Bridge 67 to Bridge 72A
Rain! We took our time getting moving this morning, but eventually managed to grab a patch of blue sky to cruise under. As we passed over Brindley Bank Aqueduct the River Trent passed below. No-one was moored, but a day boat did a zigzag for a photo opportunity and then to pick the photographer back up.
Up above us the Starlings are starting to gather, discussions of where to go for the winter, Spain or Africa? We were still discussing where to go too, T&M or Shroppie. A definite feel of autumn in the air today.
Just before we’d pulled out a boat we’ve been leapfrogging with came past, their average speed the equivalent to our tick over. We went slowly leaving a good gap between us, no point in catching them up as there’d be a lock soon.
At Taft Wharf, NB Dexter long since stopped selling diesel to passing boats, a cabin replaced the diesel tank long ago, but the air under it’s stern suggests there’s no engine.
Up on the bank sat another boat, sliced in half, presumably waiting an extension. Hope they get it done soon otherwise they won’t be needing to use their Smeg fridge as it’ll be so chilly.
NB Maid of Oak has finally been sold on to new owners, well I say finally it could have happened the week after we last passed five years ago. The swans still know which side their bread is buttered and were making full use of their cordoned off area.
Two For Sale signs. One house detached and plenty of lawn and an orchard, boat currently sat on the mooring. Then a semi with end of garden mooring. I wondered why they were both up for sale? Was the house between them the cause? They have a wonderfully abundant garden.
At Colwick Lock we pulled in behind the tick over boat, the lock just being emptied for them to go in. The bottom gates always awkward to close I’d be staying onboard. A boat pulled up behind, another arrived above, ‘Time to put the kettle on’ said the lady.
One down, then it was our turn, a chap from the next waiting boat came to help close the bottom gates. With only the gate paddle working at the top it took quite sometime to fill, plenty of time to look at the Lock Cottage, note that they still have the Black Lace Elderflower bush. The top lock beam failed a few weeks ago, closing the navigation for a while. Now the wood has a supportive metal framework around it, it does the job for the time being. Above the lock now a queue of three boats, another just arriving to tag onto the end.
Not far now, as the line of moored boats before bridge 72C showed themselves we pulled in a respectable distance from the end boat. This would do us for the day. Tilly was given shore leave and we sat down for lunch.
Numerous boats came past, then the thump thump of an old boat, a high bow came past the window. Time to say hello to Frankie from the South Oxford. She is currently crewing for Nuneaton and Brighton from the Narrow Boat Trust. The boats were meant to have been going to the Brownhills Festival last weekend, but the chemical spillage on the Walsall Canal meant their journey there would have been far longer than the original trip, but more importantly their crew would not make it back to base in the allotted time. So their destination had ended up being the Black Country Museum. Frankie was a touch disappointed as she’d volunteered for two trips this year on canals she’d not been on before, but because of the altered route she was getting to do the same canals again. It was nice to say hello even if it was very briefly.
I checked the Post Office, sadly closed at 2pm. Those socks would have to wait for tomorrow. I wrote a piece for Dementia UK and collated some photos for them to use as a fundraising case study and maybe pull some quotes from it for other purposes. Yarn was selected for pair 34, a skein of lovely soft yarn in shades of blue wound into a cake for ease of knitting.
This morning we’d had an enquiry about the house. Details had been sent off and now we’re just waiting to see if we’ll have two lodgers for Christmas. This meant we concentrated our minds a bit more on the coming weeks. Route plans were put together, cruising hours calculated. One destinations arrival calculated, but could we also go there? If we did that, should we not have a second lodger, would we be able to get back to Yorkshire to have moved back into the house in time to do a turn around? We think we now have a plan, with extra bits added. All that’s left is to know is when we’ll be wanting a mooring from in Yorkshire and if there will be one available. Hopefully we’ll hear back from our prospective lodger in the next couple of days.
1 lock, 3.9 miles, 2nd in line, 4 at the top, 1 Frankie! 4 hours, pair 34 cast on, 1 page of words, 6 photos, 1 plan with a contingency plan, 1 sock hand over possible, 1 post office missed, 1 screaming teenager, 1 nephew with provisions for university.
