as a shopping centre and our star buy was a ceramic coated frying pan which Kev immediately tried with an omelette.  It really is non-stick.  

After seeing the sights of Leicester we continued north through it's suburbs.  The canal flows in and out of the River Soar and there were some weirs on sharp turns at the junction of the water courses.  Trees and bushes on the banksides often made it difficult to see which way the canal turned but provided a habitat for the little kingfisher which flashed electric blue across the river ahead of us.  

We saw several more kingfishers on our way to Loughborough, a pleasant town with plenty of moorings for visitors.  In the town hall art gallery I enjoyed seeing pictures by a local artist and Queens Park, in the town centre, has a 151 feet tall Carillon war memorial, colourful budgies and cockatiels in a large aviary and a small museum.  The case used to cast 'Great Paul', Britain's largest bell which hangs in St Paul's Cathedral, is also on display in the park.  

The case used to cast Great Paul.

 Our journey from Foxton to Loughborough

  

Tunnels

We had intended to leave Braunston on Monday morning but over the weekend Kev developed toothache.  Luckily the first dentist we rang in Daventry was able to give him an appointment on the same day and treat him on the NHS.  

Toothache free we set off up the 6 locks of the Braunston flight and approached Braunston Tunnel, at 2042 yards our longest yet.  There is two way traffic in the tunnel and as we entered we could see a pinprick of light in the distance, a boat coming in the opposite direction.  The tunnel barely looked wide enough for two boats but when we eventually met Kev steered us passed without touching.  Several more boats followed and then a disconcerting s-bend had to be negotiated before we could see daylight and the exit.  It took 20 minutes to travel through the tunnel and we were pleased to emerge into sunlight.  

The unassuming entrance to the long Braunston Tunnel

At Norton Junction we turned north onto the Leicester Line of the Grand Union Canal.  Shortly after passing Watford Gap services we arrived at Watford Locks and then onto Crick Tunnel, 1528 yards long with no s-bend.  We didn't meet any boats either but were glad to be through quickly because the roof was constantly dripping.  Reinforced brickwork and a section lined in wood show there have been problems in the past with the tunnel's stability. 

At Crick I had a surprise meeting with a colleague from work who'd moored up next to us.  We also saw the narrowboat Dover which featured in the TV series Narrowboat and Narrowboat Afloat with Alan Herd. 

Narrowboat Dover

There was one more tunnel, Husbands Bosworth, before we arrived at the top of Foxton Locks.  The locks are a big tourist attraction and we arrived on a busy sunny Sunday afternoon.

Horse and Boy statue at Foxton

Foxton is famous for the inclined plane boat lift which was built in 1900 to bypass the locks.  Boats were carried up or down the plane in 2 tanks which counterbalanced each other.  The tanks were connected by an endless cable which was powered by steam and pulled them up or down the rails.  High running and maintenance costs resulted in the demise of the inclined plane lift but the site of the tracks are still visible on the steep hillside.

Looking down the steep gradient of the site of the inclined plane boat lift. The tanks came up the lift parallel to the canal at the bottom which is now used as permanent moorings.    

Foxton is also famous for it's ten locks, arranged in two staircases with a small pound in the middle.  On Monday we booked in and came down the first staircase.  There are two sluices on each lock, one empties into the lock below and the other into a side pound. From the side pound the water empties into the lock two below thus saving water.  

Coming down the Foxton Locks, the side pounds are on the left and the winding gear is colour coded.  The red gear opens the sluice to empty water into the lock below and the white allows it go into the side pound.   

In the middle pound we tied up and did some lock-keeping for the five boats coming up.  As the top lock of the bottom flight was filled we emptied the bottom lock of the top flight to maintain the water levels.  Our volunteering duties over we were then assisted down the remaining staircase by the friendly Lockie and a group of Paraguayan tourists who thanked us for letting them have a go!

 Our journey from Braunston to Foxton