Shut that Door

Going through the lock on ones own is not a problem as long as you take it slow and don’t rush things. Even then it only took 20 minutes and I was on my way. First under the railway bridge and off into the River Withern. Within a short while there are moorings at Bardney. There is a saying in Lincolnshire. If you leave a door open you will be asked if your from Bardney. The reason for this it is said is when a King – probably Henry VIII – wanted entry to the Abbey they shut the door in his face and so he removed the doors - as you would.

With the high flood banks the view is very restricted and the most noticeable thing is the sight of all the rubbish left behind, half way up the trees, about two metres up, after the last time the river was in flood.

Southery Moorings


Rather colder today so when I reached Southery Village and the new visitors mooring there I moored up for five minutes, brewed up and stoked the fire then moved on. The mooring is right next to the old railway station. You will have noticed as you traveled down the river the number of obvious railway styles buildings still in use. Across the river from here is another mooring for the White Horse Inn. Good beer and good food. Last time I was here they had a beer festival on and very enjoyable it was too. I’ll have a look at Southery village on the way back.

The White Horse Inn


The footpath has crossed over the river back at Bardney and the occasional sculpture pops into view. The only one that I have noticed. Perhaps there are more but lower in height. I wonder what it represents? The River Withern maybe.

At 25 km is the next moorings I will use for the night. Nicholsons guide suggests that the church here is worth a look so will check it out tomorrow.

The mooring at Washingborough is to be recommended for an overnight stay. Very quiet and peaceful. Mind you the tap tap on the window makes you aware of the life outside.

Moving on towards Bardney at a leisurely pace one gets the chance to enjoy the scenery. Shortly a pair of cows come into view. Not real ones but one in a series of sculptures created for the Water Rail Way – the path to Boston. A rather good representation of the animals I must say.



A little further on there is what seems to be a series of humps. Whether or not this represents the Withern Monster along the lines of the one in Loch Ness I know not but I bet the children enjoy playing on it.

From that point on one spends the time wondering what will be seen next. A pleasant occupation. Looking like an arch, from the angle I was at, some 15 foot high wheat made of steel broke the flatness of the surrounding. The presence of the sculptures does make an interesting addition to the trip.



The first view of Bardney is on the right but it is the silos of the old Sugar Beet Factory that stand out for miles around.

At 11 km, Fiskerton, there is a foot bridge. I am not sure if it is possible to moor here but there are two likely spots, one on each bank, under the bridge. A couple more kilometres and Fiskerton Fen visitor moorings. These as like many others along here are 72 hours only.

A long straight and at 13 km more visitor moorings just before Bardney Lock. I moored up here for the night. Well the batteries are charged and there is no hurry.



A chat with a lady that lives on a winter mooring here threw up some interesting items. It was told to me that there are a number of mink running amok around the pontoons. One was seen wandering down the pontoon and climbed aboard one of the GRP boats by slipping under the canvas. She had already had some problems with mink when one found its way into the bow having chewed its way through the canvas then chewed through every plastic sack on board ruining potatoes etc. there are a number of holes to be seen on the bank which is where they live I was told.

I must apologise to Naughty Cal who passed me in Lincoln while I was tying up to retrieve the fender for not saying hello. I am not really bad mannered and thanks for the email.

Moving on

After a couple of cups of tea I left the mooring near the Pyewipe Inn and set off for the BW facilities in Lincoln. If you are looking for a quiet mooring with a pub nearby then I recommend this one.

A nice steady plod passing canoes and the occasional fisherman and I deposited my bag of rubbish in the bins provided. Not far from here, just a couple of hundred yards further on, there is another mooring. This is at the end of the university accommodation and is just an overnight stop. Can be a bit noisy but I have never had a problem with the locals out enjoying themselves of an evening.

Rubbished dumped I moved on the centre of Lincoln and through the Glory Hole. As you go through take a good look at the underside of the arch. Some of this dates back to 1160 and was once called Murder Hole. The shops to be found over it are 16th century. It can be a bit awkward through here if you meet someone coming the other way so keep a good lookout. The mooring here is right outside a pub and just after the pedestrian footbridge and the Waterside shopping centre. Very handy for Wilkinsons where I was going to get some means of securing the bike.



Purchases made I sat on the stern people watching and enjoying the sun for half an hour. A trio of cruisers came past and only just made it under the bridge. They were off towards Boston so that they could go through the guillotine lock not having gone that far before.
There is a slight bend as you leave Lincoln centre and here I met one of the cruisers coming back. It is rather narrow here so I had trouble turning on the bend and lost one of the fenders as the fender on stern caught on the side. Luckily they float so walked back and rescued it.
By the time I arrived at the lock two of the cruisers were still on the Lincoln side of it. There was an enormous amount of rubbish in and before the lock. I hooked out several sheets of polythene and bubble wrap and several logs. They had already started and had got out a road sign and two chairs. Much of what was left was the plastic bottles and reeds. We swapped keys as theirs was already in the lock controls and I closed up after they left. No trouble locking down and tried to move some of the junk left behind the gates.
The first 2 km out of Lincoln one gets ones fill of seeing plastic bottles caught up in the reeds and on the bank. There must be thousands of them. Although the view isn’t the finest you do get a nice one of the cathedral and a bit later the villages on the edge of the scarp.
4km out and the floating mooring at Washingborough comes into view and it is here I shall spend the night. Just four hours from the previous mooring without rush and a lazy hour in Lincoln. The mooring is right next to the cycle/foot path that goes all the way to Boston or if it isn’t finished soon will do. It runs along the old railway line and is easy travelling if you’re into biking.

Busy day on the Fossdyke

I have left Saxilby due to embarrassment. I had spoken to someone from the Waterways and explained the situation and was told it was ok to stay until the electrics were all fixed and running. The fact that I was moored next to the signboard that said 72 hour moorings somewhat rubbed it in. That and the fact that the two boats ahead of me had paid for their winter moorings make me think of a trip away for a while.

Just before I left a rather large boat moored up and I couldn’t help thinking that he would miss the best part of this canal – going through the Glory Hole. He would certainly have to slim down a bit first.

Travelled for a couple of hours then moored up near the Pyewipe Inn. A quiet afternoon so a bit of anti-rust work would give me something to do. Next thing I knew was the arrival of the steam train ‘Sir Nigel Gresley’ on the railway line next to the canal. A brilliant viewpoint but not the best of pictures I am sad to say.

Built for the LNER in 1937, and the 100th Gresley Pacific built. Her Doncaster Works number was 1863. It was originally numbered 4498. It is a 4-6-2 locomotive to the same design by Sir Nigel Gresley as the more famous Mallard.

Sir Nigel Gresley is the holder for the post-war steam record speed of 112mph gained on the 23 May 1959 and carries a plaque to that effect. As with Mallard's record. this was descending southward from Stoke Summit, but unlike Mallard's run which was a special attempt, this was with a full train of passengers returning from an excursion to Doncaster works. The excursion exceeded 100 mph on two other occasions on the same day. Unfortunately, because of a paper strike at the time, the logs of these are not as accessible as for some other workings. Wikipedia

Never a dull moment. I suppose the cat will go for a swim tonight to give interest to the evening.

Visitors

A very nice surprise today to break up the ordinariness of the weekend.

‘Any body there’ was the first that I knew that I had visitors. My first non-family visitors turned out to be Sid and Heidi from Sellwood in Horncastle. Luckily I had had a ‘bit’, and it was only a bit, of a tidy up and they managed to settle into chairs amidst the normal chaos of the boat. And a present of cakes that I would imagine that Heidi had made.

Hiedi’s claim to fame is going from not knowing one end of the computer from the other to the person that managed to write the story of their two sons in a second language, English, on a computer and finally to put the printed illustrated version into book form which she then went on to learn to bind up. A very tidy job she made of it too and the story itself is quite rivetting. Proving the falsity of the adage ‘You can’t teach an old dog new tricks’ for one is never too old to learn.

With a cup of tea and a chat putting the world to rights then a tour of the ‘estate’ and the visit was over. A very enjoyable interlude in the hectic schedule of Saxilby living.

Sorry Abz but I bought a bike that was almost the first I looked at

I am now settled back at Saxilby. It is good to be back here. This must be one of the nicest moorings available on the Fossdyke. All the shops are handy with a charity shop to frequent in the hope of finding that one item that you can’t get anywhere else.

In the last few days I have been trying to find a bike to place on the bows. All the major bike shops here have second hand bikes that are well out of my price range. They all tend to be around £1500 -1700 but I struck it lucky with an advert placed in a small shop in the middle of Lincoln. Who says advertising doesn’t pay.

I arranged to look at it and Michael brought it out to me which I much appreciated. Within minutes a deal was struck and I am now the proud owner of a Honda 185. A well used machine but I hope to get as much pleasure out of it as Michael obviously had.

Bought the timber this morning to build the platform and ended up with planks that were rather thicker than I wanted but it worked.

As the photo shows the wheels over hang by a couple of inches. The view is deceptive and not as bad as it looks.

Its not all plain sailing on canals

Celebrating the return. Ships cat - Dash - off on a banyan


During my overnight stay at Keadby I met a very nice chap on the boat next to me. He was not a happy bunny. During the recent cold spell the canal at Keadby was frozen over. He was moored up and generally minding his own business waiting for the thaw. Then a British Waterways dredger came along breaking the ice as it went. The ice was about 2 to 3 inches thick and was forced under his boat and lifted it up as it went resulting to damage to the propeller and bending the rudder. The tiller is now at right angles to the rudder and unusable.

The dredger was very unsympathetic and the response was ‘Its not my problem’. The BW reacted like any big company and are slow to react to the mishap and no help it seems.

The usual routine. Being passed from one department to another or the manager is away and the person you want is out of the office at the moment.

Meanwhile he is stuck at Keadby and unable to get his boat moving back to his base in the midlands. Spitting feathers as a description of his feelings is putting it mildly.

He is down to a search for wood to keep the fire going now.

When I left Keadby at 0700 exactly I left a number of my logs with him to tide him over for a few days. The lockkeeper (not Mark) was very punctual in his arrival and passed me out very efficiently on to the low tide. This soon had me shooting along at 9 mph and as time went by it invariably dropped to 7.
The Trent was a mill pond compared to yesterday.

Arrived at Torksey after a trouble free trip and handed over the pack about the Ancholme that was given to me at Ferriby. As the Ancholme is run by the Environmental Agency there is little contact between the lockkeepers and subsequently British Waterways people don’t have the gossip to pass on.

I had tried to find out some information on the internet about moorings etc but all I could come up with was bits on the caravan park and a piece written a couple of years ago by someone who had been up to Brandy Wharf with a 60 foot boat and had to reverse back to the lock to wind.

Moored at Saxilby at 1230. I now need to get rid of the car and put the motor bike onto the bows. Life should be easier then without the need to continually get back to the car to move it.



If you get an unintelligable email from me it is not my fault - honest