Sunday
24th July.
Quite
an early start for me this morning and the first boat through Mountsorrel Lock
on a much cooler day for a change. All was going well until I came to Barrow
upon Soar, where I spotted a waterpoint and services to dump the rubbish. As I
moored up another boat slowly cruised past going in the same direction, so I
called out and asked if they were going through the next lock, which they were.
I had no need to rush, because this was Barrow Deep Lock and a wide beam was on
the way up, supervised by a CRT volunteer. The paddles were only half opened
for us going down, which I queried and it appeared that there were many boats
moored below the lock and there was no wish to disturb them with a large rush
of water from such a deep lock.
Dutch gables in this part of the country?
We
continued together through Pillings Lock and past the Pillings Marina, where
there had been so much trouble over unpaid dues to CRT last year and there were
threats to dam the entrance by CRT.
Strange trip boat.
In
Loughborough the other crew turned off to empty cassettes and I waited below
the turning and had something to eat. Cruising with them was too good an
opportunity to pass by as we each made locking easier for both boats. I passed
by The Boat Inn, which had fond memories when I was on a summer course at
Loughborough University many years ago. It did not look so attractive now as it
did then.
Normanton on Soar church.
At
Bishop Meadow Lock we met five boats waiting to go up through, which was
surprising on this river, but then it was Sunday and nb Frayed Knot, who I was
travelling with, was only out for the weekend. We eventually parted company just
below Zouch Lock, where they had their home mooring and I continued to The
Otter, a very large Vintage Inns establishment on a wide bend in the river. The
jetty was a rather ad hoc affair and it took some juggling to get the boat into
position to be able to disembark at all.
I
decided to treat myself to a meal out for a change, but was suspicious of
Vintage Inns, although it had been several years since I had last eaten in one
of their pubs. Although the sea bass was off the menu, I had cod and thrice
cooked chips with mushy peas and samphire tartare sauce and I have to say that
it was very good indeed. There was a good choice of beers on tap and I even
went so far as to have a crème brulee to finish.
Monday
25th July.
I
let go at 10.00 and got to Kegworth Deep Lock in short order, hoping to see the
tame fox that normally resided there, but there was no sign of him. Another
boat was on the way up, so no effort to fill the lock. I decided that rather
than attempt the long slippery ladder, I would bow haul the boat out, The advice
was to use the wire risers fitted to the lock walls as three boats had hung up
on the cill in the last year, so said the notice. However, if I did that I
would need to be on board to untie them – not on. All went well and after
closing the gate, I was on my way to Kegworth Shallow Lock, where I caught up
with another solo boater. Finally, I was out on the wide River Trent, with a
chilly wind blowing across the water and making my way up to Sawley Locks,
which were keeper operated. Above that lock there were hundreds of moored boats
on the bank and in the marinas. I can’t remember ever seeing so many boats at
one time before.
Sawley Locks.
Sawley Marina and so many boats.
The
final lock was Derwent Mouth, where another boat had caught me up, so we did it
together and on into Shardlow. I decided to sail through to the winding hole
and water point to suss out the possible moorings and that was nearly my
downfall, because I spotted The Shardlow Heritage Centre with a vacant visitor
mooring and where I spent the next hour, at least. It was nearly my downfall because
when I got back to the visitor moorings, there was only one place left to moor,
but it was right outside The New Inn and The Malt Shovel.
The
Heritage Centre was very interesting, with a fantastic collection of canal and
village memorabilia collected by one lady over many years and displayed in
sections and old shop display cases. To read all the paperwork alone would have
taken an age and the collection of canal reference books topped my own by a
long way. She was very willing to talk about anything to do with the Trent and
Mersey and village life in general and she was well aware of The Narrow Boat
Trust pair of boats. She introduced me to Tom Foxon’s latest book on the T&M
and having just finished reading his last of the trilogy, I just had to buy it.
The Heritage Centre, Shardlow.
The Clock Wharehouse was next door so I had to pay that a visit too and
although they had restored it to a modern pub, I was not impressed with the
rather shabby interior or the service, which reminded me of a Harvester house –
pity. There was also a pseudo barge appearing under the main archway – need I
say more?
Clock Wharehouse.
After
mooring up, I decided to change the engine oil and filter, which was a little
overdue, but as the engine was still warm, it was the ideal time. The fuel
filters need changing too and as I will be travelling down the Trent, some of
it being tidal, the last thing I need is a fuel blockage, but that can wait
until tomorrow
Tuesday
26th July.
It
was time to bite the bullet once again and change the fuel filters – not a job
that I relish with any enthusiasm. I suppose I could always get it done at a
boatyard, but I hate anyone else poking about in my engine hole. First of all,
they don’t know where to put their feet and often step on a fuel pipe or the
gear change mechanism or some other vital piece of kit and very often I don’t
find out until they have been paid and disappeared, so I prefer to do it myself
and find out by my mistakes, like missing out a rubber sealing ring, as I did
this morning. Anyway the job is now done and there are no diesel leaks so far.
I have also found that instead of bleeding the fuel through each individual
connection, I can release two injector unions and bleed the whole system by
running the starter motor. OK, so it takes a while, but it gets the job done
sooner and without the need to hand pump the fuel pump up and down.
I
had a pint to celebrate my success in The Malt Shovel, as having already been
to The New Inn, it would be rude not to visit the other one. There are four
pubs in this little village; how they all survive is a bit of a mystery,
although in times of plenty, when this was an inland port, there were eight
pubs in all.
I
set off on a short trip to Sawley, so that I had a chance to rectify any
problems before tackling the Trent. Upon mooring up I saw another boat on the
pump out pontoon opposite and noted that the name was Tramper No.2. My friend
Colin Wilks, Chairman of the Narrow Boat Trust, Captain with Iron Cross and
Bar, also owns a boat called Tramper, which I thought was unusual, so I took a
pic of Tramper No.2 and sent it to him. Low and behold, it turns out that the
boat is known to him, as the owners of No.2 sold him the original Tramper eight
years ago. They moored on the same side as me later and we had quite a
conversation. I also found out that they keep their boat in the garden during
the winter months, having it transported on a lorry and craned on and off at
each end. Quite likely, it is more economical to do this than pay for marina
moorings throughout the year. There would be other advantages too, such as prolonged
periods between hull blackings, no insurance necessary for time out of the
water and the boat is always on hand for jobs to be done, so less travelling to
and from home.
John and Myra on Tramper No.2
Wednesday
27th July.
The
weather has certainly turned now, with lots of cloud and wind. I am in need of
food supplies again and the nearest place is going to be Beeston on the
outskirts of Nottingham, so that is my goal for today.
Approaching
Sawley Locks, I hung around waiting for the lockie to open the gates just as
they had been on my arrival from the Soar, but this time there was no one on
duty, so it was DIY time. Fortunately, they were BW key operated, so no
windlass required.
Coming
through Beeston Lock, which was volunteer operated, I asked a local boater
about shopping and found out that there was a large Sainsbury’s beside the cut
in Nottingham and ended up stocking up there. The Trent is not navigable at
Nottingham, so there is a canal that goes through the city, eventually ending
at Meadow Lane Lock back onto the Trent.
The cut through Nottingham.
Here I turned up into the weir stream,
where there were good moorings to be found alongside the steps of County Hall.
Nottingham County Hall moorings.
Plenty of activity on the river here.
Thurday
28th July.
Rain
to begin the day, which was intermittent throughout the morning. Finding
several launderettes on Google Maps, I stripped the bed and made off to the
nearest one and in all, this took about two and a half hours to complete, which
was my total sum of achievements for the day. Well, I did pay Wetherspoon’s a
visit at 6pm for a pint of porter. This is the Trent Bridge Inn, situated in
the Trent Bridge cricket complex. I imagine the pub has quite a history
associated with cricket. There are photos of various teams, including W.G.
Grace of course as well as various cricket bats on display signed by
international teams. It has a very interesting interior for a Wetherspoon’s
pub, divided up into different rooms and cubicles for groups of four, instead
of the usual cinema or music hall type of atmosphere.
The real Trent Bridge.
Friday
29th July.
I
let go about 10.00 heading downstream at last and reached Holme Lock in an
hour. As I was slowly negotiating the lock cut, I asked a moored boater where
the water point was. He pointed it out and warned me of the strong stream
leaving the lock cut just where the water point was situated. I could see the
boat moving across towards this weir and put on a few revs to keep up steerage
until I was past the danger point and the water point. No way was I taking the
boat back to get water there. The lock keeper walked up to have a word about
faulty top gate sluices, so it was going to be a twenty minute wait for the
lock to fill. He also told me that three ladies on a plastic boat were pulled onto
the weir yesterday and that there were no warning signs in place.
It
seems that all the locks have riser wires to attach mooring lines to when
locking through, as the locks vary in depth according to the river levels. The
lockies were quite happy for me to use the centre line through the riser going
down in the locks and standing on the cabin top was the easiest way to do this.
I also found out that VHF channel 74 can be used to call the lock keepers;
there is no mention of this in Nicholson’s Guide to the Trent until the
navigation reaches Gainsborough, which seems a little late to me.
I
reached Gunthorpe Bridge and the mooring
pontoon just beyond about 14.00 and decided to stop for some lunch, but on
questioning another boater there about moorings in Newark, he suggested that I stop
here rather than try and moor in Newark town – a wise decision. Shortly after
that, two cruisers from Doncaster turned up and the moorings were full up.
One space left on Gunthorpe pontoon.
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