Back to Nottingham

Hi,

Here we are again,back to my home town of Nottingham.This time we have arrived here on our own boat,so that’s another “must do” off the list and we are now moored on the Nottingham Canal,about a quarter of a mile from Nottingham Castle.This is the only bit of the Nottingham Canal that is still in use,because it now forms part of the Trent Navigations which bypass the unnavigable stretch of the River Trent through Nottingham,connecting with the Beeston Cut and joining up with the navigable River Trent on either side of the city .The Nottingham Canal was built in 1796 and used to go all the way,from near to were we are now,for 15 miles,to Langley Mill,where we were moored last weekend.I can remember walking parts of the Nottingham Canal as a kid,there was a stretch still in water close to where I lived near Bramcote and this is now a nature reserve and walking trail along which you can walk to Langley Mill.Most of the canal was closed in 1937 and some of the other bits of it,those that went through Nottingham itself,were filled in and built over.

 

On the left is Nottingham Castle as seen from the canal,doesn’t look much of a castle from here,and on the right is Castle lock as we walked into town along the towpath on Monday.That’s the back of John on the right and Sheila and Lisa have gone on ahead.

We left Langley Mill last Wednesday and sadly we were unable to say farewell to Ian and Irene from NB Freespirit because they were out,but we are looking forward to meeting up with them again sometime in the near future and we wish them all the very best and hope that everything works out for them.our cruise then took us steadily down the Erewash Canal to Sandiacre where we moored and went into the town to have a look around some of the places where I had spent many happy times in my youth.There had been some changes,as I expected after forty odd years,but a lot of what I remembered was still there.We left Sandiacre on Thursday morning and did the three locks and three miles back to Trent Lock,where we were due to meet up with Cats Whiskers,the sister narrowboat to our own Chyandour.She was there,with Rodger and Pat her proud owners,together they have been cruising the system since leaving Trent Lock in April and you can follow their adventures here, it was great seeing them again,the last time we saw them was at Ellesmere on the Llangollen Canal in May,then we were on a hire boat from Bettisfield Boats.Rodger and pat are off to travel the world shortly,and won’t be back this way till next year,so it was good to have some time with them before we each go our own ways.

 

The Left hand picture is a stretch on the Erewash Canal as we headed back towards Trent Lock and the right one is one of the many pubs that are found along side all the canals.I think the old Bargees must have been a thirsty bunch.This one is built near to the site of the 18th century gallows to the south of Ilkeston.

 

On the left we are moored on the lock landing as Lisa and I get the lock ready and on the right is Cats Whiskers and Chyandour moored side by side at Trent Lock just before we set off on Saturday Morning.That’s Lisa and Pat on the stern of Cats Whiskers.

On Saturday morning,after topping up our water tank and emptying the toilet cassette,away we went ,out of Trent Lock and onto the River Trent.This was something that had given us cause for a little trepidation as we just didn’t know what to expect.We had done our research,our anchor was ready,we wore our life jackets,here was the big moment,and it proved to be excellent.It was windy and it was cold,with a capital C,but it turned out to be a very enjoyable experience,with the wide river being relatively calm.Our fears were unfounded and we enjoyed our journey along the river to Beeston Cut and then onward to the Nottingham Canal and more friends,John and Sheila,on their boat,WaterRatz.

 

There’s me getting our anchor ready for Saturday and on the right we are cruising steadily up the River Trent towards Nottingham,solar panels getting some sun.

 

The swan decided that we were getting a little too close for comfort and there’s another view of the River Trent.

The rest of the weekend we have spent here on the Nottingham Canal sorting through our things to get them a bit more organised and more accessible.Things are becoming a lot easier to find now and we are finding more room to put things,I hope Lisa isn’t throwing my things into the canal.We’ve been able to spend some time with John and Sheila as well.They are off to India for four months in a few weeks time and the itinerary they have organised for themselves is very impressive.Some of the hotels are excellent value for money,they are going to be travelling all over India from north to south and east to west,by air,rail,road and water.What a winter break.

Monday had us back into Nottingham to get a few more little things to put some of the finishing touches to Chyandour.Things like plastic containers for storage and hosepipe connectors to extend the hoses at water points.Things for hoses are not easy to get at this time of year because shops remove their summer goods from the shelves and put their Christmas stuff out,but we found a great little hardware stall in the market in the Victoria Centre.You know,one of those places that seems to have everything if only you can find it,places that have sadly disappeared from our High Streets.

Anyway,that’s all for this week,we are winding just past the next lock tomorrow and then we are making our way back to Trent Lock.Our 50 hour service is due at Kingfishers and after that we will be free as birds and away out into the wide world.Take care everyone.

Since our last blog we have done 18 Locks and 21 Miles.