Heading South

Holme Lock reopened on Saturday 17 May at noon so on that morning we had a steady run from Gunthorpe and arrived in time to join the first lock up with 6 other narrowboats.   Emerging from the lock we saw a queue of boats waiting to head north.   We then raced down to Nottingham to avoid being at the back of the queue for Meadow Lane Lock which only takes 2 boats.   On the Nottingham Canal we found more boaters waiting to head north and mooring space outside Sainsburys.  We weren't alone in bringing back a shopping trolley of groceries to our boat.  

The queue for Holme Lock

We teamed up with Ernie and Steph and continued our journey south.  At Cranfleet Cut we joined the queue of boats waiting for the lock and Bess and Brinny came out onto the pontoon. Brinny thought the sticks and debris floating on the water were solid and got a shock when she jumped down onto them.  She wasn't too keen on the rinse down that followed her dunking either.

Travelling in pairs we made good progress and stopped in Leicester on Monday night.  

A heron watches us pass on the outskirts of Leicester

An early start on Tuesday took us through 12 locks to Kilby for lunchtime and then we continued towards Foxton.  There were boats in front of us and water levels became very low. Something caught around the propeller and while preparing to free it Kev dropped our large kitchen knife through the weedhatch which is an open hole in the bottom of the boat giving access to the propeller.  Despite spending some time throwing our magnets on ropes over the spot we didn't find the knife.  We continued on to the bottom of the Foxton flight and moored up, having covered  18 miles and 24 locks in the day. 

The next morning Kev opened the weedhatch and was amazed to see our knife laid underwater on the ledge surrounding the opening.  We hadn't seen it the day before because the water was muddy.  The chances of the knife landing on the ledge and staying there when Kev pulled the material off the propeller and through the hole were slim.  Unfortunately there was nowhere to buy a lottery ticket so we went up the 10 locks of the Foxton flight and had an ice cream at the top.   There were no locks for the next 18 miles but it was busy at Crick with preparations for the show at the weekend.  We were lucky not to have any delay at the Watford Gap flight of 7 locks and even luckier to find a free mooring at Norton Junction which was busy with boats heading to Crick. 

The forecast for Thursday was heavy rain and we set off in our waterproofs.  We were doing well until Long Buckby Lock; the canal on the other side of the lock was completely empty. The cause became apparent when I walked down to the next lock and found a gate paddle had been left open, probably the previous evening.  Filling that stretch of canal would've taken a considerable amount of water and caused the levels to drop upstream so we rang the Canal & River Trust.   They quickly sent someone out who opened the lock paddles upstream so we could open our paddles and fill the empty pound.  

Filling the pound below Long Buckby lock, thankfully it stopped raining while we waited.

Heavy rain set in during the afternoon and we were pleased to reach Blisworth Tunnel which is 3057 yards long.  It's the third longest canal tunnel in Britain and after entering it was sometime before we could see the other end.  White and rust coloured deposits lined the walls and we didn't completely escape the rain, torrents were cascading down the air vents.  We emerged from the tunnel to find a thunderstorm was raging overhead.

It was a short distance to Stoke Bruerne and once we'd moored up I couldn't resist a treat from the Candy Boat.  

Jars of sweets line the side of the Candy Boat

  
Our journey from Gunthorpe to Stoke Bruerne

Waiting for Holme Lock

At Torksey we waited for the tide to come in so there was sufficient depth of water to sail over the lock cill, the structure which the bottom lock gates rest on.  The tide was low and didn't give us a lot of help to Cromwell.  Travelling on our motorway wasn't very fast and Kev decided to put the hot water we were producing to good use by cleaning the cooker!  After 4 hours we arrived at Cromwell and were surprised to find we were the only boat there. We were expecting to see a lot of boaters heading south towards the lock which has been out of action since the winter. 

The entrance to Cromwell Lock; the horizontal black bar on the left is the weir.

   
The next day we moved on to Newark and again were surprised to see free moorings on the pontoons.  Kev walked down to Just Beer but while he was supping torrential rain set in.  Phil the barman lent him an umbrella and it would've been rude not to return it the next day.  Kev was equally considerate when 2 boaters, Ernie and Steph, asked for directions to the pub; he insisted on walking with them to the "finest pub in England".  

Just Beer 

  
I was looking forward to a visit to the Millgate Museum but sadly it has been closed.  Instead I went into the small Town Hall museum and, as I was the only visitor,  I was given my own guided tour.  My guide also took me down to see the magnificent ballroom and the Mayors Parlour where the mace and chain are kept on display.  Finally I was shown the smallest house in Newark which has a connecting door from the Town Hall.  The interior was not much wider than Brent III.  

The bric-a brac market and Town Hall at Newark.  The smallest house in Newark is sandwiched between the two large buildings.

  
After 6 days, slightly longer than the 48 hour limit for the moorings, we decided to move on to Hazelford Island, a haven for rabbits and very exciting for Brinny and Bess.   We meet up again with Ernie and Steph who are delivering a boat to London and chatted to an ornithologist who had set up some nets to catch birds for ringing.  Unfortunately he didn't catch many and none while I was with him.  

We hadn't seen many boats so assumed we were at the head of the queue for Holme Lock.  To maintain this position we moved on to Gunthorpe with Ernie and Steph where we were later joined by other boats heading south.   The owner of Gunthorpe Leisure Boats thoughtfully offered to take any boaters who needed provisions to the shops.   While we waited for news about Holme Lock we enjoyed the glorious weather and the pontoons made an ideal spot to sit in the sun.    

Bess enjoying the sun at Gunthorpe

Our journey from Torksey to Gunthorpe

Saxilby

This year we want to travel south and visit London after the summer.  The River Trent is our motorway taking a direct route to Nottingham but there is a problem.  During scheduled repairs to Holme Lock a void opened under the lock floor and the Canal and River Trust estimate the lock will be out of action until mid-May.  Before leaving Goole we decided to continue with our plan to sail down the Trent rather than take a longer alternative route.   At Thorne we met some other boaters with the same intentions and started to wonder how many boats would be queuing to use Holme Lock. 

Undeterred we stayed at Thorne for a couple of days before heading east for Keadby and an early morning lock out on to the Trent.  We had an easy trip on a high tide which helped us all the way to Torksey and on arrival we were surprised to find the visitor moorings were deserted.  

On the jetty at Thorne

At Saxilby there were plenty of free moorings but they were quickly taken at the start of the bank holiday weekend.  

Busy moorings at Saxilby

On Saturday we took the bus to Lincoln where I spotted a sign outside an arts and crafts shop: Yarn Shop Day.  I resisted the temptation to buy any wool but did come out with another watercolour paint brush to add to my collection.  

Lincoln Stonebow arch and the Guildhall, one of the many interesting buildings in the city.

On Tuesday morning the bus to Gainsborough quickly filled up with pensioners making the most of their bus passes.  They were a cheerful group who were well practiced at manoeuvring their shopping trolleys.  For a small town Gainsborough has a good selection of shops and as we'd picked market day, it was bustling.  

We decided to continue our journey on Wednesday.  Newark is the last town before Holme Lock and we're hoping to arrive before all the moorings are taken.  We sailed the short distance back to Torksey and waited for our lock out on to the Trent.  

Our journey from New Junction to Saxilby