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