Arrive at Shobnall Boatyard

Sorry for the delay in the final blog entry for a week or so - life has been a bit hectic .

We have left Densie at Shobnall Boatyard to be blacked and serviced. We expect it to be ready, bright, shiny, and purring by next weekend.

We left Swarkestone just before 9am and past through the final 12foot deep double lock at Stenson. This was a bit exciting as for the first time on this section of the T&M we were in a lock on our own. So we roped up against the side and opened the paddles, carefully starting with the nearside ones as experience has told us that the water enters the lock at an angle, bounces off the wall on the opposite side to the boat and forces the boat safely against the nearside wall. However... the T&M locks are different. Here the stream of water stays on the same side, gets between the boat and the wall and forces it violently across the lock to hit the other wall with a bang. A BW guy kindly explained it all to us once the lock was full and the boat had settled down.

Arriving at Burton on Trent around lunchtime, we stopped for a quick snack at the very pleasant Shobnall Fields park moorings and then checked that the boatyard could accept Densie for next week. Bad luck! No room, so we had to leave her on the towpath just outside the boatyard, to be picked up today.

We had left my car at Shobnall when we started on this journey 2 weeks ago and so with a quick packing of dirty clothes and perishable food we were ready to restart our land-based existence. Back to... (1) dead broadband connection (2) Broken PC (3) 2 weeks worth of washing etc etc.

We expect to pick Densie up on Friday this week or Tuesday next week and charge down the Trent & Mersey for 1 to 1.5 days to our marina. Then we will need to empty the boat and prepare for the winter - probably no more trips this year. But, if we have a warm week or two in November, who knows.

Next blog entry will cover the trip back to our marina.

Swarkestone again

We are now back where we were Monday last week. We left Sawley at 9:45, along the Trent, back up to the Trent & Mersey canal, through the old canal village of Shardlow, up 3 locks, and moored at Swarkestone at 13:45. This leaves us with a half day's run into Burton to leave the boat at Shobnall boatyard.

During the trip we accompanied and assisted a hireboat (exCanaltime, now hireacanalboat.com) who had started out from Sawley yesterday afternoon, through two of the locks - their first ones. The crew was inexperienced, but the only lock training provided by the hire company was a video. This seems to us rather irresponsible as the locks on this section of the Trent & Mersey are large, and create strong eddies during operation. If you dont know what you are doing you could sink your boat in the lock. I guess most of their hirers dont but even so....

Heading home

As the weather forecast is predicting 50mph winds on Saturday we have decided to get to Shobnall boatyard in Burton by Friday as manoeuvring the boat in that speed of wind is very difficult. So we have been travelling until 4pm to moor in Sawley.

We left Holme lock at 9:00, went through Meadow Lane lock where workmen are still creating the new riverside walk, without any delays and moored in Nottingham. There, Denise went shopping in the city centre whilst I shopped for provisions for the final time at Sainsburys. We then went into Castle Marina for a pumpout and to refill with water. That completed we retraced our route of last week down the Beeston canal to the Trent, through Cranfleet Cut, back onto the Trent and then up Sawley lock. Fortunately the weather has been warmer and less windy today and so the lengthy trip today was no great effort.

Holme lock

Typical Trent view

A short day today. We travelled the 7 miles from Gunthorpe to Holme Lock, just outside Nottingham during the morning and moored up at lunchtime. Again the wind was strong which made steering the boat tiring and so we were happy to stop early.

Rapid lock filling at Holme

At the last lock, Holme, the lock-keeper was keen wanted to get us up quickly as he had a scheduled trip boat due to come down. He therefore made sure we were properly roped to the side of the lock and raised the paddles fully.

Holme Pierpoint Hall

During the afternoon we walked to the nearby village of Holme Pierpoint where there was an impressive Hall, an interesting church (locked unfortunately) and little else. We returned through the National Watersports Centre next to our mooring. There were 2 rowers on the spectacular mile long main lake as well as a few people practising their canoeing on the slalom course.

Heading home - back in Gunthorpe

15th Century frontage of the former Old White Horse Inn

We had an enjoyable weekend in Newark. The town centre is attractive with many medieval buildings. On Sunday we were the only people on two guided tours of the parts of the castle normally close to visitors. One tour focused on the dungeons and the other looking more widely at the life and history of the castle.

Both tours were led by the castle curator who had a wealth of knowledge on his subject. Particular smaller items that intrigued me were graffiti carved by Knights Templars in the dungeon in the 14th century and the blast evidence on the smoke blackened walls of how the parliamentary forces had destroyed the castle with gunpowder after Newark was captured at the end of the Civil War.

But perhaps the most notable event during our visit was the unplanned and unexpected meeting up again in the town with Martin and Lynne of the narrowboat Mulberry with whom we had crossed the Penines during the summer.

Waiting outside the gates of Newark Town Lock

But, we had to leave this morning. We would have liked to make a lengthy journey but the weather was windy and cool. So by lunchtime we were ready to stop at Gunthorpe where we had stayed on Thursday night.

We reach Newark

Our meal last night in Gunthorpe at the Pontefino Italian restaurant was very enjoyable. The food was excellent and the staff friendly. We would recommend the resraurant to anyone in the area - a little pricey but definitely worth it.

We left our mooring shortly after 9am when John, my walking partner, arrived to join us for the trip down the river. After a refill of water before Gunthorpe Lock our passage through the lock was delayed by the need for the lock keeper to refill the hydraulic oil in the lock mechanism - there is a leak, which will hopefully be fixed in the next day or so.

After leaving the lock we entered what the guidebook calls "probably the most beautiful and certainly the most dramatic" section of the Trent. For the next five miles until the next lock at Hazelford the river is lined with farmland on the west and a steep thickly wooded hillside on the east. This attractive scenery enhanced by the very good weather led us to agree with the guidebook's assessment.

Our next task was to drop John off on the west side of the river so he could walk down the towpath back to his car. This could have been difficult as there are no mooring places on that side and the river edge was shallow with large boulders scattered along the shore. Fortunately we noticed a section where the river bank had been built up with sand bags and I was able to gingerly edge the bow of the boat in sufficiently for John to leap ashore.

Staythorpe Power Station

Carrying on down the river we passed the construction site for the new gas fueled Staythorpe power station which will generate sufficient electricity for the whole of Nottinghamshire. It is worth noting that the Trent valley is the major power generation area of the UK - some 25% of the country's electricity is generated near the river.

Entering Newark

We arrived in Newark at 1pm passing through the Town Lock, past the dramatic castle ruins and onto floating moorings an easy walk from the town centre. These moorings have an electicity supply so we wont need to run the engine until we leave on Monday. Which is when I will write the next Blog entry.

Back on the Trent

Waiting at Stoke Lock

We will enter the lock once the lights turn green

We left our central Nottingham mooring and moved on down the canal until Meadow Lane lock (next to Meadow Lane Stadium - Notts County). This lock is only open for a couple of hours between 7am and 6:30pm as redevelopment work is taking place. We had arrived at the right time and were able to go straight through onto the Trent opposite Notts Forest stadium.

The weather was ideal for boating - blue skies but not too hot - and the scenary was interesting. Our first lock on the Trent was at Holme, next to the Holme Pierrepoint National Watersports centre. Whilst waiting for a boat to leave the lock I was able to watch a couple of canoeists shooting down the artificial white water course.

On this section of the River Trent there are several weirs each of which is bypassed by a lock. These locks are large, having been designed for the commercial barges which no longer travel on this non-tidal upper river. The locks are usually controlled by lock-keepers who, as well as operating the lock machinery, check that your boat is licensed and inform the lock keeper at the next lock of your impending arrival.

3 miles beyond Holme lies Stoke Lock just beyond attractive wooded cliffs at Radcliffe on Trent. After a further 4.5 miles we arrived at Gunthorpe where there are good moorings. As on most rivers mooring on the Tent is difficult and is limited to a few officially designated locations.

Gunthorpe is an unusual little riverside village in that it has no shops, one pub/hotel, but three restaurants one of which we look forward to trying tonight.

Nottingham

We left our mooring at 9am and moved on to the nearby Cranfleet lock where we refilled the water tank. Unfortunately a rather slow tap so this took about 30mins. Then through the lock and onto the Trent.

The river here is very wide but there were no strong currents, so the journey was easy. The depth of water enabled us to increase the engine power enough to average 4mph - on the canals an average of 3 mph is good going. We could have gone faster, but the engine noise would have been too intrusive.

After 55 mins on the Trent we left the river just before a large weir to join the Beeston Cut, the route into the city. The cut is protected from the river by Beeston Lock, where a large class of young school children waved, took pictures, asked a few questions, and helped with the lock gates.

Going on towards the city centre, as in many cities on the canals, the surroundings are surprisingly attractive for much of the time. Unlike other towns and cities we have travelled through there was very little rubbish and the canal and towpath looked well maintained.

We have now moored within sight of Nottingham Castle (a relatively modern 17thC building, not the home of the evil Sheriff) and within 100 yards of a large Sainsburys where we were able stock up for the next few days.

Denise went out in the afternoon for some retail therapy - a 30min walk to the city centre whilst I fought with T-Mobile. Although we have a very strong 3G broadband signal here there was no connectivity to the internet. I have had to use the painfully slow GPRS - Grrrr!

River Trent

On the Trent near Shardlow - M1 bridge

We left Swarkestone at 8:40 and continued down the Trent & Mersey. Lunch was eaten at Shardlow, an interesting old canal village with several warehouses and pubs dating from the time when the canal was the major trade route in the area.

Radcliffe power station from Sawley

After Shardlow we left the canal and started on the River Trent. This is now becoming a wide river, Densie seems very small as we cruise onwards. We passed through the electrically powered Sawley lock, which last time we were here (April 2008) had a permanent lock-keeper, but today was boater operated.

The next point of interest was the junction at Trent Lock, where the Trent, Soar Navigation, Erewash Canal, and the Cranfleet Cut meet. This last small stretch of canal bypasses a large weir on the Trent and provided our route towards Nottingham. We have moored at the start of theCranfleet Cut just off the Trent. The wind is gusty, and we can hear the continual lapping of the water against our hull. Hopefully this wont disturb our sleep.

Burton and beyond

Marstons Brewery in Burton

Today we travelled for 5 hours to catch up on our schedule after yesterday's early stop. We left Branston at 9am with the weather rather cooler than yesterday and reached Burton on Trent mid morning.

Burton is not the most attractive town when visited by road, dominated by the breweries in the centre and modern warehouse development around the outskirts. However the canal route is pleasant, clean, and tidy. Much is tree lined with some well kept parkland and playing fields. There are also good views of older buildings, perhaps the most notable being Marstons brewery.

Leaving Burton the canal remains attractive though it is dominated by the adjacent A38. We stopped for lunch at Willington. After Willington the canal travels through fairly flat farmland with little contact with the outside world except for the occasional train on a nearby line.

Approaching Stenson lock we were surprised to see a hairy bull contentedly munching grass on the towpath. We then passed a farmer walking down the towpath looking for his bull and then a policeman doing the same.

All the locks so far on our journey were narrow but Stenson and subsequent locks are wide, accommodating 2 narrowboats. We were fortunate to be able to share the lock with another boat.

We moored at 3pm out in the countryside near Swarkestone, famous as the point at which Bonny Prince Charlie abandoned his march on London and started his return to Scotland some 30 years before the canal was built.

Branston

Branston Water Park

We are moored at Branston (allegedly where the pickle came from) just south of Burton on Trent. It is a pleasant spot as the moorings are next to a large lake surrounded by woodland which forms the basis of Branston Water Park, a nature reserve and park popular with local families and dog walkers.

We left our Alrewas mooring shortly after 9am. The canal was busy with many boats travelling towards us which meant that the locks were already set when we arrived and we didn't need to close the lock gates after we left, a pattern that continued throughout the journey.

After the two Alrewas locks the canal joins the River Trent for a quarter mile. The last time we travelled this section the river journey was "exciting" as the Trent was flowing strongly and the "Proceed with caution" warning was in place. This time however it was very quiet with little indication of any flow at all.

Beyond the river section the canal passes alongside the busy and noisy A38 for 2 miles, a road we use frequently. A mile or so after leaving the A38 we arrived at Branston and decided to stop as it was time for lunch. Having no desire to moor in Burton on Trent we decided to moor for the rest of the day and to make up the time with a long trip tomorrow.

On the water again!

After 6 weeks rest we are back on Densie. Our plan is to go to Newark on the Trent, passing through Burton on Trent and Nottingham. The return journey should take us 2 weeks - we need to be back in Burton on the 4th October as Densie is booked into a boatyard there to get her bottom blacked and the engine serviced. Canal boat hulls need painting every 2 years or so in a bitumin, or similar, based paint to protect against corrosion.

After a quick breakfast at home we packed one car with clothes for a fortnight and food and drink for 5 days and took both cars to the Burton boatyard where we dropped off one and then travelled on to our marina at King's Bromley near Lichfield. We need a car at Burton so when we leave the boat on our way back we can get home.

We were ready to leave after lunch on board and motored out of the marina by 1:30 onto the Trent & Mersey canal which will takes us to near Nottingham. It was great being back on the water again. The weather was pleasant and the scenery attractive.

We passed through Fradley Junction where the Coventry canal joins the T&M. This is one of the most photographed points on the canal system as it has everything for visiting canal enthusiasts - a major junction, a flight of 5 locks, and a famous pub overlooking the canal. The downside for boats passing through is that it is very busy with queues to get through the locks and obstructions caused by mooring and turning boats.

We haved moored for the night at Alrewas (pronounced ol-rue-us), an old and pretty canal-side village.

Densie goes home

Densie at home in the marina

The time has finally come, our trip is over. Our longest and furthest trip ever on the canals.

We left our countryside moorings early at 8:10 as there was no point in hanging around and we needed to leave plenty of time for packing and shopping for our first day back home. Densie cruised into the marina at 10:50 after a trip of 7 miles. We moored at our pontoon after a quick pump-out.

Clearing and cleaning the boat took another 1.5 hours and after lunch on board we stopped by at the local Waitrose to buy some food to last us until we did our major shopping over the weekend. And then back to the house which fortunately was still there although the wisteria was clearly trying to hide it.

Some basic statistics.....

We have been away for 78 days covering 391 miles, 333 locks, and 47 lift/swing bridges. Our time on the move amounted to 254 hours. We didn't measure the inches of rain!

Finally we should award some Oscars.....

Favourite moorings: Summit of the Leeds & Liverpool near Nuttleber Dyke
Runner Up: Bugsworth Basin
Favourite Canal: They were all wonderful in their own way!!!
Favourite City: Manchester
Favourite town/village: Hebdon Bridge
Runner Up: Skipton
Favourite restaurant: Red'n'Hot Szechuan restaurant in Manchester Chinatown
BW personality of the trip: Rob, the Tuell Lane lock keeper

and special thanks to Claymore Navigation for providing us with electricity and a mooring when our domestic power failed.

This is the final blog entry until our next trip later in the year. Thanks for viewing!!

Shugborough Hall - Trent & Mersey again

Shugborough Hall

Today we planned to visit Shugborough Hall, the residence for 450 years of the Anson family who became the Earls of Litchfield. We left Tixall Wide at 9:30, joined the Trent & Mersey Canal at Great Heywood Junction and moored up at 10:00.

Our first task was to visit the local farm shop, a favourite of ours ever since we moved to the area. There we bought a steak pie for this evening's dinner and some raspberries and cream for pud. Having dropped these at the boat, we went on t0 Shugborough Hall.

This is now owned by the National Trust, although the Litchfield family still live in a part of the Hall. The public rooms are well worth visiting containing much furniture and other pieces collected by the family over the past 250 years, although much was lost when the first Earl had to sell most of his possessions to cover gambling debts.

Two aspects of the Hall particularly impressed me. One was the guides positioned in each major room who greeted each visitor and explained in detail the key points of their room. The other was an exhibition of photographs taken by the 5th Earl (Patrick Litchfield) who died in 2005. Many of the photographs were of the swinging 60's including Mick Jagger, Oliver Reed, and a young Joanna Lumley. Other themes were racing cars and their drivers and his family (he was the Queen's cousin).

Also of interest were memorabilia of Admiral George Anson who led a 4 year round the world voyage in the 1740's in the course of which he captured a Spanish treasure ship, his share forming the basis of the family fortune. The exhibits included some "pieces of eight" from that prize.

Cannock Chase across the Trent valley from the canal

After leaving Shugborough we had lunch on the boat and travelled down the canal for an hour and moored to spend the last night of our journey out in the country.

Penkridge and Tixall Wide

Rodbaston Lock next to the M6

Tixall Wide

On the move again down the Staffs & Worcester Canal. We set off from Gailey at 8:40. By 10:30 after 2.5 miles and 5 locks we reached Penkridge, a large village where we shopped for necessities and 2 chocolate and cream eclairs.

After filling up with water we set off again and after passing beneath the M6 stopped out in the country for lunch. Half an hour later we were moving again, the final destination being Tixall Wide where the canal has formed an attractive reed-fringed lake, a favourite spot for boaters. In all today we have travelled for 6.5 hours covering 12 miles and 11 locks, one of our longest days for some time.

As I write, the sun is shining, great crested grebes are swimming near the boat, and the countryside looks beautiful - what more can one want??

Goodbye Shroppie - Hello Staffs and Worcester

We now feel we are on the homeward trek so we wanted to get a move on. Unfortunately it was raining first thing in the morning, so we waited. Fortunately by 9:15 the rain had stopped and we set off. Shortly after, the rain started again, but not too bad.

By 10:30 we had reached Autherley Junction where the Shroppie meets the Staffs and Worcester Canal. It was raining heavily so we decided to give up for a while. After lunch the rain had stopped so we moved off via the 1 foot stop lock that prevented the upstart Shroppie from stealing water from the old S&W.

The S&W is very different to the Shroppie. It was built around 1770 by Brindley and was one of the very early canals, some 60 years older than the Shroppie. It is a contour canal snaking around the slightest hills and valleys, at one point executing a hairpin turn. However compared to the Shroppie it is wide and deep, with moorer friendly sides.

After a fairly dry trip we reached Gailey, a small canal centre, at around 17:00 and spent the next hour looking for somewhere to moor, all the visitor mooring spaces being full. We eventually had to go down a lock and found plentiful mooring slots there in reasonable countryside. Then the rain started again, but it didnt matter!

More good weather - Brewood

Cowley Cutting

Aqueduct over the A5 (road also built by Telford)

A day of pootling down the Shroppie as the fine weather continues. We started at 8:45 and filled up with water. By 12:30 we had reached Brewood (pronounced "brood"), a large village by the canal. We had lunch on board and then spent an hour looking round the few shops and the interesting church whose highpoint was a set of alabaster tombs of the Gifford family dating from the 16th and 17th centuries.

We decided to staythe night out in the country and so we cruised for a further 45 minutes south of Brewood where we are now moored.

Making the most of the good weather

High Bridge in the Grub Street Cutting - note the telegraph pole!

No Blog yesterday because we didnt do much really. Just pumped-out, filled up with water, shopped for 4 days groceries and stayed moored at Market Drayton as it rained most of the day.

Today is different. We awoke to sunshine and some light clouds. Denise put some sealant around the panels and windows in the wooden doors to stop rain seepage and the resultant discolouration of the wood.

When this was completed at 9:40 we set off. We quickly reached the very attractive Tyrley locks - a flight of 5 mainly in a wooded cutting. Our only problem there was that some of the by-washes, whereby water is diverted around each lock, were ferocious. As soon as the bow of the boat reaches such a by-wash it is pushed across in the flow turning the boat on one direction. This is reversed when the by-wash meets the rear of the boat. So one's careful aim towards the open lock is thrown off-course and the boat hits the lock entrance with an embarrassing bang.

After the Tyrley locks, the Shropshire Union is lock free for the remaining 24 miles. All hills and valleys are crossed by Telford's massive embankments and deep cuttings. We stopped for an hour for lunch out in the countryside and then moved on intending to moor at Norbury Junction, a well known canal location with plentiful moorings.

Unfortunately these plentiful moorings were all taken. Stopping outside the official moorings is difficult on the Shropshire Union because of a ledge a foot or two below the water level along the canal side. This creates a worrying grating sound as a moored boat moves in the wind, or as other boats pass. So we had to carry on an extra 2 miles to Gnossall, making the journey a total of 13 miles in 6.5 hours.

Angler in Woodseaves Cutting

Our speed down the canal was greatly restricted as we hit a major fishing competition. There were apparently 480 anglers sat along 4 miles of canal. The rods used are very long, stretching the width of the canal, presumably as the best fish are always furthest from the anglers. As we motored along slowly and steadily each angler in turn had to raise his rod high in the air to let us pass. We felt like guests of honour at a military parade.

Market Drayton

It is nearly time to shop again, so we started at 9am on the 3.6 mile/5 lock journey to the next town, Market Drayton. First task was the 5 closely-spaced Adderley locks. These were quickly and easily ascended as most of the locks were empty, having been set by a boat coming down. The locks were followed by the 3 miles of empty countryside taking us into Market Drayton where we moored at 11am.

As we had enough food for today we spent the afternoon looking at the town centre and locating the supermarket which we will visit tomorrow. Market Drayton looks an attractive place, but the centre indicates it has been badly hit by the recession. We estimate over 30% of all the premises are closed, some of those remaining being charity shops

On through the Shropshire countryside

The Audlem flight

After Hacks Green, the canal traverses the empty countryside in a more or less straight line with the only feature of note being the 15 Audlem locks and the outskirts of Audlem village. There is little else apart from the fields, woods and a few bridges.

We started early at 7:50 hoping to miss the rain. We failed, there were intermittant showers, some heavy throughout our 5.5 hour trip covering 5.3 miles and the 15 locks. We have moored at the bottom of the 5 Adderley locks which we will go through tomorrow. As I write this blog at 16:15 the weather has cleared up and it looks like being a pleasant evening.

Back to Telford and his abilities, it is worth noting that all the locks on this canal are ascending, Birmingham being higher than Nantwich. Despite the hills on the route Telford avoided any locally descending locks.