UK Canals - Journey reports

Leeds and Liverpool Canal:Litherland

It was with mixed feelings that it was time to leave Liverpool.  We have had a really enjoyable time at Salthouse Dock and our guests at the week-end too. C&RT staff and volunteers have been brilliant throughout going out of their way to make sure everything was right for us.  The whole Albert Dock complex is a tourist hot spot and we were additionally able to watch the "Rock and Roll" runs taking place over the week-end.  For the boat, decent pontoons, free electricity, rubbish collection from the boat side, and water not to mention the ambience.  What more can you want.   So our journey was uneventful.

The tiny gap in the dock wall leads to Mann Island Lock, the way we have to go.

 Through the three tunnels, Princes Lock worked for us, and then after passage through "Sid's Ditch" (the narrow bit through the old infilled Trafalgar Dock, so named by the volunteers) a right turn through Stanley Dock to find the lock flight waiting  for us.  We are in a go slow mode at present for which reasons will eventually become evident, so we have stopped at Litherland again.  It has been a gorgeous day with unbroken sunshine till 4 pm, then unbroken overcast.  Time for a bit more maintenance work, this time a locker needs painting.

Liverpool:Salthouse Dock

Well! We got here.  We didn't need to leave Litherland early, so a bit more minor maintenance and other jobs like cleaning (bit of polish on the side).  A CRT work-boat with a weed rake on the front went by quite early.  Oh! They're going to skim the rubbish I thought. (Probably wrong)  We left at 10:30 for our 13:00 appointment at Stanley Top Lock.   Plenty of time as I rather wanted to just walk round to Eldonian Basin to what was there. Quite decent moorings actually.

Eldonian Basin (the end!)

  It is only a few hundred yards further on from the junction with the locks.   One of the volunteers was around picking litter and explained a little of the history and how the canal originally continued on towards the centre of Liverpool.  There has been a lot of change since our last visit 4 years ago and in many places unrecognisable.  Certainly the canal is a lot cleaner and better now that other urban areas that we have visited.  No sign of the work-boat until we found it at the bottom of the lock cleaning the lock gates. At promptly 13:00 we started descent to Stanley Dock in company with another boat.  Just 2 today.   The passage through the various docks and connections is well laid out and pretty obvious really.  Princes Lock was waiting open for us and the CRT team led by Sid was there for us and again, after the three tunnels, at Mann Island.   The entrance to the first of the three tunnels  was just black in contrast to the sunlight which the headlight could not penetrate and only once in the entrance did it appear that it continues leftwards.   The light was green to enter Albert Dock and then we were straight through to Salthouse Dock.   First problem was to find our assigned pontoon.   Binoculars!   Then a last minute reconfigure because although I would prefer to put the stern in first, because of arcane arrangements for hosting family at the weekend, it needed to be bows in first.   Sid came round to make sure we were happy with everything which we were of course.   Happy to be back in Liverpool and looking forward to the week.

Leeds and Liverpool Canal:Litherland

It took a little longer than I expected to get to bridge 9, how ever we had left early anyway to give a chance of cleaning the starboard windows.   We were delayed slightly at bridge 10.  Couldn't get the key out of the lock.  At 9:20 a CRT guy appeared.  Tom introduced himself and explained the routine and at 9:30 prompt the bridge was opened for us.

Bridge 9, Hancocks

  This is a very busy road over a single track bridge with traffic lights so a real pinch point for traffic.   We carried on to Netherton Bridge.  No need to wait.  Tom was already there and the bridge was opened for us without the need to stop.   The canal here is getting quite weeded with rushes as well.  It looks as if eventually these will have to be dealt with, but no trouble for us.    The canal seems very clean, but on reflection perhaps it is just because we are the first (and only) boat this morning.   Last time we were no 7 in a row and preceding boats would have stirred things up.  Reaching Litherland, Tom was waiting again at bridge 2J and it was swung for us.   We were advised to get a pump-out here, which we did, and water.   It is possible to get a pump-out in the docks but it is not straightforward and required getting permission to move the boat.

Litherland Moorings

  The secure moorings here are rather fine, with wide grass (chairs out!) a little gravel path.  Tesco Supermarket is right behind the fence and shrubbery and does not intrude.   Tom advised us of local facilities, restaurants, transport etc which was helpful. The afternoon was spent shopping and cleaning, sitting out with a beer etc.

Leeds and Liverpool Canal:Bridge 10

The day started with sunshine and shirtsleeves, but this didn't last long and by the time we moored at lunchtime it was thick jumper and the padded jacket mainly because of the strong wind, shivering in the cold.  We intended to let the fire die, but had to resuscitate it.   Really just a straight cruise with several long lengths of moored boats on permanent moorings.  Through the rock cutting where construction of the canal started in 1770.   Then at Maghull we had a clutch of swing bridges, all types, hand worked, key with flashing lights and automatic barriers but hand turned, manual gates and one allsinging and dancing but undergoing maintenance.   Letting us through became part of the maintenance.  Bridge 10 is a suitable overnight waiting spot for our reporting point at 9:30 tomorrow where we are met and escorted through two very busy (road traffic) swing bridges.

Leeds and Liverpool Canal:New Lane

We had a quiet night, no wind for the generator to speak o.   We left at 7:00 as usual, but didn't get very far.   Lock 88 was locked up.   We had to wait until 08:13 for the lock-keeper.  Then just carried on past nb Beecch at Appleby and the deep Lock with help from a boater moored nearby.  Here on we seemed to disturb a nest of narrow boats, having seen scant few moving for days.  Perhaps it was the Junction of the Rufford Arm, or the number of swing bridges that we now face.   The wind is getting up making hovering for a swing bridge difficult, alternatively getting off a mooring on a wrong curve with the wind against you extremely difficult.   I had 3 attempts at getting off there bank at New Lane much to the annoyance of a cyclist waiting.  Poor Pat she gets it in the necklace and hates it.    We moored shortly after in good time for a little bit of paint maintenance.

Leeds and Liverpool Canal:Wigan

We set off at the usual time expecting to start the 23 locks down into Wigan around 8 am, giving us time to carry on at the bottom should we so desire, although there will be grocery shopping to do.  At the top lock we found nb Beech waiting and we joined them for the descent.  One of the crew went ahead and the other stayed to open one bottom gate and close up, the two skippers helping out where possible, mainly shutting top gates and opening bottom paddles.  This all worked very well and good progress was made until lock 83.  The pound below was totally empty.   It appears that all the paddles on the lock below had been raised and locked.  CRT was called and appeared eventually letting water down from the two pounds above.  We had a delay of about 50 minutes.  By this time the promised rain had arrived - heavy showers.   We decided to stop at our usual mooring in Wigan, not far from Wigan Pier and good access to a large ASDA supermarket.

Leeds and Liverpool Canal:Red Rock

Straightforward cruising day.  Little wind.   Weak sunshine from time to time.   We reached top of Johnsons Hillock Locks and descended the seven.   Strangely the left bowthruster is working again, so it must be an intermittent wiring fault.   As always in the locks care must be taken with leaking top gates and the bottom lock actually had a hole in the offside gate shooting a serious jet of water into the empty lock which fortunately I was able to avoid.   We stopped as planned at the posted mooring known as Red Rock.   There is a landing stage there made out of plastic.  This has sustained a little bit of damage, one of the rubbing "timbers" having snapped off perhaps due to impact at some time.  At another spot the plastic appears rather brittle and a vertical post has snapped where  2 rusting bolts were exposed.   I was told by a passer by that the surface gets very slippery when wet.   The nearby pub is all boarded up. 

Leeds and Liverpool Canal:Cherry Tree

We soon passed Hapton mooring site which was full.  Then carried on on the side of the valley with spectaculasr views.  Only after NORDEN does the canal find a way between two hills to make a more direct course for Blackburn.  The top lock looks quite forbidding but with a new variant of top ground paddle gear.    There was a lot of water running down the hill with signs of minor flooding below the second lock.  

Lockside art on the Blackburn Flight

 Being single in the lock made management much easier, many were full for us already, testament to the badly leaking top gates.  Lock 56 had massive jets of water blasting out from the front of the cill, high enough to be worrying but not in the event dangerous.   The lock-keeper was in attendance for the bottom lock where we had a short wait for opposite direction traffic.   The only moving boat seen all day.

Leeds and Liverpool Canal:Rose Grove

We met two opposite direction events at Greenberfield Locks. Must have been the early bird rush hour because we saw no other boats until the tunnel. Lower Park Marina was the next stop for fuel, gas and pumpout. Their diesel is easily accessible from an inline wharf. I hate it when you have to cavort around inside a marina. Our last experience at Newark being a case in point. We picked up two boats at Foulbridge Tunnel waiting area but positioned in front reckoning we would be much faster than the first, a newbie hirer that we had met before. Waiting at the other end to return was the hire boat we had shared Gargrave Locks with the day before. The other boat we had not met before was another hire that joined us at the top of Barrowfield Locks, but this time a group of Dutch tourists who have been hiring in different parts of the country for years.

Back doors shut. The leaking gates can swamp the boat

A very experienced group who instantly understood our problem of a 60 foot boat with fenders being too long for the locks. We can only get out if single in the lock by shifting the bows across the closed gate to exit on the other side. One side of our bowthruster has given up so it is very difficult to shift to the left without roping up and pulling the boat over if there is any interference like wind. Added to this problem is the uncertainty at the start of descent of how much top gate leakage we will find to swamp the rear of the boat. So far it has had a good wash but nothing more serious. Soon after leaving Barrowfield there is an obscure offside mooring just after Br 141B with a locked gate (handcuff key) to access Morrisons Supermarket. See photo. I must day it looks rather neglected and needs a clean and a good haircut. Then the long run to Burnley Embankment and our aim for the night, Rose Grove. We were rather disappointed with this spot. The marked offside moorings are really an extension of the CRT work yard and were occupied by workboats. We moored opposite in the lee of a large office block. It was quiet enough overnight, but the water was peppered with underwater obstructions. We would have been better going the extra half hour to Hapton, or even the towpath side by Knotts Bridge moorings.

Leeds and Liverpool Canal:Bridge 159

After 3 nights and 2 days without engine running (we took a trip home) the batteries were low this morning (12.0V on load).  So the boat was moved to get water and then start the sequence of swing bridges.  No other traffic until the bottom of Gargrave locks, when we got lots.  Pairing up makes working in the locks easier, but getting in and out much more technical especially with hire boats.  Interestingly, one hire boater we shared his second ever lock with was intuitively acting like a seasoned boater of years experience, the other not!   Williamsons Farm is advertised in Nicholsons as having moorings (There is a moorings panel notifying the site, but not a lot else, and overall we were disappointed.   Not being able to get an instant TV signal clinched it.  We moved on, looking for a more open location with deep water.   This is where Bridge 159 found favour.   4G data signal, TV OK.   We have enjoyed great views up here, but the gloomy weather makes photography difficult.   It was raining all morning.

Leeds and Liverpool Canal:Bridge 159

After 3 nights and 2 days without engine running (we took a trip home) the batteries were low this morning (12.0V on load).  So the boat was moved to get water and then start the sequence of swing bridges.  No other traffic until the bottom of Gargrave locks, when we got lots.  Pairing up makes working in the locks easier, but getting in and out much more technical especially with hire boats.  Interestingly, one hire boater we shared his second ever lock with was intuitively acting like a seasoned boater of years experience, the other not!   Williamsons Farm is advertised in Nicholsons as having moorings (There is a moorings panel notifying the site, but not a lot else, and overall we were disappointed.   Not being able to get an instant TV signal clinched it.  We moved on, looking for a more open location with deep water.   This is where Bridge 159 found favour.   4G data signal, TV OK.   We have enjoyed great views up here, but the gloomy weather makes photography difficult.   It was raining all morning.

Leeds and Liverpool Canal:Skipton

A short day today as we want a couple of days at Skipton.  Sunny with the cold wind at the start, but slowly clouding over and feeling cold again.  There are no more locks until Gargrave but lots of swing bridges of all descriptions, some mechanised, some just with automatic barriers but manual bridge operation, and the remainder just farm bridges with no embellishments.  All were working fine.  Bradley's Bridge seems to have been fully upgraded since we were here last.  There have been many more boats on the move since Bingley but still plenty of mooring at Skipton.  There are some magnificent views of the Aire valley from the canal, though the hazy weather is not conducive to good photos.  One of the wooded hillsides had a perfect display of bluebells.
We stopped first at bridge 179, opposite the facilities, to check out the lay of the land and having located Tesco and Morrisons found a better mooring near the station.  There was no TV reception where we stopped first.  

Leeds and Liverpool Canal:Silsden

The three chambered staircase at Field Locks was passed without incident only thanks to the foresight of putting the cratch covers down and capping the chimney.   The middle chamber wall leaked and could have swamped the boat to a serious degree.

Water pouring from leaks in the wall could have filled the cratch or run into the chimney had they been unprotected

Then came Shipley and the swing bridge that I was dreading after a bad experience 4 years ago.  Amazing, it has a new all singing & dancing two pushbutton mechanised action now all done from the dinkiest miniature pedestal on the towpath side!  Brilliant.

The one boat visitor moorings at Shipley nearby Aldi

We stopped briefly at Aldi on the short visitor mooring, then carried on reaching Bingley 3 rise in due course.  There is a notice requiring boaters to call the lock-keeper which we did and he duly appeared after instructing us to wait.  I didn't know that the lock chambers in the Bingley three rise are of different sizes, the top lock being much smaller and the middle the deepest.  So special measures are required and hence restriction to lock-keeper only operation.  Richard looked after us and was a fount of information.  He had called ahead and Edward awaited us for the five rise with bottom gates open.  There was a huge fountain from the top gates in the middle section.  Again, very happy to have the cratch cover down and chimney capped.   Hats off to the lock-keepers who take great care that all proceeds uneventfully.   Pat was at the helm through both sets of locks and had no problems.  As we reached the top in good time we carried on to Silsden, leapfrogging swing bridges with another boat.

 

 

Leeds and Liverpool Canal:Field Locks

A busy day but we got a lot done.   Chilly first thing with blue sky and a prospect of warm day ahead.   Lock 1 was as I remembered but much easier with Pat as crew instead of Alfie, however it was her first experience of a "heritage" Leeds and Liverpool lock with its capstains and sliding rack and gate paddles   It took ages, but it got better after that.   Oddy's staircase took a while then one more lock until Kirkstall.   The Forge and Newlay triple staircase locks were manned as promised.   They are short and I suppose our generous fenders make us more than 60 ft long, so "wiggling" was necessary to get behind the gates.   All these locks had various degrees of waterworks coming from the above bottom gates.   We escaped harm, but am resolved to put the cratch cloths back up for tomorrow.   It would be easy for the well deck to be swamped because as the boat is maximum size for this canal there is no hiding place.   After Newlay you get the clutch of swing bridges.   Now we had a deal.  Pat does the locks and I do the swing bridges, so with crew, no problem I thought.   Wrong.  Got to Moss Bridge, nipped nimbly over, undid the handcuff key and tried to move it.   NO way.   It was solid.   Got some help, in the end four blokes.   Nothing.   A call to Yorkshire Water whose bridge it is promised help (when?) but in the meantime, as it is now a hot day with the bridge in full sun, why not try some water to cool it down.  This we did using my bucket.   Eventually this must have worked because there seemed to be some visible contraction, and using a mooring pin to lever up the gate off its bearing it did open.   It would appear that mud and debris is washed down into the gap between the bridge and the road, then the expansion in the heat does the rest.   Rodley swing bridge was another hard one but that was because the bridge is unbalanced and bearing down on the metal seat on the handling end.  If weight is put on the other end it frees the bridge up and it moves easily.    We had originally planned to stop at Rodley, but in spite of our adventures we were ahead of plan so carried on past Millman swing bridge to the bottom of Field Locks.     I was worried about dealing with Millman swing bridge.  It is on a busy road and the barriers have to be closed by hand.   Interestingly, as soon as you put your key in and open the control box lid the neenaws start and traffic obediently comes to a halt.   No worries.   Weather wise what a contrast.  Yesterday full cold weather gear, today shorts and topless (well only the captain).    As we were mooring up we learned that an inspector will be having a look at Moss Bridge.   Good job we didn't wait!

Aire & Calder Navigation:Leeds Dock

Shortly after leaving the flood lock and taking the right-hand fork to Leeds we passed the Boat Inn. There are yards of good mooring there, uncommon on a river navigation, and the pub looks worthy of investigation in future.

Rising in Woodlesford Lock

  All the locks today were unmanned.   Lemonroyd is the deepest and with Pat topside, roping up to the risers appeared difficult to manage and risky.  So the best strategy was to stay well back in the lock.  If it were an end fill then the boat would be well out of the way and if side fill then these are generally much gentler and can be managed on the engine.  This worked perfectly in all the locks except Leeds lock which is so short that the bows are best in the V of the top gates.  The fill was very gentle in the event.   There is a lot of construction going on around Leeds Lock to do with a flood alleviation scheme.  This made it easier to reverse into the dock and we were directed to a pontoon.

Clarence Dock, Leeds

 Time for a visit to the Armouries Museum.  An amazing collection of weapons and armour with a few significant battle dioramas.

Aire and Calder Navigation:Castleford

We stopped at Thorne yesterday with the intention of having a pub meal in the evening, but the nearby decent looking Canal Tavern only did lunchtime carvery on Sundays.  The same at another pub so we went to "Indian Spice" restaurant instead.  Clean and tidy with a tasty meal cooked to order, however they don't have an alcohol licence.  Bring your own.  Quite a windy night and I was having thoughts about how we might manage to get off the mooring as it meant turning the bows into wind.  I needn't have worried.  The bow thruster was up to the job.   Our first lock, Thorne Lock, was mechanised with a new control box installed last December according to the lockie who appeared when we were halfway through.  The Lock has an adjacent swing bridge (manual but the locking of the gates and the bridge securing handle all interlocked with the lock operation).   Bramwith lock is manual and we had the gift of a Volockie.  Thereafter is the long straight New Junction Canal with moveable bridge after moveable bridge and a lock.   We were now heading into the teeth of a bitterly cold wind again, worse than any mornings hitherto. The lock had a red light, so we were expecting a delay, but then it suddenly turned green and we had a straight in and down courtesy of the CRT lock-keeper.   Our plan suggested an overnight at the Went Aqueduct, but it was only 10:30, so we decided to go on the Castleford and get 2 days for the price of one.   Kellingly Colliery is closed now and a big cleanup is in operation which will take years I'm sure, but there is already a huge solar farm alongside the canal no doubt enjoying government subsidy, but we are too far north for great benefit.   Ferrybridge power station also looked closed and the river coal traffic long gone. Soon we reached our last lock and pleasant mooring.   An 8 hour day, but less pressure on us for the rest of the trip.

2017 Spring Cruise - Liverpool

Watch this space, the cruise will start soon.   The plan was to go to Liverpool, taking our time and then return via the Leeds and Liverpool Canal.  The last time we did the L&L was East to West, so a reverse trip seemed to make sense.   Then the Bridgewater Canal Co closed the canal until the end of May (provisionally and we have had no updates) scuppering that plan.   So being crazy we decided to reverse the trip and aim to go the long way round and return the short way if the canal is open by then.   This will be a bit of a challenge for us - to do that trip in essentially just under 4 weeks, Brinklow to Liverpool.   It is theoretically possible but lots can go wrong as we know full well.   So see how we get on.   The plan is to leave Saturday.  We are booked to arrive Liverpool Salthouse Dock on 24th May.  As always, the most recent post appears at the top.

Stainforth & Keadby Canal:Thorne

Our first obstacle this morning was the sliding railway bridge.  No movement, so we moored and I went up to the signal box for a brief chat with the signalman.  Yes, we could come through and he hadn't spotted us.  The line was not busy and if sitting down there is not a very good view of the canal.  I walked back to the boat and almost silently the bridge slid out of the way.  The railway lines cross at 45 degrees, so the bridge pulls back a square of track with the railway 45 diagonally across it.   Immediately after is a swing bridge, manually worked but needing a BW key to enable lifting the release.   After that a good hour of plain sailing before a sequence of swing bridges, the first worked by a lengths an and the signalman for the adjacent level crossing - he has to close the crossing for the road as well.   We had no problem with the bridges this time.  Previously we have had all sorts of trouble.   They are all different.   Just read the instructions carefully.   The final test was Thorne swing bridge, notorious for giving trouble but even that worked doing exactly what was written on the box.    Shortly after is a secure gated mooring with three pontoons at right angles to the canal together with a facilities building.  Pat has gone looking for supplies and scouting for somewhere to eat out tonight.

Stainforth and Keadby Canal:Keadby moorings

Saturday: High tide at Torksey was 7:20 this morning.  On past ocasions we have left about 20 minutes before high tide then running with the ebb down to Keadby.   This time we had been advised to leave at 9:00.  All my researches with tide tables suggested that we might find ourselves fighting the flood tide at the end of the journey which is much stronger.   Furthermore, there might not be enough water for us as we would be kept waiting for Keadby Lock.   So we left at 8:30 and saw no point in rushing.  The wind in our faces again and colder too.  At Gainsborough a precautionary call to Keadby Lock informed us that we were on target, that it would take us a further 2 1/2 hours and to call at the motorway bridge.  All routine.   The flood would not appear until gone 2 pm.  So we increased speed up to 6.5 mph, the calculated speed for the timing.   At the motorway bridge the lock-keeper told us to take it easy and that he could not let us in for another half hour.  We duly arrived and were waved in, needing a turn in the still ebbing tide.

Keadby. The lock entrance is hidden behind the white boat.

  However there was a problem with a sand bar at the entrance.   Turning into the lock the bow got stuck and the turn stopped.  It needed reverse to get the bows in clear water to complete the turn and then at high revs grind the bottom of the boat over the sand/mud.  In the shelter of the lock we realised how cold we were, but soon we were up, the road swing bridge opened for us and we were safely moored up for the night.   The explanation for the delayed departure was that our journey would be timed to arrive at slack water the better to make a safe turn into the lock in the strong wind, bearing in mind the sand bar and without the additional factor of a strong running ebb.   Just shows the importance of taking local advice.

Tidal Trent:Torksey

Friday.  Got to Cromwell Lock around 8:15.

In the depths of Cromwell Lock waiting for departure

 Had a chat with the lock-keeper and we were good to go about 9:00.  A pleasant enough run down to Torksey in sunny weather but still with the wind in our faces which with the ebb gave white horses, not that it bothered Nuggler.

Pontoon moorings from the road bridge over the lock

  On the pontoons tonight and we will be away around 9:00 tomorrow to continue our journey down river.

River Trent:Newark

Gunthorpe has good pontoon moorings and is very popular due in part to the Unicorn Hotel nearby.  We left at 7:00 as usual and had two locks to pass self worked.  The boat was running well and we reached Newark by 10:30.  The wind is still very strong and can make manoeuvring difficult at times like making last minute decisions to moor up and using reverse.  We gave up on one chance partly also because of the concrete lip on the piling.  Our gunwale is low and slips under the coping exposing the paintwork to scouring from the concrete.   We have two very fat inflatable fenders for this but it takes time to get them out and deploy them.   WE needed a pump out and were able to get this done efficiently at Kings Marina.   It was easy getting on to the pontoon.  The wind just blew us there.  Getting off was a whole different ball game as turning space was limited because of the wind.   We got a red light before the bridge at Newark Nether Lock, and again, mooring in the wind was a little tricky.  The top of the wall is level with the roof and bollards are shielded by a crash barrier.  After waiting a while with no response to a phone call, Pat went ahead and found the lock-keeper gardening.   We were in company with another boat which was going on to Cromwell Lock.  We have stopped at the overnight moorings below the lock right by the East Coast main railway line.  It's actually a very well tended quiet mooring if you like trains.

Gunthorpe

Took us a bit of time at 7:00 this morning to work out Sawley Lock.  No lock-keeper at this time of course.   Anyway, going downstream the left hand of the pair is the one you want and accepts a BW key.   The mechanism is so quiet and there is no visual confirmation that it is working other than the paddles moving which they do very slowly to start with.  Out on the open river the wind was very strong to the point of being unpleasant.   Beeston lock was on levels, but with the gates closed.  Pat needed shopping so we stopped at Sainsbury's Nottingham - not at all obvious if you don't know its there.  THis is the mooring and the red brick building you can just see behind the bushes is it.   The wind and a strong flow over the lock weir proved mildly troublesome at the Town Lock.  Below that lock seemed to be where the drunks hang out as there was a lot of loud shouting, with can holding individuals, and the tone of the neighbourhood dropped somewhat.   Once on the river again the wind became an issue once more, although the lock approaches are well sheltered and we had no problems.  The lock-keepers like us to use the wall risers as they are quite deep.  Our licence was checked at Stoke Lock.  We had pencilled in Holme Lock moorings for our destination today, but took the opportunity of an early arrival to continue to the very pleasant secure pontoon moorings at Gunthorpe.  Finally, someone had a bad day.  This looked like quite a respectable boat before!!

River Trent:Sawley

Set off early as usual.  Nicholson guide states that the air draft between Derwent Mouth and Burton on Trent is 7 foot.  So stupidly I left the tall chimney up with the cowl on top.  Well the cowl got plucked off by a tree and dropped into the water just like my push bike did all thos years ago on our first ever boating trip.  Dangly branches may look like feathers but in there lurks more robust branches.  When these get snagged. They don't give way politely but lift whatever they are snagged on.  WE liked our bird cowl.   I will just have to get another.   Then it soon became apparent that whatever Nicholson Guide says I very much doubt that 7 foot is right because Pat had to swap the tall chimney shortly after and the bridges required ducking of the head.   Eventually we reached Stenson Lock with its lock-keeper, needed because the hire boaters get in a muddle because it is so deep.  It's only 2 feet deeper than Swarkestone or Weston Lock and the gate paddles are just as vicious.   More to the point, Pat couldn't move the bottom gates at Weston Lock on her own.  We found the lock empty and both gates open.  That was probably the reason although the offside gate proved to be a self opener.    Below Stenson Lock, about 500 yards further on there was a short stretch of fallen and leaning short trees obstructing half the waterway.   Finally we reached Sawley looking for a precautionary pump out and diesel.  From Fradley onwards the A 38 accompanies the canal.  The traffic noise is continuous and horrendous, drowning out the boat engine much of the time and making conversation difficult.   Give me a railway line any day!  The marina is closed Tuesdays, however diesel can be obtained self service with a credit card.   Very neat, but only 60/40.   Sunshine today but clouding over, a chilly wind and a bit of rain forecast.

Trent and Mersey Canal:Burton upon Trent

Today we have stopped at Burton upon Trent .  We were here years ago to participate in an Inland Waterways Association annual jamboree.  Only we had to be moored a mile and a quarter from where we are now because of so many boats.  It was a long walk once or twice a day to get to the fields opposite where the main events were taking place and I think there were a few complaints such that these kind of gatherings have fallen out of favour.   Masses of change in the locality with lots of new building such that it was hard to remember the landmarks from before until we found Shobnall Marina.  Then it all fell into place.  The Bridge pub (Marstons) near Branson Lock,where we had enjoyed our first pint of Pedigree, was still there under new management, but looking a little forlorn under the grey clouds.

The morning had started with steady rain, however, as forecast it petered out shortly after leaving Fradley.  Perhaps because of the early rain there weren't too many boats moving and those that were all worked to our advantage.  By the time we arrived just after lunch the sun made an appearance.  We have increased gain on the plan slightly and we should arrive at Cromwell Lock in time for an early morning tide (if my calculations are correct!) in a few days time.