National Tramway Museum

Buses 1,2,3,4,5.

Still moored at Great Northern basin.

Yes, we have been gallivanting all around the county today starting off at 9am just outside the basin. The first leg of our journey was to Ripley market place where we had to change buses to the Crich Tramway Village, latterly called the National Tramway Museum. Now this place is something extra special with trams from all over the country including Scotland, as well as from Hungary or what was, Belgium, South Africa, and the USA.

There is a 12 lane tram shed bulging at the seams with beautifully restored trams, single deck, double deck, open top or completely open. These have come from Glasgow, Leeds, Liverpool, Sheffield, Southampton, London and of course the most famous city still running trams, Blackpool. Now I know there are cities like London, Manchester and Nottingham with the new Light Rail systems but these are not quite the same.

The tramway started life as a tramway carrying coal and limestone for George Stephenson, the railway pioneer. It ran to Ambergate where it connected with Stephenson's North Midland railway. As the railways grew the tramway was abandoned until 1959 when word got out that the tramway was available even though a lot of track had been removed to restore the Talyllyn Narrow Gauge railway in Wales. What started out as the Tramway Museum Society had already started acquiring trams for restoration and needed somewhere to store, repair and run them. Problem solved, since then it has grown to this magnificent living museum. The old mining buildings having been lovingly restored and put to use and many buildings that were due for demolition had there facades dismantled brick by brick and moved to Crich and rebuilt. It's like going back through a time warp.

All the drivers, conductors, inspectors and maintenance crew are all volunteers and dress in period uniforms and just to add reality they issue true to period tickets and use period ticket punches. I have to stop here as I won't be able to write about the rest of the day but I will say this is a MUST place to visit if you are in the Nottingham, Derby area.

After spending 4 hours at the Tramway Museum we caught another bus to Heage near Belper to visit one of the few working windmills in Britain. This again is a magnificent building which has been lovingly restored by volunteers. It is only open at the week-ends but they do take guided tours through with all the history, how it operates and the end products which you can buy straight of the millers wheel. There used to be about 80 windmills in this part of the country but this is the only one left.

Buses 4 and 5 were just to get us back to the boat where we were in need of some liquid refreshment. It has been a fantastic day out.

Junction of 3 Canals

6 Locks 4 Miles. Now moored in the Great Northern Basin.

Last night was surprisingly quiet considering the railway was not very far away. This morning there was a fine misty drizzle in the air as we set but this disappeared as the morning wore on. It wasn't a particularly fast trip due to moored boats and the locks which are fitted with anti vandal locking devices. These locking devices do tend to slow you down but they are a necessary evil.

Upon arrival at the basin, which is the junction of the Cromford, Nottingham and Erewash canals we went over to the dry dock to see where we could moor and also to get our plaque which is only available once you have completed the Erewash canal. We then walked to the end of the basin where the Cromford canal societies Friday work party were busy on the new mooring basin. They hope to have this up and running by the end of the year.

We spoke to a couple of the volunteers who said they were expecting visitors today. The towpath telegraph had been working overtime again because they said 2 more boats were coming up the canal behind us and sure enough, when we got back to the boat there were 2 more boats in the basin. They also told us about some open cast mining that has been talked about for a long time which, if it ever takes place will become part of the restored canal and a marina.

There is so much to see and do around here we will have to try and workout what is going to be feasible over the week-end. Watch this space.

1321 locks, 1900 miles, 43 Tunnels, 42 swing bridges and 19 lift bridges since Nov 2006

The Canal to Ourselves today!

8 Locks 7 miles, now moored below Potters Lock, Erewash Canal.

Things were not looking favourable this morning as it was still raining quite heavily as it had been all night. At about 9am there was a break in the weather so we opted to make a move. The canal is not the widest of canals but it is in pretty good condition with most of the lock gates being replaced over the last decade.

We had passed several mooring sites but chose not to use them due to noise from the railway or the M1 motorway. This meant travelling further than usual until we found somewhere suitable. We did have the occasional shower of rain along the way but it wasn't bad enough to force us to moor up in a hurry.

Eventually we moored up below Potters lock at Ilkeston which turned out to not be the best of places as it is opposite a local playground. There were some boys building a swing in a willow tree just a little way further up the canal and some of them took to throwing stones which came pretty close to the boat. I went out and gave them an earful and Dot produced the camera which had the desired effect as they all turned their backs or pulled up their hoodies to conceal their identity. Five of these youths thought better of it and left and the others were of no further concern. A short while later I got talking to an elderly lady out walking her dogs who I had seen talking to the remaining youths. She told me that the one's she spoke to were OK and she knew them all but the other 5 were from a neighbouring village or estate and were known trouble makers.

After this we had a good chat about the canal and she told me that it badly needs dredging but BW can't do it as the sediment on the bottom is toxic and needs specialist disposal which is very expensive. It all comes back to money doesn't it! Mind you for the amount of boats using this canal it could be put well down the job list. We have not seen any other boats on the move except the 3 that came through the Trent lock behind us. They might just use the Long Eaton area for safe overnight mooring before venturing down the Trent or Soar. It is a shame really as this is a very well maintained stretch of canal and more use should be made of it.

This afternoon we went off on a discovery walk and found the dis-used Langley Mill to Nottingham canal which is about ½ mile further up the hillside above our present position. It has been tidied up by the local council and the towpath is wide and well trimmed and used by many cyclists together with the Erewash canal towpath they are popular short cuts in the area avoiding congested roads. This evening I did see about 15 cyclists go past on their way home from work in convoy.

As well as the Nottingham canal there is also the Nutbrook and Cromford canals in the region but only the latter has any hope of restoration. The other 2 were closed due to mining subsidence and much has disappeared without trace.

Interesting white cygnet seen with other siblings today. Any ideas?

1315 locks, 1896 miles, 43 Tunnels, 42 swing bridges and 19 lift bridges since Nov 2006

Erewash versus River Trent

Vast difference on the Erewash Canal today compared with photo on the River Trent yesterday

"So long, It's been good to know ya."

4 Locks, 8 ½ Miles. Now moored above Trent Lock, Erewash Canal.

Yesterday was spent doing a little shopping and then saw Tracey off on the train to return to London. Poor girl still has to work.

This morning we pulled into Nottingham Marina for water and a pump out. The marina office didn't open until 9.30 but we found that the pump out machinery was operational so we pressed on with the jobs in hand. We were ready to go and the office was still not open so we had to cool our heels for a wee while.

We eventually got underway in cool, breezy, overcast conditions. We certainly noticed the difference punching into the flow of the river Trent especially where it narrowed. The trip up to the junction was straight forward but there were quite a lot of fishermen about but as the river is very wide there was no problems. At the junction we turned right onto the Erewash canal and up through the Trent lock. We were lucky to find just one slot available on the 48 hour moorings. House boats seem to be a feature on this canal as there are 4 in the first ¼ mile.

Once settled we went for a walk to check out the lock keepers cottage which is now a cafe,museum and souvenir shop all rolled into one. The canal memorabilia was really exceptional and took many years to collect. Unfortunately, due to theft many valuable articles have had to be put out of reach and only damaged or valueless items are left out on display. Sign of the times I suppose. While there we were tempted into having a Knickerbocker Glory each which was very nice but sadly it didn't quite live up to expectation. I remember them as being layers of various flavours of ice cream. fruit and jelly in a very long glass with the spoon barely able to reach the bottom.

In the field alongside where we are moored there is a mining contractor who has sunk a large hole, approx 10 feet across, which has been concrete lining. By the length of the diggers boom and grab it would appear that the hole is about 50 -60 feet deep and they are having to pump it out constantly. Hopefully the water is not leaking out of the canal. It transpires that there is a similar hole somewhere over the other side of the canal and these guys are going to dig a tunnel under the canal and connect the 2 holes up as part of a new water main. Quite a major project.

1307 locks, 1889 miles, 43 Tunnels, 42 swing bridges and 19 lift bridges since Nov 2006

River Trent and Junction