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