Back to the Trent

We left Branston under blue skies but the clouds weren't far behind. 

Dark clouds follow us as we head towards Burton-on-Trent 

On our way out of Burton-on-Trent we came down Dallow Lock, our last narrow lock this year.  The next day we left Willington and soon found ourselves in a queue for Stenson Lock. 

We've moved Brent III up the queue ready to go in the lock with the boat in front.  The white building is a cafe whose customers sit out on the veranda watching the boats in the lock. 

Once through the lock we kept our fingers crossed for space on the moorings at the Ragley Boat Stop pub.  We were in luck and stayed a couple of days enabling us to enjoy their excellent meals.  

On Friday we resumed our journey and were joined by another narrowboat at the first lock which was lucky; Weston Lock is renowned for it's heavy bottom gates but it was easy with two of us.   We shared the next few locks and were both able to moor up at Shardlow which was surprisingly quiet when we arrived.  

Moored up at Shardlow, this was the last time we had to drop the wheelhouse for low bridges.

Sawley was our next stop as we travelled the now familiar route north. 

A vivid sunset at Sawley

Volunteer lock-keepers took us down through Sawley Lock onto the wide River Trent but this first stretch of the river is short; after a mile Cranfleet Cut bypasses Thrumpton Weir.    I also had an easy time at Cranfleet Lock as 3 more volunteers manned the lock and let us out back onto the Trent.   We stopped on Cranfleet pontoon and then my work began.  Brent III's paintwork needs some protection and Kev thoughtfully brought a gallon of polish which, with some elbow grease, had Brent III gleaming in the sunshine. 

Sailing into Nottingham we were surprised to see a line of empty moorings.  The boaters who had taken root on the visitor moorings had clearly been persuaded to move on.  We stopped overnight and restocked at Sainsburys before continuing through Nottingham with it's mix of old and new buildings flanking the canal.  

A Nottingham wharf filled with seats and flowers for the Canalhouse Bar.  The warehouse in the background once belonged to Fellows, Morton & Clayton, a well-known canal haulage company.

At Meadow Lane Lock we left Nottingham Canal and will be on the River Trent for the next 70 miles.  The Trent trip boats were lined up on their moorings as we passed.  

The Trent trip boats on their moorings.

Our first stop on the Trent was at Stoke Bardolph where I enjoyed a good walk with the girls who appreciated the smell of rabbit more than the view over the lagoons.   We then moved on to Gunthorpe and Kev, always an early riser, told me about the mist at dawn but I only saw it on the photo he took on our second day there.  

Kev's photo of boats in the mist on the Trent

Our journey from Branston to Gunthorpe