Sun 24th
Apr Nottingham to Holme Lock
After
church (see previous entry) we both had lunch in Sainsbury’s Cafe. Hazel stayed to do the shopping, while James
returned to the boat to prepare for cruising. This included cleaning the pram
hood, stern and port side where it seemed that a gaggle of geese had been
having dive bombing practice.
The crew
of Eunoia (Roger and Diana) were
ready to go, but they said they would wait for Hazel to return so we could
share the locks. Hazel took longer than
anticipated, so Roger and Diana decided to go anyway.
Eunoia departing
As they
were setting off, Hazel appeared out of the Sainsbury’s hedge, so we set off in
pursuit, and caught them up as they were waiting for Castle Lock to fill. As Hazel was taking Gabriel into the lock,
the boat was pulled by the bypass weir and for a while got stuck. It needed
some bow hauling and lots of engine power to get off again.
Castle Lock
Fellows, Morton and Clayton warehouse
1 mile to the Trent
We cruised
down the Nottingham Canal past the old FMC warehouse, once a museum, now a pub,
and round a right-angle bend and alongside a main road, before arriving at
Meadow Lane Lock. We went on the left,
so that we could use the elsan point. Then we discovered that things had
changed since last time, and the old (very grubby) facility had been
demolished, and there was a new facility on the right. This now involved a bit
of a trundle with the cassette, up some steps, over a bridge and down a ramp to
do the deed.
Meadow Lane Lock
This area
is full of sports stadia, with Notts County near the canal, and Nottingham
Forest across the Trent, and Trent Bridge cricket ground almost next door.
We set off
down river for just over two miles, negotiating a path through some sailing
boats, before arriving at the Holme Lock visitor moorings, which are not
designed for narrowboats. We had to put our fenders on the cabin sides to
avoiding scraping on the concrete. We moored behind a larger vessel called Eternity.
Heading for Eternity
Lady Mallard
We invited
Roger and Diana for cheese and wine on board Gabriel, where we got to know them a little better. They are
heading for York and Ripon.
Mon 25th
Apr Holme Lock to Gunthorpe
Our roof level mooring at Holme Lock
James went
for a short stroll and saw oyster catchers, common terns, tufted ducks,
cormorants, and sand martins. He discovered that there was a recycling bin,
which is unusual on the waterways. There
was also a water tap, but it was on the wrong side of the access road, and
therefore too far from the boat to be able to use properly. There is also an elsan point here.
We shared Holme
Lock and Stoke Lock with Eunoia and The Mighty Quinn. Then came a long
railway viaduct, and steep wooded bank near Radcliffe (presumably originally Red
Cliff).
Holme Lock
Railway viaduct
Radcliffe
Stoke Lock
Diana took
photos of us, and we took photos of them on Eunoia.
Gabriel on the Trent
Eunoia
We stopped
early at Gunthorpe pontoon mooring. No
phone signal, so emailed Elaine.
She came
at 5pm, in rush hour traffic, and took us to her bungalow in Burton Joyce,
where she prepared a lovely chicken curry for us.
It was
dark by the time we returned to the boat, so we used our phone torches to avoid
nasty things in the grass.
2 locks, 7
miles
Tue 26th
Apr Gunthorpe to Hazelford Lock
Moored at Gunthorpe
Morning light
Gunthorpe Weir
James
walked down to the lock to see if there was anywhere selling gas or coal. There is nowhere. The tearoom at the lock is
now called Biondi Bistro. There is also
a plush Indian restaurant called the Bridge and Bayleaf, another cafe, Tom
Brown’s restaurant and the Unicorn. The Anchor Inn has become an Italian
restaurant, Pontefino. Plenty of eating choices.
Gunthorpe Lock
The water
tap at the lock was high up and difficult to reach, so we didn’t use it. We had
the lock to ourselves, followed by a very cold and windy cruise for 5 miles to
Hazelford Lock, where we finally managed to fill the water tank above the lock.
As we were doing this, A CRT man was showing a volunteer round. We asked them
about the length of stay on the visitor moorings in Newark, and they said
“technically 48 hours, but it won’t be a problem if you stay longer.” We went
through the lock to some lovely low level (for a change!) moorings, with grass,
trees and rabbits. Hugo was chivvied by
crows. James saw a fox that presumably had come across the footbridge over the
weir, in search of rabbits.
Rabbits on the lock island
Hazelford Lock moorings
We did
some research and we plan to stop at Farndon Marina for gas on the way into
Newark. We haven’t yet found a coal
supplier. We contacted Mary and Rod, and
arranged to find an eatery with them on Friday evening. We also rang Caroline Bonnett and arranged to
have lunch with her and Shirley on Sunday.
The Baptist church looks a bit gone away, so we looked around at other
options. We rang the Church of Promise, and they offered to collect us on
Sunday morning, so we took them up on their offer.
In the
afternoon we had heavy rain and sleety snow, followed by lovely sunshine.
Stormy weather
2 locks, 5
miles
Wed 27th
Apr Hazelford to Newark
Moored at Hazelford Lock
James went
to empty a cassette and discovered that there was no facility for this. We set
off downstream in biting winds, and paused at Farndon marina to buy gas. We
also took the opportunity to empty the cassette here.
Then there
was another open stretch of windy river.
How different this was from the memorable day several years ago when we
took Hazel’s two aunts, Frances and Rene and cousin-in-law Mary for a boat trip
here in beautiful sunshine. The two aunts are no longer with us, and we will be
seeing Mary on Friday.
One of the
boatyards had told us there was a coal merchant near Mill Lane. We had looked online, and found a coal
merchant, but they didn’t answer their phone. We also found a car mechanics at
the same address. Looking on Google
Earth we hadn’t been able to see either. We were on our last bag of coal, with
cold weather forecast, so we stopped on some handy bollards (rooftop level),
and James went to investigate.
Near Mill Lane in Newark
He had to
ask a native, because the entrance had no sign outside. It was an old building with an arch and
cobbles, and was where a forge had once been. There was a huge pile of
discarded horse shoes on display. There
were three types of coal in piles, plus all sorts of items rescued from
demolition such as fireplaces. There was also a garage where some car
maintenance was taking place. They lent
James wheelbarrow, and he took two bags at a time back to the boat. Fortunately
he had some cash as that was the only acceptable form of payment!
The coal merchants / car mechanics
Cobbled entrance
Pile of horse shoes
Then we
completed our journey through Newark Lock, past old wharf buildings and Newark
Castle.
Wharf buildings
Newark Castle
We asked
the volunteer on duty at the lock about the length of stay on the visitor
moorings, and he said “48 hours, but no-one takes any notice and no-one
checks”. So that’s two with the same message.
As we were
turning to face upstream, who should come up river round the corner but Eunoia, who we thought were meant to be
on the tideway by then. Apparently there
was some maintenance work taking place on the weir, and they weren’t allowed
through, so they decided to return to Newark and go tomorrow instead.
They
invited us for cheese and wine on board in the evening. How very civilised!
1 lock, 8
miles
Now that
we are in Newark, our programme is: Friday evening – meal with Mary and Rod,
who should have brought our post.
Saturday evening – visit to theatre to see Simon and Garfunkel Story.
Sunday morning - visit to Church of
Promise. Sunday lunchtime – visiting Caroline Bonnett and Shirley Novak.
Next week –
down the Trent to Keadby.
