Loughborough.

Hi all,
Our journey has now brought us to the Market Town of Loughborough in Leicestershire as we get ever closer to the end of our third year on Chyandour. One of Loughborough's claims to fame is that it was the destination of the very first package tour organised by Thomas Cook. On the fifth of July 1841, a group of temperance campaigners travelled here on a chartered train from Leicester. We arrived here earlier today by a much slower means of transport in the company of Val and Pete on Tadpole 2 and, in all honesty, none of us could be said to be temperant. We are moored on the Grand Union Canal, River Soar Navigation, to give it the full title, just a few minutes walk from the centre of town and just around the corner from the CRT Service Block where there's water, Elsan, toilets and showers.

Newark Castle as we passed by on the approach to Newark Town Lock last Tuesday.

We  Left Newark on Trent last Tuesday morning and had another great cruise along the River Trent to Gunthorpe, where we moored on the visitor pontoon a few hundred yards West of the lock. This pontoon has a security gate so you need a Waterways Key to access the land. There's also a good pub near to the pontoon, The Unicorn, and as you can guess, we just had to give it a try, it would be rude not to.

Approaching Gunthorpe Lock. Red and Green lights together shows the Lock Keeper is preparing the lock for us to enter

The next day we moved on from Gunthorpe and made our way to Nottingham and the first  of our stops in the city of my birth. I've allways wanted to take our boat under Trent Bridge and moor on the embankment in front of Nottingham County Hall and on Wednesday I got my chance. The moorings there are just a short walk to both Nottingham Forrest and Notts County Football Grounds as well as the World famous Trent Bridge Cricket Ground. Of the three venues, the only one I've ever been into is Forrest's ground and that was way back on Boxing Day 1968.

Looking back at Radcliffe Railway Viaduct which was built around 1850.The arch to the left is 110 feet wide with 24 feet clearance above the river.

Lisa looking after Chyandour as we wait at Holme Lock. This lock is adjacent to The National Watersports Centre at Holme Pierrepont

Looking back at Trent Bridge on the River Trent in Nottingham

On Thursday we set off again but this time only for a couple of miles and through two locks along The Nottingham Canal which, together with the Beeston Cut, bypasses an unnavigable stretch of the River Trent. We cruised to Castle Meadow moorings, which are overlooked by Nottingham Castle and are next to a Sainsbury's Superstore. These moorings are on the only remaining bit of The Nottingham Canal which originally went from the River Trent below Trent Bridge for fifteen miles up to Langley Mill and the Erewash and Cromford Canals. Opened in 1796 it was closed in 1937 and the section through the City was filled in from Lenton Chain and the junction of the Beeston Cut after 1955. Lenton Chain gets its name from the chain that was strung across the canal on Sundays to prevent boat movements on the Sabbath. I remember playing on some of the towpath of the Nottingham canal to the North of the City with my childhood friends.

A Beautiful day for a cruise. Here we are entering Meadow Lane Lock on the Nottingham Canal

Nottingham Castle overlooking the canal as we approach our mooring at Castle Meadow.

While moored at Castle Meadow we took a walk into the City centre to see if I could find a Nottinghamshire Boat Flag, I've looked for one online and elsewhere but with no luck and Nottingham proved to be just as fruitless. After a few hours browsing around the four of us decided to do some of the Tourist bits, namely The Trip To Jerusalem, The Old Salutation and The Royal Child, three of Nottinghams famous pubs. A great time was had by all I can assure you. We did take time out to have a look at the statue of Robin Hood outside the Castle, he still had his arrow which, if I remember rightly, was always being pinched when I was a kid.

Under Nottingham are a lot of Sandstone caves that have been used over the years for many things from homes to warehouses. Here we all are with the Landlord in the caves beneath The Old Salutation Pub. He kindly gave us a tour of what were cellars and meeting rooms.

Here's Robin Hood looking all smart and complete with his arrow.

On Friday we left Nottingam and cruised for another short distance, this time along The Beeston Cut to Beeston where we parted company from Tadpole 2 for a day or two, and met up with some old friends that we haven't seen for the best part of two years. We knew that John and Sheila on Water Ratz would be on the Cut and we planned to have a couple of days with them before heading off to catch up with Val & Pete again. After enjoying ourselves at Beeston we set off on Sunday morning through Beeston Lock and back down onto the navigable River Trent to Trent Lock where Tadpole 2 was waiting.

A misty morning on Beeston Cut.

Looking downstream from the pontoon at Trent Lock with Radcliffe Power Station in the background. To the right there's Thrumpton Weir and the River Soar, down which we went to Loughborough this morning.To the left is Cranfleet Cut and just off the picture, Trent Lock and the Erewash Canal.

It was from the pontoon moorings at Trent Lock that we set off this morning after a quick chat with Mick, one of the brothers who built Chyandour and who run the nearby Kingfisher Boatyard and Dry Dock. We couldn't have gone without saying hello, that would be bad manners.
Well, that's all again for this week. Since our last blog we have gone through 15 Locks and cruised for 43 Miles. That gives us a Grand Total of 1,321 Locks and 2,337 Miles since we set off back in October 2012. Please Take care everyone.

Newark on Trent

Hi all,
Our blog for this week comes to you from the Nottinghamshire Market Town of Newark on Trent in the East Midlands. As the name suggests it is situated on the River Trent but it is also on a couple of other former major highways, the Great North Road, or A1, between London and Scotland and The Fosse Way, the Roman Road from Exeter to Lincoln. We got here yesterday after cruising up the River from Cromwell Lock where we'd spent a couple of days doing what we do best, relaxing. Our current mooring is outside the CRT offices here and once again we have water and electricity available. The four of us, Lisa, myself, Val and Pete, have had a gentle stroll around the town and it's quite a nice place to stay. The Market Square is surrounded by some lovely buildings and reminds me of some of the towns in Europe that we have visited. There's also the Castle Barge Pub moored almost opposite us on the river. It's a former Spillers grain barge which used to travel between Hull and Gainsborough, carrying, surprise, surprise, grain for flour and it was converted into a public house in 1980. It's very nice inside and there was live music outside when we visited it yesterday, they also serve a nice Real Ale or two, what more could you ask for ??

The Market Square here at Newark. There was a bit of an Antiques fair today.

We left Keadby Lock as planned last Tuesday and made our way up the River Trent for some twenty seven miles or so till we reached the mouth of the Fossdyke Navigation at Torksey, where we turned off the river and moored on the Pontoon below Torksey Lock. Our first ever journey on a tidal river had been excellent, Chyandour and Tadpole 2 performed faultlessly and the river gave us no problems whatsoever. The Lockeepers at Keadby, Mark one and Mark three, had given us sound advice on the best time to set off and as the tide traveled up the river on Tuesday afternoon it took us with it. There are three Lockeepers operating Keadby Lock and they are all named Mark in case you're wondering, Mark two being on holiday. I must admit that I know very little of how tides behave on the river and I understand even less but we did have the benefit of a Neap Tide which, as I understand it, is the most gentle of the tides and also Tuesdays was one of the lowest tides recently, so that's another couple of reasons why we had such a good cruise. I have to say though, anyone entering the river at any of the locks should always consult the Lockeepers about tides and times to be sure of getting the best out of their journey, as well as having a safe one. There are no Commercial boats operating on the river now so that was another problem we no longer had to worry about.

Keadby Lock, first used in 1802 and if the Lockie is to be believed, the only wooden Balance Beam remaining, that's the one in the middle this side, dates back to then

Val and Pete at the helm of Tadpole 2 as she leaves Keadby Lock last Tuesday.

Sally Earl with Martin at the helm as he overtook us on the river after we left Keadby. Sally Earl is better suited for river cruising. Martin gave us a lot of useful advice about mooring etc.

The following day was spent around Torksey and we walked along to the rather large Car Boot Sale that they have every week throughout the year on Wednesdays and Saturdays. We didn't buy much but Lisa does love a Car Boot Sale. I've always wondered though, why would anyone with a car want to buy another boot ??? Anyway, as you would expect of us, we also managed to enjoy the delights of the pub close to the lock, The White Swan, where they serve some good food at reasonable prices as well as a nice pint of Real Ale, the name of which escapes me. It must be an age thing, it couldn't be the ale.

On the Fossdyke Navigation looking to it's junction with the River Trent.

On Thursday we checked things out with Neil, the Lockie at Torksey, with regard to our anticipated departure at about seven o'clock the next morning. After that, armed with our trusty Bus Passes, we took ourselves off for the day and traveled to the nearby City of Lincoln, where we had another good time enjoying the sights. It was graduation day so the the city was pretty busy but we managed to get into the Cathedral and Castle Grounds to have a look around.

Looking at Lincoln Cathedral from a different perspective.

High Bridge in Lincoln, called the Glory Hole, it's on the River Witham and is the oldest bridge with buildings on it in the UK. Built around 1160, the buildings on it are from around 1550.

 The next, and final, leg of our journey on the Tidal Trent started as we expected on Friday morning. Just after seven o'clock, the pontoons on which we were moored began to rise as the tide came upriver and, after casting off, away we went, with the tide helping us against the rather gentle flow that was coming downstream. We think the gentle flow was due to the recent long spell of fine dry weather 'cos we've been told that the Trent can be a bit of a devil after heavy rainfall and we're all glad we didn't find out first hand.  After eighteen miles we came upon the lock at Cromwell, which was ready and waiting for us as I had phoned the Lockie when we were a couple of miles out. All the locks have landlines and mobile phones and the lockies appreciate a call to let them know you're getting close and each Lockeeper also notifies the next if you intend to continue your journey onwards. A quick word with Shaun, the lockie at Cromwell, regarding our intentions for the next day or two and we moored up on the pontoon above the lock where we had the pleasure of electricity and water if we wanted it. Cards to pay for the electric being available from the lockie at a reasonable price.

The two of us in Cromwell Lock, plenty of room for a few other boats. We keep back as far as possible to avoid the turbulence as the lock fills.

A sad sight at Cromwell Lock. It's a memorial to ten Volunteer Paratroopers on night training in September 1975. They were washed over the weir, when a power cut shut off the warning lights, and drowned.

We set off from Cromwell Lock yesterday morning having decided that Saturday should be an easy day because rain was forecast and, as allways, we didn't want to cruise in the rain if we didn't have too. It was another  good trip up the river and we arrived at Newark Nether Lock after about an hour and a half cruising. After leaving the lock we cruised for another three quarters of a mile till we got here at The Kiln moorings on the West bank of the river, there was enough room for us to breast up so here we've stayed, today being a bit damp and dismal, with heavy rain and thunder as I write.

The approach to Newark Nether Lock from Cromwell. the red lights ask us to wait for the gates to open, once they go to green in we go.

Well that's it again for this week folks. Since last week we have gone through 3 locks and cruised 51 Miles, that gives us a Grand Total of 1,306 Locks and 2,294 Miles since we set off on our journey in October 2012. Please take care everyone.

Stainforth and Keadby Canal.

Hi all,
This week our story comes to you from the Stainforth & Keadby Canal in South Yorkshire. We're moored just West of Keadby Lock as we wait to get onto the River Trent which will take us towards our final destination of this year, Trent Lock and the Erewash Canal, where Chyandour first entered the water three years ago. The next leg of our journey on the Trent is a little nerve racking as it will be the first time either ourselves or Val and Pete on Tadpole 2 have ever been on a tidal river. We've heard many conflicting stories of what to expect but my instinct is to go with the positive experiences and not be put off by the negatives. We've planned for it and prepared for it as best we can so bring it on.After a chat with Mark the Lockie here at Keadby this afternoon, he assured us we had picked a good time to go, so we will be locking down onto the river after lunch tomorrow.
Last week we spent Monday night in Clarence Dock while we recovered from Sunday nights celebrations with John and Dianne, aka "the Chillies", who live in nearby Birstall. We met them last Winter in Corralejo and the six of us planned to meet up when our boats arrived in Leeds so we could go for a "Kerry", as John calls it, a curry, to the rest of us. He took us to a great Indian Restaurant near Birstall and together with his brother, Steve and his wife Josie, we all had large quantities of alcoholic beverages to wash down the very reasonably priced and enjoyable meal.

The eight of us preparing to enjoy our "Kerry".

As a result, it was Tuesday morning when, together with the brothers Steve and John as passengers, Tadpole 2 and Chyandour set off to make our way to our next stop at Woodlesford Lock, which was three locks and four and a half miles along the Aire and Calder Navigation. The Aire and Calder is a mix of river and canal and the first bit of canal starts where it leaves the River Aire just outside Clarence Dock and runs parallel to the river before rejoining it at Lemonroyd. At Woodlesford the brothers said farewell and made their way back to Leeds on the train. We meanwhile had a walk around what had once been an area of industrialisation but has now been given back to nature. There were coal mines and a power station close to the canal but now there's little to be seen except some obviously landscaped spoil heaps that are already being covered with trees and shrubs.

Leaving Leeds Lock on our way down the Aire and Calder Navigation.

An unusual view. Along the Navigation from under the A1/M1 Link Bridge.

Just one of the many animal carvings that can be seen around a very well looked after Woodlesford Lock.

Woodlesford Lock. At a guess you could probably get eight narrowboats in this lock.

The next day, Wednesday, we set off once again, this time to Castleford where, having got back onto the river, we meet the Aire and Calder Navigation, another part river, part canal waterway, and the Castleford Cut, obviously a canal. We spent a couple of nights moored on The Cut, enjoying some of the delights of Castleford which has a large open Market as well as a large covered one and the usual shops, and there's also The Griffin, near to the canal, which is a pub that sells a rather enjoyable pint of John Smiths Bitter.

The weir at Castleford on the River Aire.The Barge with the shrubbery growing out of it broke free from her moorings and was washed downstream till she founded here. She's been here about thirty years now.

 On Friday we set off from the Visitor Moorings at Castleford to cover the remaining bit of The  Cut before entering Bulholme Lock, this dropped us down the eight feet to return to the river on which we cruised for the four miles or so to Ferrybridge to rejoin the canal to make our way to Whitley Lock where we planned to stay the night. Again the banks of both the river and the canal showed signs of past industrialisation, as well as Power Stations still in use, as we passed, first under The Ferrybridge and then through the town of Ferrybridge itself.

The Ferrybridge at Ferrybridge in West Yorkshire which was an important crossing on the River Aire for The Great North Road

 After staying overnight below Whitley Lock we left the lovely,but a bit noisy from the nearby Motorway, moorings on Saturday morning and cruised along the wide and relatively straight Aire and Calder to it's junction with the New Junction Canal. This canal was one of the last canals to be built and it shows, it is wide and dead straight for it's entire five and a half mile length and has just one lock, Skyehouse, which had a Lock keeper on duty who worked us through. Below the lock we moored for the night and went for a walk along a very seldom used, and difficult to find, Footpath to the nearby village of Skyehouse. There we spent very comfortable and friendly few hours in The Old George Inn as we watched England win at rugby.
Yesterday we left Skyehouse and cruised to the end of The New Junction Canal and turned sharp left onto the Stainforth and Keadby Canal at Bramwith Junction where we travelled parallel to the River Don on an embankment to our left. Tadpole 2 was, by this stage, getting a bit low on Diesel so we stopped at Stanisland Marina, just before Thorne Lock, and fuelled up. They're a friendly lot at this marina, pretty much as we find at most marinas, and they invited us to stay the night, enabling us to visit the nearby town of Thorne instead of chancing our luck at the Visitor Moorings below the lock. A nice gesture that was much appreciated. While there we had the bonus of the AVRO Vulcan Bomber XH558, fly overhead on it's way back to Doncaster Airport. Sadly this aircraft will be grounded at the end of this season and it's unlikely it will ever fly again.

Skyhouse Road Bridge on the New Junction Canal. Just one of the many Lift or Swing Bridges we encountered.

The Guillotine Gates on the Don Aqueduct that carries the New Junction Canal over the River Don.

 This morning we said our farewells to all at the marina and set off to make our way just over ten miles to Keadby. Travelling through countryside that looks very much like East Anglia we made our steady way through one lock and eight movable bridges, taking us a bit over four hours. The last few miles reminded us of the Erewash Canal as it had a covering of weed just like a lawn, it looks as though you could walk on it in places.

Chyandour making her way through the weed on the Stainforth and Keadby Canal.

The Vazon Sliding Railway Bridge about half a mile from Keadby Lock. This bridge slides sideways to allow boats to pass. We had to wait for a convenient gap in the rail traffic before we could go through.

The bridge opens and through we can go.

 Well thats the lot again for this week folks. Since last week we have gone through 12 Locks and 14 Bridges and cruised 46 Miles which brings our Grand Total to 1,303 Locks and 2,243 Miles since we set off on our travels in October 2012.Please take care everyone.

Clarence Dock, Leeds.

Hi all,

This week the tale of our travels comes to you from Leeds, a City in West Yorkshire at the Eastern end of the Leeds & Liverpool Canal. We have now covered the whole one hundred and twenty seven and a quarter miles from Liverpool and we are moored in Clarence Dock just off the River Aire, above Leeds Lock in the City. There are other moorings on the Leeds & Liverpool Canal as you enter Leeds, some in the Basin above Office Lock and then some below the lock in Granary Wharf but the ones here are the best. Some of the moorings in this dock have electricity and water while others have only water, we've been lucky and got  one with both. Its just a short walk into Leeds and there is also the free River Taxi that travels from here to just below River Lock,the first of the locks on the L&L near the Railway Station. We are now back in the company of Pete and Val on Tadpole 2 who had to get here along a different canal from us,The Rochdale, due to a stoppage on the Bridgewater Canal near Castlefield.

Lisa & Val boarding the free Water Taxi here in Clarence Dock.

Sadly the blog that I had prepared for last week and which was almost ready to be published somehow vanished as I was doing a minor edit after Lisa had read it to spot the faults. I've no idea what happened, I pressed the space bar and the page went blank. I searched the history on my lappy and there was nothing but the blog title, everything else had disappeared. A search of the help pages on Blogger failed to give me any other ways of recovering the blog but it did show that I wasn't unique in losing everything. As a result though, I just didn't have the heart to start all over again.

Anyway,lets move on. We stayed in Skipton till the Thursday before last having a brilliant time walking, eating and drinking.Richard and Geraldine left us on the Wednesday morning to get back to Kirckaldy, and shortly afterwards Sandra, a friend and former boater from Whitley Bay,arrived for the day with her well behaved dogs,Pheobe and Molly. On one evening during our stay in Skipton we enjoyed a great meal in the Aagrah Indian Restaurant next to Pennine Cruisers, and also, on another day, a lovely lunch in the Pie and Mash Shop next door. A few of our evenings were spent in The Yorkshire Rose  pub where on Thursday night, our last in Skipton, Rob, Suzie, Lisa and myself entered the quiz  and came a credible third, afterwards enjoying free pie and peas which were delicious.

Lisa with Richard & Geraldine on the walkway alongside the Springs Branch below Skipton Castle.

One of the many Swing Bridges that are found on the L&L. Suzie has opened this one while Rob waits for us to go through to set the next Swing Bridge. Leapfrogging like this spreads the work of opening & closing the bridges 'cos some of them can be quite heavy, even requiring myself or Rob to lend a hand.

 

The Leeds & liverpool crosses the Pennines and the views are amazing. This one is from our mooring at Kildwick.

On Friday morning after filling with fuel at Pennine cruisers and using the nearby boaters services, our two boats,Chyandour and Swamp Frogs said farewell to Skipton and we made our way some five miles and through five swing bridges to Kildwick where we managed to moor before the heavens opened and confined us to the boats till the next day. Saturday had us doing just under eight miles and another nine swing bridges to Micklethwait, just West of Bingley where we had the pleasure of a few beers in The Royal, just down the road from the swing bridge over the canal. We had tried to moor alongside the towpath after passing through Riddlesden but wherever we tried the canal was too shallow, we have to remember this canal,like all the others, wasn't built for pleasure craft, working boats only moored where they loaded or unloaded. That night we had the spectacular thunder and lightening with the rainwater pouring off the roof of Chyandour like a waterfall. Next day was bright and sunny and we did the couple of hundred yards or so to the moorings just above the Bingley Five Rise Locks where we would wait till Monday for our Daughter and Grandchildren to come and stay for a few days. Bingley Five Rise Locks are a tourist attraction on the Leeds and Liverpool Canal where the canal drops sixty feet down the steepest flight of staircase locks in the UK. This flight is then followed by the Three Rise Flight that drops the canal another thirty feet, both of the flights first opened in 1774.

Lisa working us down the Bingley Five Rise assisted by one of the CRT Volunteers, Suzie supervising on the other side.

At the bottom of the flight after saying thanks to all our helpers,there's always plenty of help on the lock gates on this attraction.

After our new guests arrived on Monday we set off down the Five Rise and Three Rise, assisted by a Lock Keeper and volunteers from CRT and then cruised to just outside the town of Saltaire, where we intended to spend a few hours on Tuesday before moving on again. Lisa and I have been to Saltaire before but our family and Rob and and Suzie hadn't so it was a new experience for them. Saltaire is a Victorian Model Village and World Heritage Site near Bradford in West Yorkshire, built by Sir Titus Salt in 1851 for his workers in the new textile mills he'd had built alongside the L&L Canal. We moved on from there to a lovely mooring above Field Locks where we stayed just one night and then made our way to Rodley for Wednesday. Sadly it would be in Rodley that we were to say farewell to our very very good friends Rob and Suzie who had decided to stay for the weekend for the Rodley Beer and Music Festival before retracing their journey back along the L&L. 

 

Lisa's turn on one of the Swing Bridges. It's certainly starting to look a bit Autumnal now.

Early on Thursday morning we left Rodley and Rob and Suzie left their beds and joined us to help with the final leg of our journey into Leeds, what lovely friends. With so many of us and assistance from CRT volunteers at Newley and Forge staircase flights of locks the journey looked like being an easy one, then we entered Kirkstall Lock. With the ruins if Kirkstall Abbey overlooking us we tried to shut the top gates, and failed !!!!! Something was obstructing the gate on the towpath side and we just couldn't get it to close fully, even after scraping away any debris along the cill. A phone call to CRT got assistance from the guys who'd helped us earlier but nothing we did would work so, after nearly two hours, we decided to chance it and empty the lock. Fortunately, Kirkstall Lock only has a drop of about five foot six and, despite a lot of water entering through the top gate, we managed to equalize the water at the bottom gates and open them to get on our way again. From there it was relatively easy as we were also sharing the remaining locks with another boat and crew and we finally got here around two o'clock.

Water entering Kirkstall Lock under the top gate. We'd spent two hours trying to get the gate fully closed without success.

Rob and Suzie said their final farewells to us shortly after we moored and made their way back to Rodley on the bus, what fantastic friends they are to have helped us and for leaving a mug to add to our collection. Our Daughter and Grandchildren waited for our Son in Law to arrive and then we all spent an interesting couple of hours in the Royal Armouries Museum that overlooks our mooring, before having a meal and saying more farewells. That left Lisa and I on our own and some much appreciated peace and quiet, we love having friends and family around us but it is nice to be just on our own for a bit. The next day, Friday, we met up again with Val and Pete off Tadpole 2 and went to explore a bit of Leeds and enjoyed some lovely beer in three interesting pubs. The Angel, with the delicious and inexpensive Samual Smiths Bitter, Whitlocks, with its ornate interior and exterior, and the very friendly Palace. I think I will enjoy the Angel again before we leave though.

The Robin Hood clock in Thornton's Arcade here in Leeds. Being a lad from Nottingham myself, which is the home of the Robin Hood legend, I don't quite understand the connection with Leeds. You can make out the figures of Robin and Friar Tuck, with a mini skirt, which I wouldn't have thought was suitable attire for a man of the cloth. The other two figures are, not, Will Scarlet or King John and Little John, as we first thought, but King Richard the Lionheart and Gurth the Swineheard. The latter we've never heard of but is apparently from Sir Walter Scott's "Ivanhoe" and that is the connection.

The view over the River Aire and Leeds Lock from the window of The Royal Armouries Museum.

Well that's the lot again for this week folks. Since our last blog we have gone through 29 Locks, under 27 Swing Bridges and cruised 30 Miles. That gives us a Grand Total of 1,291 Locks and 2,197 Miles since we set off back in October 2012. Please take care everyone.