Another Canal bites the dust.

8 Locks 14 Miles. Now moored near Brewood on the Shropshire Union Canal.

As we were awake early this morning we decided to set off before all the hire boats started traipsing through, although the Staff's and Worc's canal has been quieter than the Trent and Mersey. At the second lock we stopped for water as Dot was planning on doing some washing so we wanted the tank as full as possible.

Other than the occasional showers the weather wasn't too bad for cruising. Farmers along the way are starting to harvest their crops but this indifferent weather cannot be helping their cause. Near Coven we caught up with Derek and Christina on Kalimera so we pulled in for a chat. They were awaiting a phone call from their boatyard to tell them when they could take the boat in for hull blacking which would affect what they do for the next 3 or 4 weeks.

The Narrows

There were a couple of interesting stretches of canal the first being the "Pendeford Rockin" as the old boatmen used to call it. This is a very narrow,single lane stretch about half a mile long that was carved out of solid sandstone rock. It's probably not much more than about 8 feet wide but there are a couple of passing bays for impatient boaters. The second was between bridges 4 and 6 on the Shroppie where the canal goes through several narrow sections.

Of course the easiest lock of the day was the first lock on the Shroppie which is classed as a stop lock and only has a drop of less than 6 inches.

Looking back to Autherley Junction from the first lock

We noted that a lot of the towpath side of the Shroppie canal is shallow and obstructed with concrete blocks making mooring impossible but we are now moored prior to the start of some 48hr moorings approaching bridge 8. Weather permitting we will stay here for a couple of days to allow me to finally get the starboard gunnels stripped and repainted. I have already been out with the weed trimmer to clear all the grass away and stripped and undercoated the first 1/2 of the gunnels.

Welcome to the Shropshire Union Canal - new territory for us

First milepost on the Shropshire Union Canal

1373 locks, 1976 miles, 44 Tunnels, 42 swing bridges and 19 lift bridges since Nov 2006

Wrong side of the fence chum!

Strange place to find a lock!

Tixal Wide, great place to view the fireworks at the weekend

Guess who we found?

6 Locks, 10 Miles. Now moored at Penkridge on the Staffordshire & Worcestshire Canal.

Junction of Trent & Mersey and Staffordshire & Worcestershire Canals

Beautiful bridge 109 with original paving

Even though it was raining this morning there was still a constant queue for the lock so by the time we were ready we just had to pull forward and join the queue. Coming up behind us were the cheese and fudge boats who slotted in to where we had been as they are staying for the concert and fireworks week-end. They should sell plenty I would think.

The rain showers kept up until about 11am when the weather started to improve. Since turning onto the Staffordshire & Worcestshire Canal there has been a noticeable reduction of boats on the move. At lock 40 we stopped for a short while to visit Midland Chandlery. By the time we reached Penkridge we were starting to think about where to moor for the night when we spotted a familiar boat in the shape of "Kalimera" with a slot just big enough for us immediately in front. With no further ado we slotted in perfectly while the going was good.

About half an hour later there came a lot of knocking and banging along the hull so we knew that Derek and Christina had returned. They had been into town for some provisions and are planning on moving up to the next lock and water point for the night. We will stay here and move on tomorrow.

1365 locks, 1962 miles, 44 Tunnels, 42 swing bridges and 19 lift bridges since Nov 2006

Shugborough Hall.

1 Lock, 6 Miles. Now moored at Great Haywood.

Essex bridge over the River Trent

Overnight we did get some rain and we could hear the thunder further south but this morning was again fine with a little high cloud. On tonight's evening news we have just heard of a house fire started by lightening and 4 cars in a car yard also destroyed by lightening. The power of nature!!

First job of the day was a quick trip over to Morrison's supermarket for a few essentials. There was also high volumes of traffic on the canal which caused considerable delays at today's only lock which had no ground paddle ,only a single gate paddle in operation.

Approaching Shugborough Hall we looked for a suitable mooring but found nothing and when we reached Haywood lock we pulled in second in the queue. We had moved up to first in the queue when we spotted a Canaltime boat preparing to leave his mooring about 100 yards back down the canal so we did him a swap, a mooring for the lock. We reversed back as he pulled away and then slotted into the mooring, very convenient.

As we hadn't travelled far today we had an early lunch then walked across the Essex bridge which crosses the River Trent to Shugborough Hall. The grounds to the Hall were a hive of activity as they prepare for this weekends Music and Fireworks festival. We would like to stay for the event but we are on a mission and cannot spare the time. The fireworks will be visible for some miles around so we might see them at a distance.

Just as we arrived at the gate to the Hall the heaven's opened up and it was a quick dash under the nearest tree to stay dry. We had come prepared with an umbrella and pack away parka but we still got a little damp. Walking through the grounds to the hall there was another short shower so by the time we reached the Hall there were quite a few puddles around.

After walking through the main house we visited the servants quarters where cook's, laundry maid and brewer (guides) are dressed in period costume and demonstrate their craft and tools or equipment. You can even taste the brewers ale which is very much like flat beer. Apparently part of the servants recompense was an allowance of 8 pints (4.8%) of ale a day, men and women. This was due to the fact that water in those days was undrinkable.

The laundry maid showed us how they rolled rather than ironed the bed sheets by rolling them onto a roller whilst still damp, placing this under a huge wooden flat frame full of rocks and then rolling the frame backwards and forwards to roll out any creases. After this they were hung out on a ceiling frame in front of the huge boiler that heated the laundry and the thirty or so irons that were placed around the specially shaped cast iron body to heat up. As the iron cooled it was replaced on the boiler and the maid grabbed another iron and carried on. No wasted time here waiting for irons to reheat.

We also found out how Staffordshire bull terriers supposedly got their name. Four centuries ago in the belief that it tenderised the meat, a steer or bull was tethered to an immovable object awaiting slaughter, it was then set upon by what was then bull terriers. Many of these dogs were killed but the name Staffordshire or Staffie as they are commonly known stuck from this bizarre custom of the county.

Out in the livery stable there is a large display of 18th century horse drawn passenger vehicles some of which are still in their original condition. Part of the staff quarters has been dedicated to a museum of anything connected to Staffordshire like Armitage and Shanks porcelain bath's, basin's and toilet pans. These two companies are now merged as one and still produce these products to this day. This ad hoc visit turned out to be well worthwhile and as it turned out was very timely because as we left the hall we found surface flooding all over the place indicating that there had been some heavy rain while inside the hall.

As we walked back to the boat we noticed that the River Trent which had been quite clear when we crossed it the first time was now running quite fast and very dirty so there must have been some really heavy rain somewhere. Glad we are on a canal.

1359 locks, 1952 miles, 44 Tunnels, 42 swing bridges and 19 lift bridges since Nov 2006

Through Leafy Glades.

8 Locks, 9 Miles, 1 Tunnel, Now moored at Rugeley.

Beautiful carved seat at Alrewas

After watering up at Alrewas we set off on what was going to be another hot day. The canal was very busy so every lock was going to be 1 up, 1 down and after we passed through Fradley Junction with the Coventry Canal it got worse with up to 4 boats queuing to go up but only the odd boat coming down so travel was pretty slow. In fact this stretch of the canal is narrow and with moored boats at various locations it does tend to restrict your speed.

Fradley Junction

Away from civilisation we passed through some wood's or forest's which gave us some lovely cool shading away from the relentless sun. The last three days have been so hot that it is unbelievable, the sudden change in weather. At Armitage we found the former Armitage tunnel which to all intense and purposes still is a tunnel except the roof is now a bridge for the A513. Originally a very narrow unlined bore through solid rock the top of the tunnel had to be removed due to mining subsidence. It certainly is narrow as we only had a few inches clearance on both sides.

Armitage Tunnel!

Since mooring up for the night we have had a short shower of rain and thunder and lightening has been rumbling around the district for a couple of hours but we haven't had the rain that we expected.

Harvesting! Its that time of year again!

1358 locks, 1946 miles, 44 Tunnels, 42 swing bridges and 19 lift bridges since Nov 2006

Childrens Hospital Memorial Garden

Of Significance to New Zealand

National Memorial Arboretum 2

National Memorial Arboretum

Still moored at Alrewas.

With another scorching hot day heading our way we headed off to the National Memorial Arboretum which when you know where to go is only a 20 minute walk from the canal. Unfortunately we got the direction slightly wrong and it took us nearly an hour to get there but coming back we got it right.

It turned out that the day we chose to visit was the 55th anniversary of the cessation of the Korean war and returned servicemen and women from all over the country were present. We actually felt quite sorry for these guys who would have all been in their 70's and 80's all dressed up in beret's, blazers and grey flannel trousers under the searing heat of the sun especially when the main service, which was conducted out in the open air Amphitheatre, took nearly an hour.

The whole event had been arranged by the British Korean Veterans Association and the Korean Ambassador and Defence Attache were present as guest speakers. Music for the event was provided by the combined band of the Lancashire Artillery and Duke of Lancaster Regiment.

We watched some of the proceedings and spent the rest of the time wandering around the many sections of this memorial not just to military forces but also the Royal National Lifeboat Institute, the Ambulance service, the Irish conflict and Home Guard personnel killed in Britain during bombing raids.

The NMA is set out as a huge park and there are plenty of places to sit and remember old friends and comrades. There are thousands of tree's planted around the site and they all commemorate a fallen soldier or airman or seaman, a regiment, or squadron. If you are looking for a particular unit or person you can ask at reception and they will tell you where to look instead of having to hunt all around the park. There was also many plaques saved from buildings now demolished where the likes of insurance companies had a roll of honour of members of staff killed in various incidents around the world. Sitting high up on a mound overlooking the whole site is a new Armed Forces Memorial with all the names of service people killed in conflicts since the end of WWII.

As we were leaving we got talking to one of the volunteers that help run the NMA and she told us that they get around 1000 visitors a day and they are hoping that the demolished Alrewas railway station which was nearby will be rebuilt which will allow more people to visit.

Wot a scorcher

Still moored at Alrewas.

The day was looking decidedly brilliant this morning so we wandered off into the village. We didn't get very far along the towpath when Dot stopped by a boat with the name Sarah-Kate, Welford. She wasn't too sure wether or not it was a boat we had come across at Market Harborough as she thought that, that boat was green. Anyway she called out to the occupants and it turned out that it was Mike and Jo who we had met before and they had just recently had the boat repainted, and very smart it look's too.

Mike and Jo with their new paintwork, you can even see our reflections in it

Well, the obligatory cup of tea or coffee was had while catching up on the last year since we last saw them. Mike told us that the boat had been stretched twice, 11ft the first time and 5 ft the second but you couldn't tell from inside or out. After delaying their departure for the best part of an hour we finally reached the village and did a circular route back to the boat. We got there just in time to see Mike and Jo go down the lock heading to Long Eaton where they are having some cabinet work done. The funny thing is they are taking the boat to where we stopped alongside a moored boat and had a long chat to the owner Derek last Tuesday.

Memorial seat alongside the canal

I had planned on repainting the starboard gunnels but the boat in front of us was the same boat that complained about us leaving the engine running yesterday so I thought that I would service the engine instead. Hopefully they would leave in the meantime. By this time the temperature was getting decidedly hot and it was like a sauna down in the engine bay. After finishing that little chore we walked into the village by another route and found the butcher who is also the baker and green grocer and bought a few things. On the way back we called into the Crown Inn for a much needed cool ale or two.

Thatched cottage and petunias in Alrewas

Even though the boat ahead of us had gone, it was getting too hot and uncomfortable to even contemplate starting work on the gunnels so we both just blobbed out in the boat. It wasn't until about 8pm before the temperature started to drop and become bearable again. I had tried my luck with the fishing again without success but the guy two boats along had caught two Chub around 3lb - 4lb and a small Perch but he was fishing close to a bank of reeds.

Believe it or not!

Crazy weather, crazy boaters.

6 locks, 11 Miles. Now moored at Alrewas.

We headed off early this morning planning to go as far as possible before threatened rain and thunder storms arrived. As the morning wore on it was getting warmer and more humid, sure sign of an impending thunder storm.

Arriving at Dallow Lock, we were pleased to see the first narrow lock we have seen for weeks since passing through Foxton Lock Flight on the Grand Union Leicester Line. Easier to manage alone and much quainter than the double locks on the Grand Union and rivers. This mural was painted under Dallow Lane Bridge. There were murals on both sides of the road bridge alongside the lock but the others didnt photograph too well.

Our first stop was at Branston, the original home of the famous pickle and sauce. Morrison's supermarket is only 5 minutes walk from the canal near the A38 bridge so we took the opportunity to stock up as we are not too sure of what shops are available further up the line. We probably came back to the boat with more than we planned but you can't look a gift horse in the mouth especially with regular use item's. We had lunch before we set off again and at this stage it was getting very hot with high cloud.

A short way up the canal and it became very narrow with boats moored all along one side. We were pottering along quietly when we saw an old 60 footer approaching too fast for the conditions,there was no where for us to go but she had the option of pulling into a gap between 2 boats on the towpath side. Instead of this she just kept coming, so I put the boat into reverse to stop. The next thing that happened was that she hit a moored boat that was luckily unoccupied, bounced off that and was heading straight for us, thankfully we hit side on and the fenders took the brunt. Needless to say there was a terse exchange of words to which all she could say was "sorry". I just hope that there was no damage inside the moored boat. What's the matter with these people? I would hate to see her behind the wheel of a car!

After this we had an uneventful cruise up to where we are now moored. The village sound's as if it is very much like Braunston so we will go and have a look around tomorrow.

Maybe this could be British Waterways new means of keeping the towpath clear

1350 locks, 1937 miles, 43 Tunnels, 42 swing bridges and 19 lift bridges since Nov 2006

Inconsiderate and selfish boaters

5 Locks, 12 Miles. Now moored nr bridge 25 Trent and Mersey Canal.

We got away before the rush this morning and did the first 2 locks solo but by the time we reached Weston lock we had caught up with another boat with the name Kai Tak making locking a lot easier as these locks are very deep with huge bottom gates.

Swarkestone Pavilion

At Stenson lock we had to wait for 1 boat coming down so the crew of both boats went up to wait at the lock while we tied up on the lock moorings. I know this is a very deep lock (12'.4") but it seemed to take a very long time before the boat emerged. After we had locked through Dot told me that the couple on the boat that had caused the delay were a pair of lazy B's as lady muck had sat on her fat a*^e on the boat and did nothing and when Dot and the lady off Kai Tak appeared the male just jumped back on his boat and let them do the work. When the lock was empty Dot and the other lady just sat back to see what he would do. The next thing they knew was him yelling up to them " Are you going to open the gates or leave us in here all day". If I had known this I would have just left him the cheeky bugger. They were not hire boaters either so they should know better.

Crane at Swarkestone 48 hour moorngs

We carried on up to Willington and pulled in at the end of the 48 hour moorings. We were tying up and were discussing wether to stay there, water up and or move on. The next thing we knew was the lady on the boat behind us telling us in no uncertain terms to turn our engine off. We had only been there a couple of minutes at this stage. That made our minds up, we obviously were not going to get on with the neighbours so with a lot of to-ing and fro-ing we moved across to the water point on the opposite bank, took on water with the engine still running and then left madam to sunbathe in the company of a Canaltime hire boat that slotted into where we had just vacated. One of the advantages of living on a boat if you don't get on with the neighbours, move on, so we did.

New Marina from the quarry on the outskirts of Willington?

Dis used Willington Power Station. Was this Nuclear?

1344 locks, 1926 miles, 43 Tunnels, 42 swing bridges and 19 lift bridges since Nov 2006

The original inland port of Shardlow. Warehouse is now residential.

Boats galore.

5 Locks, 3 Miles. Now moored at Shardlow. Trent and Mersey Canal.

It was time to say farewell to the Erewash Canal this morning. After watering up it was down through the Trent lock out onto the River Trent for the short run up to the start of the Trent and Mersey Canal. One last chance to give the motor a good blast through before we start pottering along the canals again.

We called into Sawley Marina for diesel and took on 109 litre's at 89p per litre. With the central heating unit not being used at present the diesel is lasting quite a bit longer.

Once we had found a mooring opposite Dobsons boatyard we wandered into the village to investigate this historic area. We started off with the Heritage Centre which is in an old salt warehouse. This gave us a good overall picture of what has taken place here over the centuries. Shardlow started out as an inland port around 1777 and with the building of the Trent and Mersey canal Shardlow rapidly grew. As the railways started eroding the profitability of the canals old warehouses were turned to other uses such as mills, grain stores or workshops. When the cargo's finally ceased in the 1950's the whole area fell into decline until 1974 when it was designated a conservation area and restoration took place putting the village on the tourism map. Sadly the designation came too late for Zachary Smith's Trent brewery which was demolished 4 years earlier.

The Old salt Warehouse. Brindley's 17th Century inland port.

While in the heritage centre I read some history about the local school and some of it was quite amusing. Children absent from school, reason, (1) taken pig to market, (2) helping with hay making, (3) cutting and stripping willow for cane maker and helping Mum with the baking. Other entries such as, school was cold today, child rostered for fire lighting didn't arrive until 9.30, Johnny and Billy reprimanded for fighting in the village after school, class given detention for not doing homework (nothing changes there) and complaints of monitors not doing their designated chores. Children these days don't know how lucky they are.

The Malt Shovel Pub originally built for the Manager of the Malt Warehouse alongside

With a heritage pamphlet in hand we wandered off around the village to look at the warehouses that had been converted to a pub and residential apartments. The Malt Shovel pub used to be the home of the Manager of the malt warehouse and was built in 1798. Near the village green there are a row of terrace houses built by Dickenson's, who were a nationally known plant nursery, to house their staff. Unfortunately many of the glasshouses were destroyed by enemy bombing during WWII. Old nail makers sheds, stables and blacksmith shop, lock keepers cottage and opposite the latter is a private house which used to be a tavern brewing its own ale, baking its own bread and butchering fresh meat for the many boatmen and their families that passed through the village.

The Clock Warehouse with its internal loading dock. Now an upmarket pub.

At the end of our little tour is was obvious why this place is one of the waterways of England's historic sites and popular with boaters. Since being here we have seen more boats on the move than we have in the last 2 months so we must be back in civilisation.

The Heritage Centre Shardlow

1339 locks, 1914 miles, 43 Tunnels, 42 swing bridges and 19 lift bridges since Nov 2006

Another canal ticked off the list.

8 Locks, 7 Miles. Now moored at Trent lock.

With warm humid conditions we set off under an overcast sky. Other than getting stuck in Pasture lock because the bottom gates were jamming on something it was a pretty easy cruise. We moored up at Sandiacre for lunch and Dot popped over to the Coop for some fresh vegetables and yoghurt. We also had a surprise in meeting another boat heading up to the basin. He told us that he was headed for Peterborough but with the Loughborough lock closed until the 29th he didn't want to sit around waiting for it to re-open so he decided to give the Erewash a go.

Junction of the now defunct Derby Canal and the Erewash Canal

As we came through the 'S' bend at Long Eaton we found a gentleman mowing his lawn alongside his narrowboat. We pulled alongside for a chat and found that he was lucky enough to have an end of garden mooring and also had a caravan in his back yard for touring non canal regions of the country. We pulled his leg about having the best of both worlds as we had had to sell our caravan to finance the boat. He was also very helpful in giving us information about were to find things once we leave the Erewash canal.

Sandiacre Lock headquarters of the
'Erewash Canal Preservation and Development Association'

Tonight we are having a treat of roast NZ lamb with roast potato's, butternut, kumera and cabbage. Just because we live on a boat doesn't mean we have to slum it.

1334 locks, 1911 miles, 43 Tunnels, 42 swing bridges and 19 lift bridges since Nov 2006

Cursed money machines.

5 Locks 4 Miles. Now moored above Potters lock.

This morning I had to make another unexpected trip into Ripley due to a Barclays bank money machine swallowing my debit card yesterday. Just lucky we have the bus passes because that would have been another £4.40 for the return journey.

When I spoke to the lady behind the glass screen at Barclays I was asked if it was a Lloyds bank card to which I answered that it was. She then told me that only Barclays bank cards are retained, any other cards are automatically destroyed. Bloody marvellous, their machine caused the problem, now I'm stuck with the problem of getting a new card. I was politely told where I would find a Lloyds bank and to go and speak to them. I was not a happy chappie.

Round the corner at Lloyds the staff were not at all fazed about the situation and soon had another card ordered and a cash withdrawal made. The only problem now is that the replacement will have to be sent to our London address and then work out a way of getting it to us where ever we may be.

Old Nottingham Canal enters Northern Basin- now used for moorings

Original Nottingham Canal Toll office

Well that was the morning taken care of and we knew that today's travel would only take a couple of hours so there was no problem on this score. After the week-ends mediocre weather today is gloriously sunny and hot but we still have that infernal wind although not as strong as it has been. Along the way we couldn't help but notice how clear the water was and with the sun shining down onto it we could see the fish as we went. There was a shoal of large bream, a solitary carp. umpteen jack pike and many shoals of roach.

A couple of new bridges on the Erewash Canal(two years work according to the signs)

Just before we moored up we had to give the propeller a reverse blast twice to clear away some debris, so after mooring up I went down the weed hatch to see if anything was still attached to the prop shaft. I finished up attacking it with a knife as there was rope, string, plastic, fishing nylon and a couple of feet of heavy duty weed strimmer nylon. The latter was about 2mm thick and no way would it break but I eventually succeeded in clearing everything ready for tomorrow.

1326 locks, 1904 miles, 43 Tunnels, 42 swing bridges and 19 lift bridges since Nov 2006

Cotton and Steam

Still moored at Great Northern Basin.

We had a wee walk to the Langley Mill bus depot to catch the first bus of the day this morning instead of outside the basin. This took us back to Ripley, which we are getting to know quite well. The plan was to catch another bus to Butterley and the Midland Railway Centre but as there was a delay of 40 minutes we decided that we could walk it just as fast. In fact we beat the bus by 10 minutes.

The first train of the day was a class 421 DMU with which I was unfamiliar as they only ran in the North of England. This took us to both termini of the system before we alighted at Swanwick which is where the centre's storage, repair, and maintenance buildings are. This is another of those places that there is so much to see and do but not enough time to do it all. There are so many different railways on site ranging from model, live steam garden(42mm), live steam miniature, narrow gauge and full size. The latter 3 all carry passengers. Even though we negotiated the whole site in a rather hurried manner there were still exhibits that we didn't get to see but we had another bus to catch at 1.45pm

The train from Swanwick back to Butterly had been hauled by a class 5 steam loco but on the trip I chose to join it the steamer was taken off in favour of a 47 diesel. Still I had seen the steamer in action which was nice.

The next 2 bus trips were to take us to Belper to visit the North Mill which as well as being a cotton spinning museum it is also a world heritage site. Belper, before the arrival of the spinning mills was renowned for it's nail makers but the industrial revolution put pay to this cottage industry.

North Mill in Belper

Mill workers houses

The mill is built on the river Derwent because of its sheer volume of water which was ideal for running a mill of this magnitude. The original wooden mill was destroyed by fire which would have been started by all the dust, cotton spinning is a very dusty process, and candles or oil lamp lighting. Fires in early mills was common place so children were employed to constantly clean up the dust fibre's to alleviate the problem. The owners son rebuilt the mill using an iron frame and brick structure which was a new innovation of the time making it more fire proof and this became the benchmark for other mill owners.

The 15 mile Derwent valley was the home to many mills but the owner of North Mill was renowned as the best employer by building homes, a school and hospital for his workers. He also started farms to produce food for his workers.For all this he was fair but expected his pound of flesh in return. There was to be no tom foolery, ideal chit chat or waving at soldiers through the windows and their work was to be perfect or they would be financially penalised.

After all this history over the week-end it has become very clear how the industrial revolution had bought about canals, railways, mining and mass production and how they were all entwined with each other, more than many people realise.

It took another 2 bus trips before we were back on the boat so our bus passes have really been good value this week-end.

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

Nothing to Report

Still moored at Beeston.

Other than shopping and some woodwork on the boat there is nothing to report today so we have just picked some photo's of the beautiful gardens in Nottingham castle grounds and Nottingham's trams.

More to the Great Central Railway

Still moored at Beeston.

My bus pass was going to get a hiding today as I set off for Ruddington on the other side of Nottingham. I left the girls on the boat today so they could do what ever they do on girlie days out. The first leg of my journey was from Beeston to Nottingham where I changed buses to Ruddington Green. I then had about a mile walk, which was very pleasant through part of what had been a village but now more of a city suburb.

After a walk through a park I came to the Nottingham Heritage centre where there are vintage buses, a museum and trains, model, miniature and full sized. The full sized jobs run to Loughborough where they are halted about ¼ mile short of the Loughborough station which is the terminus for the Great Central Railway ( Loughborough). I visited that line quite recently. The only thing keeping these 2 groups apart is the bridge behind the Loughborough engine shed for which they require £6m to rebuild it.

One advantage the Nottingham Heritage group have over the Great Central is that they have a mainline connection as 2 freight trains a day, averaging 1500 ton's, deliver ash from power stations around Britain to British Gypsum who turn it into plaster board. Needless to say the line up to BG is well maintained and there is a passing loop. The Nottingham group's depot is an old munitions factory site which had quite a large siding network. They are at present building a new station platform which will be capable of holding 7 - 8 carriage trains. I suspect that this may not be in service before next year as they have still to complete the platform and lay new track.

While waiting on the temporary platform I inspected the train made up of a class 47 diesel and 4 ex Gatwick Express Mk2 carriages which had been rigged up as a push - pull arrangement. Before boarding I got talking to one of the staff (volunteer) who in his time in the RAF had played a friendly game of rugby against the NZ All Blacks when they stopped off in Nicosia after one of their tours (many decades ago). After this friendly exchange of memories I chanced my arm and asked if there was any possibility of a ride up front in the loco. Well no sooner said than done. I was introduced to George the driver for the day and Steve who owned the loco. This surprised me a little but I was not totally unaware that rolling stock on preserved heritage railways were privately owned but I always thought Loco's, because of the cost would belong to the groups or societies.

The controls of the class 47 diesel loco.

While travelling along Steve told me that he had bought the loco as a wreck from Crewe works. All the windows were broken and various mechanical parts had been scavenged to keep other loco's operational. The only thing missing now is the boiler for heating the carriages but that is of no consequence for the time being. George also enlightened us to the fact that he had driven the self same loco when it was still in mainline service. Steve started on the railways as a boy employed as a cleaner and worked his way up as fireman, driver and then retraining when the diesel era came into being.

And the band played on.

The operation of the train was a bit complicated in that the trip to Loughborough the loco was pushing the carriages so Steve was driving the loco but the brake was being operated by another driver in the driving cab of the end carriage. Returning to the heritage centre Steve had full control as he was now at the head of the train and the other driver came up and joined us in the cab. It was great to hear all 3 of them reminiscing over their driving experiences. Sadly my time in the cab soon came to an end but I did get to walk through the engine bay from one end of the loco to the other.

'O' gauge scale model railway.

Great Museum

2 Locks 5 Miles. Mow moored at Appleton Road, Beeston.

This morning we all had different plans and went our own separate ways. Dot stayed on the boat setting up her new portable hard drive, Tracey went off to the Walkabout pub to watch the rugby on the wide screen TV. Sadly she had to wait until this afternoon for a delayed broadcast which was a disappointment as the South African's won in the final minutes.

As for me I was off to the toy and history museums next door to the castle. Due to staff shortages the toy museum was closed but I was told that it has been transformed with the ground floor now being a re-created Victorian classroom for school educational visit's. The toys have been moved upstairs with a small display now placed in the main museum.

The main museum which is in the old Brewers Yard tenement houses was probably the best local area museum I have seen. The displays of how people used to live, old shops including a grocer, complete with a list of allowable rations during the war, chemist, boot maker, barber, hardware and electrical shop with brilliant displays and explanations of what you were looking at. There is also a 9 minute video where the child actress is actually the great, great granddaughter of a woman that used to live in one of the houses. Once again the houses, like the Trip to Jerusalem Inn next door, are also built into the sandstone cliffs below the castle which surprised me. I will let the pictures tell the stories otherwise I will fill a book. Anybody planning to visit this museum should plan on spending a good couple of hours there to be able to take it all in. A good idea for a rainy day.

Victorian parlour.

Yes madam, that's all you are allowed.

The old chemist where potions were made on the premises.

Another piece of interesting history is that the Lace shop, see below, which was actually built elsewhere but painstakingly dismantled in 1976 and re-built and restored on its present sight. It is 1 of only 3 remaining buildings of its style in the Midlands whereas further south they are more common.

1303 locks, 1880½ miles, 43 Tunnels, 42 swing bridges and 19 lift bridges since Nov 2006

City of Caves.

Still moored at Sainsbury's, Nottingham Canal.

Today we started to explore the city of Nottingham, the home of lace and bicycle's. Wandering up through the city we came across the trams which run from the railway station to somewhere north of the city. They are very modern and not too unlike the trams in Amsterdam. I think a lot more city's need to look at re-introducing trams. There is so much to see and do here it's a job to know where to start.

Broadmarsh shopping centre was built 40 years ago on land which were the 18th century slums of the city. The houses,on Drury Hill and Narrow Marsh were probably state of the art when originally built, were built over the old cave network in which Nottingham's residents used to live and work for 1000 years. The caves are all man made carved out with crude tools and water. When the shopping centre was under construction it had been planned to fill in the caves but thankfully they were seen as part of the city's history and saved and Friends of the caves started doing guided tours in 1972. They are still being explored to this day with the possibility of opening more of them up for visitors.

The guided tour starts on the ground floor of the shopping centre and descends down below the concrete floor where in place you can see the underside of the flooring and pipe work for various facilities. There is also brickwork from the foundations and basements of the tenement housing (slums). The first cave does have access to the open air but is sealed off for security, it's just as well because it used to be a 16th century tannery. The complete tanning process used to take 18 months with hides being stored in pits of lime and some brew made from Oak bark which became tannin acid. The stench must have been horrendous but what was worse was that boy's as young as 8 years of age worked in the tannery and their life expectancy was no more than 20 - 25 years due to Tannin acid poisoning.

The caves were the homes and work places of hundreds of people first recorded by a Welsh monk in 900AD. Even in the times of the plaque or Black death they had their uses as a a crematorium to burn the diseased bodies and set up a leper colony outside the old castle walls which was basically the town in those days. During world war 2 they were used as air raid shelters where up to 6000 people could take shelter from the bombing raids. One such raid was on the Raleigh Bicycle factory which made munitions during the war. It took a direct hit and even though the workers, mainly women and girls were sheltering in the basement many of them were killed.

After this introduction to what lay beneath our feet it was off to the castle which is not really a castle in the true sense of the meaning as it was finally rebuilt as a museum. The history of the castle goes back to the 10th century and covers many reigning monarch's, some good and some not so good. It has been transformed many times from wooden structures to block and stone. It originally stood about 50 feet higher than the present building so would have been an impressive fortress.

While wandering through the various chambers displaying crockery, silverware and clothing through the ages we stumbled across a guided tour which we were unaware of so we just tagged on the end, rightly or wrongly. The young man taking the tour was very knowledgeable and humorous and made the tour very interesting. It was now revealed to us the many underground caves and passages below the castle and you were never quite sure where you would end up next.

Each section was under lock and key so we were let in and counted, taken through each area and then counted again upon exit so that nobody got locked in. We saw a huge cave which had been used as a kings wine and ale cellar,this would have fuelled some really big booze up's. Many kings used the castle as a banquet facility and many grand banquets and balls were held there. Another cave was the dungeon where Robin Hood was reputedly held on occasions. It must have been sheer hell in this cave as it was next to the bakery so the prisoners, who would have been fed stale bread and water could smell the odours of what ever was being baked for the resident's and guests of the castle. Torture without a doubt.

Another passage took us out onto the cliff face below the castle but still above the city and river where cannons were placed to bombard anybody trying to approach by water. A second tunnel took us down to road level which had been a river before being covered in a culvert under the roadway. Upon looking up at this point the castle was way,way above us. Another passage bought us out into a courtyard which housed the kitchen, slaughter house and horse carriage stables from where footmen where sent in to town to collect guests for banquets and the like. All in all a thoroughly enjoyable tour.

To top it off we were left outside the oldest (reputedly) Inn in England. It was renamed to Ye Olde Trip to Jerusalem in 1189 after a Kings return from a crusade to the Holy Lands. From the outside the Inn looks as if it is built in front of the sandstone cliffs upon which the castle sits but it is actually just a facade as it is built into some of the caves. One bar in particular is just a sandstone cave with a 65 foot chimney tunnel reaching up from the ceiling. If you come to Nottingham you have to come and see this.

While walking back to the boat we heard many sirens coming towards us, thinking it may be the fire service we were surprised to see 4 police cars escorting a police prison van in very close formation. He must have been a very important prisoner or they were frightened that somebody was going to try and free him. Surely no criminal is worth wasting this amount of Police resources on.

Robin Hood Country.

0 Locks 3 Miles. Now moored by Sainsbury's Supermarket, Nottingham.

It was time to say Au Revoir to Derek and Christina upon N/b Kalimera as they plan to stay on at Beeston to be able to attend their son's graduation at Nottingham University. As for us we had to go into Nottingham to pick up Tracey from the railway station as she is staying with us for 5 days. On the outskirts of the city we saw sign's of the homeless with a couple of tents and piles of rubbish hidden away in some tree's. We moored up outside Sainsbury's supermarket and walked the 1/2 mile into town.

As we had time to spare we walked as far as the winding hole prior to the last lock which puts you back on the river Trent. We have seen the Fellows, Clayton & Morton building which is a museum which we will visit later, the refurbished BW building still emblazoned with BRITISH WATERWAYS. The trams were also of interest now running on part of the old Great Central railway, they certainly look very smart. At one of the bridge's below Castle lock we saw a black steel box against the bridge abutment with it's door ajar. Upon further investigation it turned out to be a water point which is not shown on any map book. The lock on the door had been smashed but the tap was dripping so presumably operational.

Old British Waterways Building

Down at the winding hole we saw a couple of drug addict's hiding in a corner on the opposite bank but they were not as secluded as they would have liked because we could see them quite plainly as they prepared to inject themselves with something or other.

The station was easy to find and Tracey's train was on time but she exited the station from a different entrance from where we were waiting but after a couple of phone calls we eventually met up.

Fellow Morton and Clayton Canal Museum

Tram running on the Great Central Railway line

This evening while doing a little bit of fishing off the back of the boat a Chinese couple and their son came over and spoke to me as they were very interested in the boat. They asked if they could have a look through the boat but I declined as I knew Dot was busy preparing dinner and wouldn't approve of the invasion. The husband was studying at the University and his wife and son and only been in the country for 2 days. In the end they settled for a photo of the wife and son with me on the back of the boat.

1301 locks, 1875½ miles, 43 Tunnels, 42 swing bridges and 19 lift bridges since Nov 2006

Stop Diesel Thief's

Still moored Beeston Lock, Beeston Cut, Nottingham Canal.

This morning we took a stroll down to the Beeston Marina who have a well stocked chandlery. On the shopping list were a new centre rope as one of the existing ropes has been shortened due to wear and tear, a new grease gun cartridge and a tin of stern gear grease and a security locking fuel cap if they had any. Well the first 3 were easily sorted but the locking cap was a bit of a problem. They had them in stock but I was unsure about the dimensions so we had to return to the boat and detach the existing cap for comparison. It turned out that the hole into the tank was only 4cm but the new fitting was between 5cm and 6cm.Well nothing for it but to purchase the new fitting and then set too and file the hole out. As the file was magnetic it attracted a lot of the filings and after I had finished I used my mechanics friend magnet which is great for retrieving nuts and bolts from awkward places to clean out any filings that had fallen into the tank. After doing about 50 drops into the tank and pulling out more and more metallic rubbish I eventually gave up as I considered that I had not produced this amount of filings and a lot of the rubbish had been in the tank since manufacture. The job took me longer than planned but a job well done. I just beat the heavy rain too.

Unfortunately it's not brass, but what's the most important?

Nottingham and Beeston Canal

14 days! This is a first, never seen a notice such as this before

Beeston Lock Cottage

The old original Lock chamber into the now un-navigable part of the River Trent

9pm at Beeston Weir, a lot calmer than earlier in the day I imagine.

So far, So Good

5 Locks, 7 ½ Miles. Now moored Beeston Lock, Beeston Cut, Nottingham Canal.

A sight unseen in New Zealand

As predicted the River Soar did come up overnight by about a foot but the BW guys arrived this morning to say it was safe to carry on although South bound boats would still have to use Kegworth shallow lock as a normal lock until water level's dropped and it could then remain open again. As we were North bound this was of no consequence to us.

With a name like this it must have some connection with New Zealand

The river was running faster than we had encountered before but it was an easy run down to the Trent Lock Junction where the Trent & Mersey, Erewash canal and the Nottingham Canal (River Trent) meet. The Cranfleet Cut, which is the first section of navigation bypassing the river Trent towards Nottingham takes you the first mile to Cranfleet lock where you drop back down onto the river which is as wide and fast as the River Thames. This took us 4 miles down to the Beeston Cut which is another navigation again bypassing an un-navigable section of the River Trent. This last section was also flowing fairly fast although not in flood.

As we approached Beeston lock we had to keep hard over to the left but even then we could still feel the pull of the weir off to our right. Thankfully the final approach to the lock is protected from the weir which incidentally is very, very wide. Immediately through the lock we were lucky to find 2 convenient sized moorings which will do us for the next couple of night's.

Now look at the name of this one, we knew there was one somewhere

1301 locks, 1872½ miles, 43 Tunnels, 42 swing bridges and 19 lift bridges since Nov 2006

Here we go again!!

Still moored at Kegworth.

It's 8.15pm and BW have just come along and closed the flood lock and advised all the boats on this mooring that they expect the river to rise overnight. It seems that there has been a lot of rain up river and it may only be a flash flood which may not last very long but they have to take precautions.

We are to be vigilant overnight and they will return tomorrow morning at 7.30am to give us a progress report. We seem to have been down this track before I recall.  Mutter,mutter, mutter. Just to add insult to injury it has just started to rain again.

Soar(ing) along with the flow.

5 Locks, 7½ Miles. Now moored at Kegworth Flood lock no 57.

It's nice to see how the other half live.

Yesterday we spent a quiet day catching up with emails and downloading photograph's. The showery weather was not conducive to any outside jobs being attempted.

This morning was an 8am kickoff in mild overcast skies. Our plan had been to stop at bridge 39 for water but this facility is at present out of commission, instead we carried to Bishop Meadow lock and used the facilities there. With low water pressure it took quite a while to fill both boats, during this time 2 boats had passed through leaving the lock in our favour. However before we were ready to move again another boat approached from the opposite direction and by the time he was ready to exit the lock we were ready to go in.

Another quaint looking church close to the river.

We passed huge sign's stating that if the red light was flashing we were to moor up on the emergency pilings. We only saw 1 red light which thankfully was off. With all the rain we have had over the last 3 days I'm surprised that the river hasn't risen but all the indicator boards have been on green. The lock that we are moored below is only operated between October and March during the rest of the year it is left open unless there happens to be unexpected flooding. With all this Greenhouse warming and climate changes anything is possible.

Take heed! Those moorings look pretty substantial.

Since mooring up and going for a walk into the local town centre we have had several downpours of rain and the odd rumble of distant thunder. So much for summer, perhaps we will get an Indian summer in Autumn.

1296 locks, 1865 miles, 43 Tunnels, 42 swing bridges and 19 lift bridges since Nov 2006

Great Central Railway lives on

We are stilled moored at Millers bridge no34.

Great Central Railways Loughborough station.

When we moored up yesterday afternoon there were no boats in view as we tied up to the bollards. By nightfall there were 7 and this afternoon this has increased to 9, so a very popular mooring spot. Of course we had an ulterior motive as it was nice and handy to Loughborough station. Today's forecast was for rain most of the day but as it turned out the rain stopped by about 10am and stayed fine until 5pm when we had a hail storm and strong winds. This worked out perfectly with our visit to the Great Central Railway. There was one down side to the day when we received a text message from an undisclosed source saying that her brother was a driver for the GCR and her husband always managed to wangle a ride on the footplate. Had she known sooner she may have been able to arrange something for me, ah well, cie la vie.

Great Western Prairie tank loco No 4141

We are only a twenty minute walk from the Loughborough GCR station so we were soon right in amongst the action, we had just missed one train that left as we arrived but with a visit to the engine shed and storage sidings the time soon flew until the next train was due. There were 2 trains in use pulled by a 1954 BR class 2 (Mickey) 2-6-0 tender loco no 78019 which was relieved of its duty by a class 25 diesel and a GWR 2-6-2 Prairie tank loco no 4141. The class 2 went on to do driver experiences for people prepared to pay £250 to drive the loco under supervision from Loughborough to Leicester and return. At the last count they did 4 such trips earning the railway a tidy little sum. With all the other activities, like the dining train which had 3 dining cars which appeared to be pretty full and the regular passengers it is easy to see why this preserved line is so successful. Mind you, its also very much down to the hundreds of volunteers that donate hours or even days of their time to the railway

Rothley station is a typical Great Central railways design of central platform with stair access from road level.

Their latest project of immense proportions is a new engine shed. They have been given a building by Network rail which has been painstakingly dismantled and moved to the GCR's site. The next job is to repair the bridge behind the existing shed over the Grand Union canal (Leicester Line) and then lay new track out to an old dis-used refuse dump which has been acquired or donated for the purpose. A very long term project unless they can get some serious benefactors onboard for the job.

This Fairburn/BR class 4 tank loco is operational but is sidelined awaiting new water tanks.

For our £16 we travelled to Rothley on one train, this station has been done up in Victorian style including working gas lighting. We stopped there for lunch and visited the miniature garden railway operated by a local club, then caught a later train to Leicester and back to Loughborough. Our tickets gave us free range over the whole set up including the engine shed, museum and all stations for the day.

BR Class 2 (Mickey) 2-6-0 tender loco relinquishing it's train after a mornings work.

At Quorn and Woodhouse station a motorhome club were holding a week-end rally in the old goods yard adjacent to the station. We thought that this was a brilliant idea and it might be something to suggest to our old caravan club back in NZ as there are a few preserved railways in the clubs area.

This 1899 sign is a rare find assuming its genuine.

Would there have been bicycles around in those days?

We're in the Red!

7 Locks, 10 Miles. Now moored at bridge 34 on the Soar Navigation.

A beautiful sunny summer days cruising on the river

After yesterdays early start it was a more relaxed beginning to the day with a 9am start. There wasn't a cloud to be seen anywhere until about mid morning, it was glorious. There were quite a few boats on the move as we had to wait at 3 locks for boats travelling in the opposite direction.

We passed 8 BW workers in 4 different locations, 2 had a very quick inspection at a lock where the ground paddles were out of action and then disappeared, 2 were walking the towpath but came to a dead end where Land and Water contractors were rebuilding a lock pontoon (you would have thought they would have known the towpath was closed.) Two were painting a new fence and gate on the towpath and the last pair were on a BW work boat that passed us 2 days ago, they were supposed to be repairing a retaining wall on the side of a weir. We could see where they had removed damaged brickwork but then spent quite a while admiring their handiwork or were they trying to decide what to do next?

Some of these workers saw us yesterday at Birstall and they were taking boat names and numbers and entering the info into a small hand held computer. While Dot got into conversation with them they told her we are in the red. Thinking logically like being in the red with the bank Dot got a bit concerned as we are fully paid up for the year and asked to see the computer. The guys laughed at Dot's alarm and then explained that as we are Continuous Cruisers our file is marked by a red line across the top of the screen. Panic over! They handed her the computer and showed her how entering a boats registration number brings up all the details of the boat, licence and address details of the owners. Nice guys and they promised that they would see us again today which they did. One of them suggested that when we went back to New Zealand that we dig a big hole in our back garden and put the narrowboat in it. Now that would be a laugh!

An unusual weir on the Soar navigation

At Barrow Mill basin we stopped to take on water and deposit the never ending rubbish we seem to collect. Christina went to the little cafe on the site and ordered Derek a sausage and egg butty for his lunch. She was having a cooks day off or part there of. It was only another 2 miles before we called it a day and pulled onto these very nice moorings complete with bollards which seems strange being out in the country. I say country but in actual fact we are only a mile from Loughborough.

Now I know we should secure our property but this is ridiculous.

We plan to stay here for the week-end and tomorrow, weather permitting I will be off to the Great Central Railway (preserved). I have been listening to the trains which are not too far away from where we are moored and it was great to hear the whistles and exhaust noises of a live steam loco at work.

1291 locks, 1857½ miles, 43 Tunnels, 42 swing bridges and 19 lift bridges since Nov 2006

Leicester, Hello and Goodbye.

8 Locks, 7½ Miles. Now moored below Birstall Lock.

Due to previous experiences in Leicester by the Kalimera crew it was decided that a 6am start would get us through the city while hopefully all the trouble makers were still in their beds. Going through the city was a real eye opener in that there is over a mile of excellent water front with bollards and mooring rings and not a boat to be seen. What sort of message does this give visiting boaters?

Empty moorings in the centre of Leicester

The other eye opener was the unprotected weirs, some of which were huge. Even on the fens the weirs were marked by orange or green buoys chained together but these had nothing. The river is at present only in the green zone so water levels are quite manageable so I would hate to see these weirs when the river floods and goes into the red zone.

Scary unprotected weirs, thank goodness the river is low

The scenery was quite varied with the new university buildings and the space museum compared to a hell of a lot of Victorian style factories now standing empty and derelict.

National Space Centre

Through the last mentioned area we were stirring up the sediment on the bottom releasing untold methane gas and the water was absolutely black. The water looked as if it was really boiling with all the bubbles rising to the surface. There must have been a lot of industrial waste dumped in this stretch of river over the years.

Beautiful riverside homes in Leicester

Upon arrival at Birstall lock 45 the plan was to go to the local Somerfield supermarket for a few groceries and then carry on but the moorings are in a very pleasant area so we decided to stay for the night. Unfortunately this has proved to be a bit of a disappointment to us due to light fingered kids. Let me explain, just after 6pm we decided that as there was a very nice Fish and Chip shop close by we would have a cooks night off and have a fish and chip tea. As we left the boat there were 3 young lads fishing just in front of the boat. The boys were well behaved and appeared to be of good caliber so we thought no more about it. When we returned the boys had gone and so had an old football that we had wedged between the boat and the wall to stop the boat banging.

Spot the heron, we have seen more today than any other day in the last 18 months.

We did actually find the ball in the water by another boat about 100 yards further down river. We knew that the ball couldn't have got there by itself so we guessed that the boys had pulled it out but when they found that it was knackered had thrown it back into the river. Back on the boat we were just settling down to our tea when we felt somebody on the boat. I shot out through the back doors to find two of the three boys had come back, just at this moment Dot spotted that one of my fishing rods which I had on the roof on the off side of the boat was missing. I shouted to the boys and had a very annoyed exchange of words. They were the only people in the area so it must have been one of them who got onto our boat. Just at this moment another lad with a dog came along and said that there was a fishing rod in the long grass just past our boat. It turned out that this was my rod. Dot thought that perhaps they hadn't realised that we were back on the boat and took their chances but when I appeared out of the back doors they must have dumped the rod before they were caught with it. Hopefully they will think twice about going near a boat in future.

1284 locks, 1847½ miles, 43 Tunnels, 42 swing bridges and 19 lift bridges since Nov 2006

Dredging? I Don't Think So!

10 Locks, 6 Miles. Now moored between Gees and Blue Bank locks.

8 am and we were under way again, not too long a journey as there is rain and possible thunder threatened for this afternoon. As we approached one lock there was a sign stating Land and Water were dredging up ahead and 30 minute delays possible. I thought that this might be too good to be true and so it was. Land and Water were there alright but they were only putting in pilings with the black mesh attached to secure the offside bank from further erosion. I knew it was too good to be true that some dredging was actually taking place.

Along the way Derek and Christina pointed out new housing that has sprung up since they were last here 3 years ago. We became unsure as to whether or not any country moorings would still exist so close to Leicester but we found this spot which appears to have been used by other boaters very recently.

At the last lock before mooring up we passed Bernard on Nb Sunshine who was stranded with us at Oxford for 3 weeks last year during the flooding. No sign of Kristine, perhaps she was still at work. Just time for a quick hello , good bye as there were boats following us and no room to stop. Funnily enough we had been talking about them a few minutes beforehand wondering if we would see them knowing that their home mooring was at Barrow on Soar.

1276 locks, 1840 miles, 43 Tunnels, 42 swing bridges and 19 lift bridges since Nov 2006

Cruising new territory once more.

12 Locks 5 Miles. Now moored at Kilby Bridge.

Foxton Swingbridge out of action after being hit by a vehicle some time ago.
Photo taken yesterday after it was expected to be repaired.
Obviously no sign of that yet!

First signs of maintenance we have seen for a long time.
New edging near Debdale wharf.

So we didn't miss out on getting a mooring at Kilby Bridge, which apparently is a very popular spot to stop before or after Leicester,we set off just after 8am this morning. Another beautiful day was on the cards but the persistent wind was still present and got stronger as the day wore on. Just after 10am we spotted a moored boat that we had been keeping an eye open for, this was Mo and Vanessa on N/b Balmaha hiding away in one of their favourite country hideaways. We hailed them as we drew alongside and was immediately invited in for coffee. We found a mooring not far from them and walked back for a catch up on all the gossip. It was nearly 2 hours before we eventually tore ourselves away with a vow to meet up later in the year around Coventry somewhere.

'A rose between two thorns'. Vanessa with Derek and Mo of Nb Balmaha

Our travelling companions who had been patiently waiting for us thought we had been abducted by bandits. Heading into lock country we were lucky in that there were quite a few boats travelling in the opposite direction making things easier. We did see some contractors cutting the grass around the locks and along the towpath but they were not cutting it right to the waters edge making mooring difficult in places especially where you jump off into a bed of stinging nettles. OUCH.

Church in the middle of nowhere just before spotting Nb Balmaha

Our first job upon arrival at Kilby Bridge was to find and use the water point and pump out facilities. Mooring up for the pump out proved awkward as the mooring rings are in the wrong places and the pump out hose was barely long enough. Nb Kalimera was sorted out first and then we had to go and wind and come back to the facilities as our pump out point is on the port side. We had just finished servicing our boat and were preparing to reverse back to the winding hole when 2 boats approached from the south. Luckily the first boat wanted to use the facilities so we carried on reversing back which caused a lot of people to stop and gawk. I could see it in their faces, can he do it, will he hit another boat? For about 10 minutes we were the centre of attention but I'm afraid they were bitterly disappointed as the maneuvering went without a hitch despite a gusty side wind. Once we were back facing in the right direction again we found a good mooring even though it was getting on for 4pm.

1266 locks, 1834 miles, 43 Tunnels, 42 swing bridges and 19 lift bridges since Nov 2006