Still Chugging!

Awoke early this morning to get ready for an 0830 start. When I looked out of the window I couldn’t see the other bank of the Trent. The cold morning air and the warm of the Trent combined to make a thick mist that covered all.

Ten minutes before time the light went from red to green and I cast off. Another boat came down from Newark and so I shared the lock with the Pride of Holderness. Even with two boats in the lock we were not taking up a lot of room.

The lock gates open and out in to the tidal Trent. This morning it seems that an awful lot of people had dumped shampoo into the drain.

For the next thirty minutes I was travelling through soap suds.

The Pride soon disappeared as they travelled at higher speed than I was comfortable with. I think they must be on their way to Keadby.

The river level is very low seeing as it was a high tide. On several occasions as I rounded a bend in the middle of the waterway I could see the bottom and took evasive action to take me off into deeper water.

Three hours later with the engine still behaving impeccably while running and sounding just fine I reached the entrance to Torksey. Its left to Keadby and right to Torksey. This time it is right turn for me.

The tide being at its lowest it was not possible to get into the lock. By 1300 there were another two more boats on the mooring. One waiting for the tide tomorrow and move on and the other to enter the canal.

By 1800 I am comfortably moored next to the water point ready for tomorrow to fill up and move on to Saxilby.

Chug Chug Cough Chug

I awoke to blue skies and sunny weather which is just as well as I was not in the mood for rain having to repair the lift pump again. Usual routine – strip it down – clean with degreaser – dry then mix up the liquid metal. I put on two layers this time in the hope that it would withstand the vibrations of the engine.

After an hour to cure then gently run the engine to warm it up and hopefully cure even more then its off to Nether Lock.

The entrance to the lock is hidden around a very sharp right hander so after passing through under the Newark bypass bridge I make ready to get the lock set. Surprise that lock is manned and open ready for me. It doesn't take much to make me happy.

This far the engine is just on tick over and the lock keeper must have wondered why I was going so slowly. Mind you with the flow of the Trent the speed I was doing was about average for me.

Out of the lock and speed up slightly. The engine is sounding just right for a change and running nicely – touch wood. As time goes by I bring the speed up to that which I will use tomorrow on the tidal part of the trip.

At North Muskham I meet the first large boat of the journey so far. BW barge with a large crane on board. The Trent is quite wide here so no effort is needed to keep out of his way.

Soon at Cromwell and turn the boat into the flow to go along side the mooring. Not quite long enough but it will do for me. A visit to the Lock keeper and I received the info that the tide for me was at 0830 tomorrow.

At 1800 the view over of the bows shows how calm the Trent can be.

Out at Cromwell there is little light shown and what looks like Venus or Mars is very bright in the south-ish part of the sky.

Cromwell to Torksey

Leaving Whichwey (the boat with the wood) behind us at the lock a trio of boats moved out onto the Trent at just before 0900. I let the others go first as I was not in any hurry and would most likely go slower than them. With Mucky Duck leading Just Reward we were soon nearing a gravel and sand loading wharf.



The Little Shuva moved off into the gap and I stay behind it. It would leave me on the straighter parts but as soon as a corner came it would slow down to manoeuvre the barge around the bend and I would catch up.



I heard on the VHF some chat from another boat moving up towards us and it soon came into view. I was pleased to be behind the barge as it was then easy to follow his line.

Then things got hairy. A tight bend and the tug couldn’t take the corner. The next thing was that he had slowed right down and I did the same but with the flood with me it made little difference to my speed so I went astern to keep away. Before I knew what was happening he was going full astern and heading straight for me. The barge by this time was taking up ¾ of the river and the only thing left for me to do was to go full ahead and head for the gap between him and the bank. The engine was throwing out smoke and I had never given it that much throttle before. I slipped through with feet to spare.

By the time I reached High Mareham he was catching up so I stopped at the pontoon and made a cup of tea and let him pass.



Now it was a more restful part of the trip. I spotted many Sand Martins digging out their nest holes. Naturally as soon as I got the camera I was left with just a couple in view.



Near Newark there is a firm that digs out the gypsum seam that runs through here for use in plasterboard etc. The veins are visible on a bend as I neared Dunham. Another good place to see it is at Gunthorpe.



Dunham Toll Bridge that is seen today replaced one built in 1832 and the book says that there was one there before that. The river at this point becomes the boundry between Nottinghamshire and Lincolnshire.



Finally I arrived at Torksey. The other two boats were already through and on their way to Saxilby. With the lock closing at 1300 I made it with 30 minutes to spare. Then it is on to Saxilby and mooring up for the night. I was ready for a sit down by the time I arrived.

Cromwell Lock

Rarely is the a day passing without something going on on the canal. Today was no exception.



The day started with the nearest thing you can get here that would be classed as a traffic jam. They all went through Cromwell Lock with out incident but then things started to go wrong for others.

The lockkeepers had to go to a meeting so all the locks that are usually manned – weren’t. This is not a problem at Nether and Town Locks but Cromwell can not be operated by boaters and needs a keeper to do the business of gates and filling and emptying the lock. No lockkeeper. No movement. However one boater had booked passage and the keeper had been taken off to the meeting and a relief had to come from Gunthorpe. Unless one has a powerful engine then you don’t want to go out on the Trent without the assistance of the tides. This one eventually went out on hour late and hoped for the best. As I was told it reflects badly on the lockkeepers if they say the lock is open then when the boats arrive it is closed even though it is out of their hands.



In the afternoon Mucky Duck arrived. It seems that he had been delayed in Newark. Someone of a moronic frame of mind had thrown a rope off one of the barges into the water and it had caught around his propeller. The action of the rope trapping swung the boat right over and across the canal. If a Tupperware had been in the way then I shudder to think of the consequences. It was that big that there was no way that he could remove it. In the end a crane had to lift his stern out of the water so that the prop could be accessed and the offending rope cut off.

The boat I mentioned yesterday with all the wood on the roof turned up. He was going to Torksey but with the lock closed had to stop. The wood was from Gunthorpe where a load had been cut down and needed to be got rid of. Never pass up the chance of free heating he told me.



During the evening I disposed of the contents of the ‘thunderbox’. Too much info I know. But while there I noticed a memorial to the 131st Independent Parachute Regiment (Volunteers) Lest We Forget.



It is to the ten men that died at Cromwell Weir during the Exercise Trent Chase on 28 September 1975



Nearby is another stone which marks the site of the Roman Bridge. You are too late if you want to see the remains as they were moved when work was carried out on the lock in 1884.

High tide tomorrow is at around 0830 so I shall be on my way to Torksey by 0900 I hope. It looks like a foul weather gear day.

A very interesting day.

Leaving Hazelford after seeing Beth and Christine yesterday I headed off for Newark. As soon as I cast off I saw a boat that believed in carrying spare firewood just in case. Well I carry some but there is nothing like being on the safe side.



One always returns faster than on the outward journey and with what seems like minutes I was at the Bromley Arms at Fiskerton. Well worth stopping at for a pint etc if you can get a space.



The river is rather busy on a sunny Sunday. I had to move out of the way for some of the fast women of Newark. The coach in the launch had trouble keeping up with them and they soon disappeared from view.



One starts to think that there are suicide swans on the river. This pair came galloping along the water straight towards me before taking off and banking over and coming by rather close to the boat. I guess they know what they are doing.

The Town Lock had its fair share of gangoozellers. There is not much of a mooring here but I moored up next to a floating tank that gave access to the lock. Into the lock and as I returned to the stern to move – disaster – I caught my jeans on the window drip ledge and ended up with a tear in them. Got to the stern and found that I had torn the pocket as well and my mobile dropped out on to the deck. Close. It could have gone overboard.



Today’s lesson in ornithology was in view. The Oystercatcher. I bet they haven’t found many oysters on the Trent.

I was going to moor for the night at Nether Lock so that the cat wouldn’t have to negotiate the fence to get ashore. I found nowhere to moor above the lock so went through and tied up the other side. This was not a good place to stop. The gunnel of the boat fitted under the lip of the mooring and would have been hitting the cabin all night. A lovely day so moved on towards Cromwell Lock.



The village of North Muskham is quite picturesque with the church near the river side. It has a fine east window. There is a pub with moorings if you fancy stopping. Just the other side of the village is a long sweeping line of weeping willows. What a pity that there are a few missing in the middle.
And thus to Cromwell Lock.

Here was the most memorable part of the day. A gentleman came down to the pontoon and asked if it would hold a number of people on it to which I replied in the affirmative. There were a number of people on the bank and I then realised that it was a Sikh funeral. I asked if I could take a photograph and with permission given I watched from the boat.



Firstly a service with prayers was held on the bank.



And then part of the group came onto the pontoon to scatter the ashes of the departed on the water.



After the ashes had been immersed white roses were scattered on the water. One gentleman came up afterwards and apologised for intruding. I felt like apologising for being there. I was privileged to be there at a lovely sort of final send off.

Cromwell Lock to Newark

Its only a mile or so from Cromwell Lock to Newark Nether Lock. I wasn’t in a hurry and whilst downing my second cup of tea I had a visit from Les the lock keeper. The lock at Newark was having a problem with one of the paddles and there was a possibility of a delay. There is only one thing to do in response to this sort of thing – put the kettle on and have another cup of tea.

Les has lived on his boat Country Rose for a number of years alongside which I was moored next to last night. He would like to get a bigger one but over the years has become so attached to it that he can’t bear to part with it.

I left the boat on tick over as I travelled slowly giving as much time as possible to finish the repair before I arrived.

Nether Lock is on the left and has a water source coming head on as you approach. I don’t know where the source comes from but it looks as though they used too much soap. Actually it is the overflow from the canal. A good mooring but unyielding and very solid if you get the approach wrong. The lock was working again by the time I arrived and the keepers were busy putting finishing touches to paintwork. There must be some rivalry between the locks as to the Best Kept Lock Competition.

On the way to the lock I had one of those moments when you wonder what the morons that dump the fridges etc into the rivers and canals are thinking of. I passed three and the ever present tyres and gas bottles. Apart from those the banks are quite clear till one reaches the outskirts of Newark and the rebuilding and demolition work.



Newark has changed a lot since the last time I was here. Loads of new buildings and moorings along the canal. Just the place to stop if you want a run ashore with all the amenities near at hand. I am moored just short of the castle and two minutes from the centre and three supermarkets.

This might be a quiet mooring at night but if you fancy a snooze during the day then beware. Across the canal from here is a scrapyard and today they were moving the metal about. Noisy!!

Torksey to Cromwell

What a lovely day for a trip up the Trent. I woke up to the sunshine and thus it remained all day.



I was in the lock at Torksey by 1130 after spending half an hour watching the fish. Most of those that one could see were about six inches long but there were some much larger that leapt out of the water occasionally. There must have been thousands of them with the smallest being near the surface with many underneath that could be seen to a depth of around two foot six inches. The shoal extended at least 50 yards.



Out into the Trent and straight into a load of weed. I don’t think I picked up much but will check the weed hatch in case there is something around the prop.

In front of me was a GRP with three males on board. The boat was newly purchased and they were out for the first time. They of course left me standing.

I was soon passed by another but larger GRP. Later I passed them moored up but within an hour they passed me yet again.


Plenty of birds along the way. Kingfisher, cormorant, the usual heron and what I thought might be an egret. The last stood like a heron but was all white. I didn’t get close enough to be sure.

After four and half hours I had arrived and was soon through Cromwell Lock. There was already a boat inside. The boat was the newly purchased boat that was getting a licence issued but they were having trouble concerning the insurance. It was lucky that they were for the lock closed at 1600 and I might have had to stay outside. It was soon sorted and they passed me after I moored up.

There is a nice three day mooring up stream of the lock. Plenty of grass for the picnic benches and BBQs scattered about.

The next port of call is Newark. From the lock you can see the church spire and the towers of the Sugar Beet factory. Several more hours travel though.