Time for us to turn around, after all there wasn’t much further west we’d be able to go. Maybe northwards would have been nice. We’ve a friend on the Isle of Skye, but that would have taken us at least another four days there and back and we’d already been away from Tilly longer than ever and with the boat paint possibly due to start soon we didn’t want to be too far away to make a trip to Redhill should we need to.
However, the weather was a touch inclement overnight, even more Scottish than yesterday. We’re accustomed to wind and rain on the boat, occasionally sideways rain at the house can be noisy, but last night there must have been some squalls come over Tayvallich. This morning Morag reported that there was snow on the fells when she’d been out with Fig first thing.
We left Morag in her idyll retreat, waving goodbye with plans to meet up later this year and maybe early next year too, there are big birthdays to celebrate after all.
Would we find a window of weather long enough to explore Crinan?
I managed to get them both!
Back along the passing place road. A sign saying there were red squirrels. No chance we’d see any by the road, they’d be too timid. A bend to the left and there scurrying along tree branches was not one but two of our tuffty eared friends. We paused the car, I aimed the camera backwards rather than reversing to the blind bend. Would I have caught them? Two photos out of ten, not bad but not brilliant. Wish we could have stayed longer, but we were at risk of causing a crash!
Mick clinging on in the wind
Back at a bigger road we took the steep turn to the west, going round a marina on the canal, sailing boats, no narrowboats. Then a few wiggles, then down quite a steep hill back to sea level and Crinan.
Crinan Sea Lock
Here a marina/chandlers sits on the side of the water, round the bend a 1930’s hotel and then the sea lock from the Crinan Canal, we pulled in, the sun almost showing it’s face, we had hope.
Blimey it was windy though and COLD!
No narrowboats round here
Crinan used to be called Port Righ (Kings Port). In 1793 two canal routes had been considered, one surveyed by James Watt the other by John Rennie. Rennie’s route won and an act of parliament gave permission for the canal. In 1801 the canal opened, two years late. Herring boats arrived, there was a trade in eggs, fish, timber and grain all of which would bring in revenue. It took until 1809 for the reservoirs to be complete so the canal had a reliable source of water.
By 1839 the canal was busy. Boats travelled from the Isle of Skye along the 9 mile long canal from Crinan to Ardrishaig to the Firth of Clyde, cutting out the need to go round the Mull of Kintyre. 1847 saw Queen Victoria pay a visit, tourists from Glasgow soon followed. By 1896 proposals for a wider, deeper canal were put forward, a ship canal, locks operated by hydroelectric power, but this never came about. Taken on by the Ministry of Transport the canal was given new locks and had a new reservoir in the 1930s, only for World War 2 to come along, lights along the canal had to be put out for fear they would lead bombers in towards Glasgow.
Works on going, just look how deep it is!
Across the sea lock and up to the first lock on the canal proper. Here the pound was drained, Scottish Canals were busy rebuilding the banks before the next lock. A track down into the pound had diggers and dumper trucks, lots going on, the canal closed until the end of April. Here we could see how deep the pound was, not much detritus in the bottom. The canal has 15 locks and 7 moveable bridges. On the Scottish Canals the locks tend to be worked for you, I did wonder if our key of power would work on the control box, but now wasn’t the time to give it a go!
A walk round to look at the sea/loch it’s a bit hard to know which around here! I didn’t venture too close to the edge as the wind was so strong.
Morag had mentioned there were toilets here, we found them a little up the hill. By the time we came out any sign of sunshine had vanished and sleet was horizontal! Time to run to the car and get a move on.
Lock on the summit
We paused close to the summit of the canal, hoping for a walk, but the sleet still came down. If we’d had a flask of coffee we could have sat, steaming up the windows looking out towards what was once the Linnet Shed for the passenger boat The Linnet.
Ruins of the Linet Shed
Another pause in Lochgilpead to stock up on lunch bits for Mick then back around the lochs, high up on the fells an obvious snowline was visible. Lunch was had in the layby we’d used on the way west, as we pulled in the fell tops shone in the sunshine, but by the time we’d got settled and the camera out dark clouds had descended again, most probably adding to the layer of snow.
I’d not noticed Inveraray Castle on the way out, but going over the bridge in front of it, it stood out. Grey blue as if it was in a Disney film, sadly the next layby wasn’t useful for photos, the best place being on top of the bridge, not a safe place.
Quick, Sunshine!
We opted to drive down the side of Loch Long to reach our next destination. This took us through Coulport another Navy Base where Trident Missiles are stored. Down onto Shore Road through Cove where very large houses stand back from the waters edge. Round the southern edge of the peninsula with views across to Gourock from Kilcreggan.
White tops
Christine and Mick moved to Kilcreggan about four years ago, I used to work with Christine at the SJT in Scarborough, she left a few months before I did and moved south. We’ve managed to meet up a couple of times when we’ve been near to Worcester. Now we got chance to see their new (to them) house. Just walking into the dinning room with the hatch open gave us a glimpse of their view across the water. Wow! By far the best view of our holiday and a view that kept them captured when they came to view the house for the first time.
Naval ships
A tour of the house, Mick has been busy, the latest project working on their winter living room which has a secret door which opens up onto the annex, which they hope will provide accommodation for friends when they come to stay.
Great view from the front door
A cuppa with a slice of extremely nice (if you knew Christine and her baking skills this would be no surprise) Banana cake, a WI recipe that Christine had improved!
Sun, look sun!
A walk from Peaton Hill Conservation Reserve took us up onto the tops for a view over the lochs below, thankfully the sleet and hail held off.
Action shot of fish and chips with Christine and Mick
Lots to chat about and a visit to the Creggans Bar for fish and chips, I happily gave up my mushy peas to Christine, there’s nowt so queer as folk! Pudding was back at the house away from woofing woofers in the pub, another Christine bake, clementine cake with a glass of wine.
Morag was out taking Fig for a walk when we got up to have breakfast. The weather was really quite Scottish, but the radar suggested there might be a few breaks in the rain, we kept our fingers crossed as we really wanted to see some more of the area other than just down the road.
Fig likes to show off his toys around the kitchen
Once fed watered and Fig had been walked, we all hopped in Morag’s car to head off and explore. I haven’t driven for around eight years, just the way things have happened over the years with hiring cars and getting insurance to cover the hire companies excess insurance. But Morag held off longer than that, thirty four years. Living in such a remote place, she lasted three years before buying an electric car from someone in the village who was upgrading. There is public transport, a bus that runs three times a day, only one of them linking up to another bus at Lochgilphead, so having more options of transport became important. It being an electric car means she can run it from her solar panels, so she’s also not reliant on petrol.
Quite Scottish
We headed back into the village and then turned south and drove to near the end of the most westerly peninsula to Keillmore where we left the car and walked round the end. Fig was on his lead as there were sheep about, no lambs as yet in this part of the world. The weather was just about right, continuing to be atmospheric, damp, windy, misty and quite cold.
Just needs a roof and a few triple glazed windows
We followed the road round, passing an old barn, ripe for development but with a cross across its door. A short distance on was a white washed cottage with a barn conversion next door. Apparently on warm summers evenings the owners sit out in front of their house enjoying a glass or two whilst the sun sets.
Quite a place to live overlooking Jura
It all conjured up my early life idyll, owning a thick walled cottage on an island, with views out to sea, spending my days sitting in a deep window seat with a log fire crackling in the back ground, watching the seasons pass. Morag has almost achieved that.
Past the house was a small stone wharf, angled against the sea. Here sheep drovers from Jura would bring their sheep to the mainland, landing against the wharf no matter what state of the tide. Mick checked it out as a possible mooring for Oleanna, a couple of large mooring rings quite a distance from the water, quite a rocky approach to it too. Back in 2021 I plotted a fictional route to bring us to Scotland, beaching on beaches, sheltering in harbours, it didn’t get us this far though, ending in Helensburgh. Maybe one day I’ll work out how to get us this far west.
Sheltered slightly from the wind back on the east side of the peninsula is Keills Chapel, surrounded by a stone wall to keep the sheep out. It is a typical stone built chapel from the 13th century. Inside it contains a collection of late medieval west highland grave slabs recovered from the churchyard and a 7th Century cross which formerly stood 50 yards to the north west. The few windows have perspex in them to keep out the gales and a new looking roof gave us good shelter.
Whooper Swan?
We then walked along the causeway that joins to the next peninsula, tarmacked, but you can see where the sea has eroded it beneath. A Whopper Swan sat in a field, the locals wondering if it had lost its partner. Apparently otters swim nearby and bask on the rocks, none visible today as there was no sun to bask in!
Back to the house to warm up a touch with some very tasty soup. Morag and I left Mick to have some down time and walked across the village to visit her 90 year old Dad. I think I last saw him at a motorway service station about 35 years ago, he’s changed quite a bit since then. It was good see him and to meet his wife, Morag’s step mother who is also called Morag.
Landscape
Morag and I caught up on plenty more news as we walked back and chatted about our future plans. The remainder of the afternoon was spent sat in front of the log burner knitting. Morag had a committee meeting about the village hall to attend, when she was back we sat down for some gnochi fish pie accompanied by several glasses of wine, very tasty.
A day to try out my pair of Sockathon Socks
The evening was finished off by watching Pina, a documentary film about Pina Bausch a German dancer and choreographer who made a significant contribution to neo-expressionist dance, her work had a influence on dance from the 1970’s onwards. She died in 2009 from lung cancer five days after she’d been diagnosed and the film is a tribute to her from the dancers she worked with. A fascinating film.
Life continues in Scarborough. The sun has finally shown it’s face and Tilly has finally woken up from hibernation, finding sun puddles to help top up her solar. When’s the outside going to start moving again? There are no friends round here, not since Tom put mesh over things. How’s a cat meant to keep themselves occupied?!At Tilly’s annual check up and vacination at the vets there had been an administrative error last year, meaning that this year she didn’t get the correct booster! So we await to return so that she can have the correct one which must be administered 3 to 4 weeks after the first one. So she will be super dooper covered this year when we eventually return to the cut, but it does mean a second visit to the vets, but shhh, don’t tell her!
Two days a week I join with a community group working on mosaic panels for a community centre, sadly I won’t get to see it finished and installed as we will be back on the boat by then, but I’m hoping to have cut and stuck plenty of tiles this year to have contributed more than I managed on last year’s project.
I’ve reclaimed one side of my work room and popped my sewing machine up there. Some big door stops have been made from dumbbells, cardboard boxes, wadding and some off cuts of fabric to help protect new radiators in the kitchen. Boat and maybe house curtains will follow.
Daffs in the valley
Walks around Scarborough are more appealing now the sun shines. The daffodils are showing their sunny yellow faces to the sun down in the valley, new sculptures appeared in the cliff gardens, the tide comes and goes, recently moving all the sand the council had moved from one end of the beach back to the other and depositing plenty of pebbles.
Deliveries in big boxes keep coming, some (a new sink) far heavier than others. The last pairs of my sockathon socks need their ends weaving in, in fact there is only one pair now to finish which are for Mick, these will take a bit of finishing as they need extra lines sewing on them, each sock taking around 4 hours to complete!
But I have a new sockathon to keep my needles busy for the next year. An old friend asked if she and her brother could hijack my sockathon this year. Their mum, Felicity, used to be a major sock knitter, she suffered from dementia for years, passing away before Christmas. At her funeral people could choose a ball of her wool to have knitted into a pair of socks for them. At a get together with the girls on Saturday I was presented with the bag of yarn, 47 pairs of socks please! The first pair were cast on last night, I’m not aiming to do anything too fancy, so I’m hoping they will fly off my needles pretty quickly whilst watching the TV on an evening or on car journeys.
Friday is the new Sunday round here
On Thursday we got the news through that Oleanna’s new windows had arrived with Tom at Red Hill. We’d still some sorting out of things to do onboard before she gets grit blasted so we hired a van for the weekend, cheaper than a car.
Hello lovely
We set off quite early Sunday morning, most people still tucked up in bed making the roads quieter. On arriving we checked Oleanna over. The blacking is doing a very good job of peeling on the starboard side, possibly because it gets more sun, possibly because when she was last blacked this was the second side the chaps ground back and they’d most probably had enough of it by then! Hopefully in a few weeks time it will all be flaking off with the grit blasting.
First job was to move all the dinette cushions into the van, before it started to rain. The fabric I used to cover them has had a strange reaction to the original varnish put on the woodwork. It has all gone sticky and remains sticky even after a few months of the cushions not being in position. I may have to find time to give the woodwork a scrape back and clean down, then apply a new coat of varnish or Danish Oil. The cushions are headed to Scarborough for the covers to have a clean, hopefully this will stop the reaction from happening again. They will also be out of the way for work on windows and any muck created by the grit blasting and painting.
Well a bacon butty simply wasn’t going to be enough! Photo to keep Ade happy
It being Mothering Sunday the marina cafe was going to close early, so we headed over for an early lunch, or maybe it was a very late breakfast. A big treat for us nowadays, very tasty it was too. The cafe is well worth a visit should you be passing and at £5.80 for a breakfast an absolute bargain!
Back at Oleanna Mick set about clearing the stern lockers. Not as much to throw away as he’d thought there might be, but still quite a lot. New buckets are needed, we’ll go for the collapsable ones. Some old ropes were kept, others were deemed not worth keeping just in case and were destined for the skip.
The wind got really rather strong, the ladder needed bringing inside so it didn’t blow away and leave us stranded on deck up in the air! We both found ourselves compensating for the wind, leaning as we would if Oleanna was afloat. It’s funny how this just happened to us both even though Oleanna was rock solid, muscle memory kicking in, compensating for nothing.
The bow lockers were emptied. I was quite proud of how the painting locker looked, but surprised at how much white spirit there was inside, 2 brand new bottles. The fictitious red paint, an old tin of Woodskin and a dried up Epifanes black headed into the skip box along with a can of lighter gas, the gas long since having dissipated into the atmosphere! Any useful paints were put into my empty clothes drawers.
I cleared the decks in the galley. I’d originally thought we might clear out all the cupboards to make it easier to have a good clean after the repaint, but that would mean at least another two of three days moving everything off the boat, which isn’t so easy when you’ve only got a step ladder perched on top of a few bits of wood. Measurements were taken to check things would fit, Tilly has a new pooh box, higher than the old one.
The anchor chain and rope were brought inside, tucked under the bathroom sink, the shower now filled with water hose, fenders etc just as it looks when we cruise on tidal water. The engine was run up to temperature. I swept through the boat. Long things went in the wardrobe, wrapping paper and Mick’s Akubra hat popped in a box to return to the house. Galley blinds taken down and stowed with the curtain rods.
A dust sheet was laid over the sofa, then another placed over our mattress which was left wedged on top of the bed base, hopefully away from the porthole and any possible leaks from the mushroom vent. It’ll need moving when they come to take the windows out, but it would need moving from where ever we put it.
By now it was peeing it down. Rubbish went in the van for a ride to the skip. Then Mick coiled up the hook up cable. Oleanna will be off grid from now, the solar should keep everything topped up until the panels are removed. We’d rather the extra long hookup cable Mick made up was kept somewhere safe and sound by us than ending up being forgotten about by someone else. All systems off, the doors were locked, ladder tucked away and covers done back up. We pulled away out of the marina at 16:00. With a 2.5 hour drive back to Scarborough (according to the satnav), would we make it back in time for last orders (18:40) at Cappleman’s for fish and chips.
Thankfully there were no hold ups on the way back. Our order was sat in the on-line check out basket as we came down Staxton Hill, as we came round Musham Bank roundabout we reckoned we’d be in time. I clicked the button to place our order. In fact we were early, I had to wait a good five minutes for the fish to come out of the frier and be boxed up.
A second treat for the day
A very productive day with two treat meals. Oh well, we deserved them!
0 locks, 0 miles, 1 hire van, 5 hours driving, 7 cushions, 4 lockers cleared, 2 breakfasts, 2 mugs tea, 1 downpour, 2 dust sheets, 4 bags and 2 boxes of rubbish, 1 pat goodbye, 2 of each, 1 portion mushy peas, 2 glasses of wine.
A round up of 2025, sit down with your favourite drink and I hope you enjoy.
January started out as December this year would end, us watching from afar the aftermath of a breach. January was the Bridgewater, December the Llangollen. We don’t tend to watch vlogs, preferring to read peoples accounts of their waterway journeys, but updates were watched on youtube from those affected, our personal experience of the Aire and Calder breach back at the end of 2020 had been far less dramatic.
January in the house was spent doing winter maintenance jobs. Three garden benches got a full make over, new slats and paint and a dining room got a colourful lick of paint just in time for the first lodgers of the year arriving. I had a second appointment with a physio about my knee that had given me serious problems last year, the new exercises were working, I ditched my stick by the end of January and started walking around Scarborough every day.
The start of the year it had been wet, but as I strode out the sun would greet me as I reached the beaches of Scarborough. I think this year I’ve visited the seaside more than I’ve done in the last 30 years of considering Scarborough to be my home.
In February Oleanna’s horns got replaced, she now has two tones rather than just one twice. Arrangements were made for future works at the house, carefully planned between lodgers. I joined a community group working on a giant mosaic, sticking glass tiles to brown paper, the final reveal not happening until August which I sadly missed. More walks around Scarborough, longer walks enjoyed on sunny Saturdays taking in both bays. Now I was walking too fast for Mick to keep up.
We visited boat painters, our short list gradually being whittled down. Dates, getting to the painters all had to be weighed up in our decision. One company actually rang to offer us a very early slot, but because of the Bridgewater breach and the end of winter stoppages we’d never have made it in time, plus we’d have ended up being homeless as lodgers were due to arrive at the house. After visiting the last painter we dropped back in to visit Tom at Redhill Marina to see how the boats he’d been painting on our last visit looked. We liked him, his work and a day later called Gibson and Kentwright to book our slot in Spring 2026.
John, the Artistic Director at Chipping Norton got in touch, would I like to do this years panto? This needed some thinking about, last year had been nice without deadlines for designs and we could concentrate on boating, but I’d really missed being part of a team and being a designer. I slept on it then said yes, if the show could be designed earlier in the year then we’d still be able to boat through the summer, hopefully get the best of both worlds. Cruise down to the South Oxford so I could commute to work during rehearsals then we’d make our way back north and arrive at New Year at Redhill to come out of the water and await our repaint. A good plan. But before that, the roof space needed clearing so things didn’t get damaged when we got a new roof on the back of the house. Friends needed meeting and I cracked on with a few paintings of Scarborough.
Mid March came, it was time to give the house a good clean and move back onto Oleanna making way for four lodgers to move in for a month. A new mattress arrived for Oleanna, only just enough headroom for Mick on our cross bed, but a far better sleep than the memory foam mattresses that came before. Back on board, we headed straight out of Goole for the New Junction Canal, pulling in at the first opportunity and letting Tilly have some shore leave once again. She knows where home is and I’m sure she now knows this mooring very well. She was gone for hours, straight back into boat life after a winter of hibernation and inactivity in the house. It felt good for us too.
Some of the team at Level
Doncaster was our first destination for me to head off to do a couple of days work at Level in Matlock with Separate Doors Theatre Company.
Then we gradually made our way to Keadby to wait for the beginning of April, the tide and to meet the Strawberry Fools from Strawberry Island Boat Club who were kicking off the Fund Britains Waterways Campaign Cruises for the year.
Having just left Keadby Lock
Early on the 1st April, the flotilla of Strawberry Fools lined up to go through Keadby Lock onto the Tidal Trent, three boats at a time, turning up stream, southwards. Fog engulfed us for sometime, thankfully clearing as we came close to West Stockwith Lock where more boats were to join the long line all beeping our horns as we approached Gainsborough Road Bridge where TV crews and drones watched us. A great start to the years campaign. The spring tide got us all to Cromwell and off the tidal waters for survivors drinks on the bank.
The following day the boats stormed Newark Castle with a wall of sound before dispersing to several moorings upstream. The morning after we penned the boats up through Hazelford Lock and waved them goodbye and good luck, the majority of boats heading to London to sound their horns outside Parliament. We however turned back, our summers cruising planned to be further north.
Back up the country, down the Tidal Trent, pausing on the Chesterfield canal for a couple of days, across the Stainforth and Keadby, New Junction, Aire and Calder, River Aire, Selby Canal then the River Ouse to York.
Here we met with the London Leckenbys to celebrate what would have been my Dad’s 100th birthday back in his home city. We had a suitable feast, cruised down stream to show Andrew, Jac and Josh the top of our old family home from the river, Josh even had a go at the helm. A curry was also called for along with a visit to a pub which was frequented by our parents as we grew up (we mostly sat in the car with a packet of crisps or a chip butty!).
We were joined for a few hours by old family friend Diana and I got to meet with Philli a boat woman who had sponsored a pair of my Sockathon Socks. It was good to be back in York with our own home and have found somewhere new to moor meaning we could stay longer. We also managed a catch up with Frank over a pint and a pizza.
By now the lack of rain was started to affect the system and our planned cruise. The Leeds Liverpool, I think, was the first of the northern canals to close. The Ripon Canal soon followed. We were wanting somewhere safe to moor for a week or so whilst Mick headed off to oversee building works at the house, our options started to narrow.
We opted to head down stream, the tidal Ouse far more difficult to navigate with the outgoing tide due to the amount of debris in the water. Back onto the Aire and Calder we detoured to Goole to top up on diesel, then headed towards Leeds. A favourite mooring near Lemonroyd would suit us for a while.
A large badger hole proved a bit too interesting for Tilly, so we nudged ourselves up above Woodlesford Lock. Mick headed to Scarborough to wait for roofers, whilst I started to work on Panto and Tilly explored the area. Down south the Strawberry Fools reached their goal on the Thames.
May is full of Birthdays, Mick was allowed some leave from the house to celebrate his with a barbecue. Sketches for panto were revisited, the weather got warmer. Oleanna spent a weekend at Lemonroyd Marina whilst we had a trip to London for another birthday and to see Jane and Kevin who were over from Australia.
Back out on the canal, we opted to stay around Lemonroyd, hopefully far enough away from the badger hole! Mick returned to the house, Tilly sheltered from a touch of rain on her throne under the pram cover, I worked away model making for panto and headed out every day to walk round the nearby nature reserve.
The house roof was finished in time for a new lean to to be installed. My panto white card model was drawn up. New lodgers arrived at the house so all three of us were back on board in time to head into Leeds for me to catch a train to Chipping Norton for a day of meetings.
The weather was hot, along with strong winds in Leeds our plants suffered, above Office Lock on the Leeds Liverpool Canal more locks were being closed. Canal and River Trust were actively discouraging people from cruising up the River Derwent to the Pocklington Canal. The River Hull was closed due to collapsing banks. We’d find somewhere to go, sadly missing out on the main mission of reaching Beverley this year.
However, a return trip to York was on the cards. We opted for a different route and headed back to Goole, topped up again with diesel, then penned down Ocean Lock onto the Tidal Ouse. Back in 2021 we’d headed this way whilst escaping the breach on the Aire and Calder. This time the tide was very strong, we were going to beat our ETA at Selby and had to fight the currents going round bends.
A meet up with my best friend Emma, who was over from Sydney and a chance to meet her new fella was not to be missed. Mooring almost at the bottom of Emma’s old garden in York helped them find us before we had a lovely lunch on the Howardian Hills and a quick visit to Castle Howard for some chilled medication in a thunder storm.
We opted to stay in York. Mick having to find things to do during the day whilst I took over the boat with work. A trip to Headingly for a test match, bumping into his old friend Jeremy and a look at the trains in the Railway Museum. It rained in the Dales, the Ouse came up, we leant Jo and Brian from NB That’s It our Middle Level windlass and key, boats ran away, we checked levels and kept an eye on our ropes, we were fine.
July arrived. Where to head now? A station was needed for another meeting in Chippy. We retraced ourselves back down stream, the Ouse slightly emptier of trees this time, back to Doncaster a good station to head southwards from.
Thankfully there were only a few small aterations to my panto design required, the remainder of the summer could be spent boating, if only the water levels would let us! We headed back towards the River Trent, managing to say hello to our friend David at Bramwith. A few days were spent sheltering under trees of the Stainforth and Keadby, then there was time to explore Thorne more than we’ve done before.
Some Strawberry Fools were arriving back having managed to get through stoppages further south after crossing the Wash and cruising some of the Middle Level and the River Nene. We loitered for Sean from SPL covers to arrive with a new side for our pram hood, the original one had managed to sink into the depths of the Aire and Calder earlier in the year.
Temperatures were high, this wasn’t good. What lay between us and the rest of the summers cruise was Vazon Sliding Rail Bridge, high temperatures meant the bridge could not open for boats. We sat for several days and nights, getting up to chat to the signaller in the middle of the night. One night just as we were about to turn the lights off we got a phone call, the bridge would be opening, we needed to get dressed! A short distance travelled in the dark would mean we’d be able to do some boating again. We were soon cruising for the third time this year on the Tidal Trent, in a down pour of rain!
Surprisingly the Chesterfield Canal was open up to the limit of navigation. Oleanna’s crew had been there before, but Oleanna hadn’t, it was a must. We paused for a few days at the Retford and Worksop Boat Club, our Cutweb membership paying for itself within a few days. I walked whilst Mick headed back to Scarborough to do a turn around and for medical appointments.
A visit to Mr Straws House was enjoyed, locks worked through, towpath walks enjoyed as I sped ahead of Oleanna taking her time in the shallow canal. What a pretty canal, we were glad we’d come back.
The double and triple locks that lead up to the top may take a bit of working, but boy they are worth it. We headed straight to the navigable end before Norwood Tunnel only to find the moorings there full. One chap suggested we’d not have enough depth of water to wind, but thankfully we did and headed back to find another mooring for the night.
On our return journey we had visitors, friends Jane and James on their bikes came and helped us through a few locks. Then the same day Cath and Mark came for a nosy at Oleanna and a meal out in Worksop. Very good to catch up with everyone.
Back at the boat club they found space for us again so we could head back to Scarborough to do another turn around and watch the first night of Noises Off at the SJT. We welcomed new lodgers Liza and Stuart into our house, had a blood test, a dentist visit and headed back to Oleanna and Tilly.
Back out onto the Tidal Trent and onwards to Cromwell. Our timing couldn’t have been better, as we rounded a bend in the river, Cottam Power Station cooling towers came into view. I had just enought time to lift my camera before they came crashing to the ground. A landmark on the Trent now gone. I think we’d already made our minds up not to head towards the Oxford Canal, by now levels were so bad the canal had been closed from the summit to Banbury. We really didn’t want to risk getting stuck somewhere and not being able to get Oleanna to Redhill for her repaint next year. We’d take our time pottering about on the Trent and maybe along the Trent and Mersey Canal. The next day notices came out about further lock closures due to the drought, boats started to turn round, cutting their cruises short so they could beat the closures and return home.
Barbeque at sunset
Newark for a few days, then on to Hazelford Lock one of our favourite moorings, time for a barbecue sat on the big steps watching the sun set. Sounds idylic.
However, that night we got to test out the emergency servies and what3words at 2am. Mick had chest pains, 999 was called, two hours later paramedics arrived, tests were done, followed by an ambulance ride to Mansfield A&E for more tests, lots of waiting, then discharged after twelve hours with what was thought to be pulled muscles. A very lazy day followed.
We continued on to Nottingham, stocked up at Sainsburys and found a mooring near to Beeston. To celebrate Mick not having had a heart attack we treated ourselves to a meal at The Victoria. Always nice, just a shame that things weren’t really quite right with Mick.
Up to Trent Lock, rescuing a boater caught out by shallow water between Beeston and Cranfleet. We turned right, our plan now was to head to Burton on Trent on the Trent and Mersey. An ideal mooring at Shobnal Fields was grabbed so that I could head off to Dawlish to meet the set builder for Panto.
Brian arrived on NB That’s It, able to drop off our windlass he’d borrowed. He’d single handed it from Peterborough on the River Nene managing to beat all the stoppages by doing pretty long days, but now he could relax as rivers would get him back to Strawberry Island again. Coinciding with ‘in steam days’ at industrial museums is a rarety for us, but we managed it at Claymills Victorian Pumping Station, although the volunteers were tryng out some eco fuel rather than coal, they weren’t impressed with the amount of steam it produced.
The water tap at Willington called, the plan was then to wind and cruise up to Alrewas. A mooring was found with better phone signal for Mick to chat with his GP, an appointment already planned. He also wanted to talk to them about some patchy vision he’d been experiencing. Another phone call to an optician, it was suggested he should attend the nearest A&E. That night we made our way back into Burton to be closer to the hospital.
In the morning there was a second visit to A&E this year. A CT scan diagnosed Mick as having had a stroke. I brisk walked my way over to the hospital to find him being put in the back of an ambulance to head to the Royal Derby Hospital. Here there was 24 hours of lying and sitting in various parts of A&E (number 3) before a bed was found on the stroke ward. Thank goodness for a very good bus service between Burton and Derby. They wanted Mick to see an Opthamologist which didn’t happen, the weekend arrived and he was stuck. Then he just needed another ECG and drugs before he could come home, this took another night but thankfully after five nights in hospital he was discharged.
So many people offered help and support, thank you all so much. Thankfully now Mick had no symptoms and felt pretty normal. I kept a close eye on him. Kat on coal boat Bargus stocked us up with coal and diesel and we gradually made our way back to Willington for a moral boosting lunch with the lovely Susie Blake, she even got us tickets to see her show in Derby a few nights later.
Now we found ourselves kicking heels until our lodgers were to move out from the house so we could return, this was more to do with the lack of water in the network than anything else. Bridget and Storm came to check on us, bringing Rolo their new woofer with them. He was very well behaved, Tilly didn’t even mind him being onboard!
We took our time, pausing for a few days whilst storms blew over. I walked to Swarkstone Pavillion, down to the Trent and visited local villages. Next we wanted to check Oleanna could come out of the water earlier than planned, we headed to Redhill Marina to check things out, it would all be fine. We arranged a date to arrive.
We managed only one Heritage Open Day in September at Mills Dock Yard on the Erewash, some beautiful boats and suprising wooden cars on view. Then made our way back to Beeston to be close to a station again.
I had a couple of days at the Seperate Doors Making Tomrrows Theatre conference, watching workshops, listening to discussions and speakers. The mooring in Beeston isn’t so good for Tilly,a brick wall is hardly interesting for anyone! so we winded and headed back to Trent Lock to meet up with an old collegue of mine Jane, from my early days at the SJT.
Kat with Teddy and Bella came to top us up again before we headed back to Nottingham and further on to another favourite mooring above Stoke Lock. Here the mooring by the low wall was available, perfect for Tilly for a few days especially as she was to celebrate her 10th birthday there. However we ended up staying longer than planned, RCR were called out. It was suspected that our drive plate was about to give up. A few days later the engineer returned to replace it with a new one. All good to go!
Back up to moor at County Hall steps, Tilly wasn’t keen. But we wanted to make the most of being in Nottingham, visiting places we’d not been to before.
Our windlasses got used for the final time this year working back up into Nottingham where we took a mooring at Castle Marina for a couple of nights. A trip up to Scarborough to see our lodgers in the latest Alan Ayckbourn play Earth Angel.
Time afloat was now running out, back out to Trent Lock for a few more days before heading to Redhill Marina. Packing up the boat was a little more interesting than usual as we didn’t have the luxury of picking up a van the day before we were to move. Until Mick got to see an opthalmologist he wouldn’t be allowed to drive. So we called on one of those people who’d offered to help when Mick had his stroke.
Mark, Mick’s old friend arrived in a hire van to collect us and all our stuff. The move was done pretty quickly despite having to stop a few times to make Tilly’s journey more comfortable. We’d left Oleanna in the water at the marina, the following day she’d be put on a trailer and moved out onto the hard to await her repaint next Spring.
There were two weeks before I’d head off to work on panto. Phone calls from the set builder came thick and fast. There was time to unpack, see friends, or hybernate, Tilly chose the latter. We managed one trip by train down to find Oleanna out on the hard, she has a fantastic view of the cooling towers, but sadly no electric. We’d need to work on that one.
Mick got the all clear from an Opthalmolgist down in Derby a couple of days before I headed off to Chippy, so he gave me a lift. Whilst I was away working, Mick made up an extra long hook up cable for Oleanna. He had two trips down to attempt to get her hooked up, but for several reasons this wasn’t achieved, thankfully the solar was doing quite a good job of keeping batteries topped up. There was also a trip over to Wigan, where he and Paul Balmer of Waterway Routes helped Chris the Pink Hat Man up the flight along with the help of a CRT volunteer.
Down in Chippy I worked my way through the four weeks of rehearsals up until the show opened. I had chance to catch up with my cousins for Sunday lunch. Met up with Mick at the London Leckenbys for a night and checked on the moorings at Paddington Basin on my way back. I also had a day off in Oxford where I enjoyed a walk along the canal we’d not managed to reach this year, spotting many a familiar boats from previous winters there. My first week in Chippy the canal was reopened to allow people to return to their moorings before winter stoppages kicked in.
Finally on my sixth panto at Chippy it was lovely to have Marion and John (Mick’s sister) and Andrew and Jac (my brother) join us for press night. On his way down to see the show, Mick had fought his way through snow and headed to Oleanna to get her hooked up, unfortunatly the socket available turned out to be faulty!
Back in Scarborough I was pinned to the sofa for a while by Tilly, watching Inspector Morse as is now tradition. Walks along the beach and through the old town were enjoyed. We headed to Filey for a birthday party and unfortunatly ended up in our third ambulance of the year, with another A&E ticked off the list, fortunatly it was only a faint this time.
Mick made another journey down to Redhill, this time Oleanna was plugged in successfully, the electric heating could now be programmed to come on should the temperatures drop enough. He had a chat with Tom who will be doing Oleanna’s repaint, the boat ahead of us is also already on site too. We’re still quietly hoping someone doesn’t manage to get there in time for their slot so we can swap slots and get Oleanna back on the water earlier.
An appointment with a stroke doctor at Scarborough Hospital was had, results and images from an MRI in Derby hadn’t made it to Scarborough so the following week there was an appointment for one here. We now wait to hear what the doctor has to say.
The build up to Christmas kept us busy, our 23rd anniversay celebrated, decorations, cards and presents to make and buy. Hair cuts, the Christmas show to watch. Then a pre Christnmas Christmas with the London Leckenbys in York before returning to Scarborough and coming down with a lurgy which meant most of our festive plans had to alter.
New waterproof trousers, a Victron Smart Shunt and new mugs were all presents for boating. Frank was a lucky man getting his second Christmas dinner in a week. Now that new year is here we need to plan ahead for when Oleanna is going to be painted, windows, new solar and new curtains need thinking about, ordering and making. Hopefully the time will fly by and she’ll be back in the water before we know it.
Us in sunny Scarborough on New Year Eve
Plans for next year, well we know where we want to be in early June, we just hope we can get there by boat. Will we stay up north and be able to cruise the rivers and canals we didn’t manage to do this year? Or will we head southwards to find waters we’ve not cruised yet? We’ll have to wait and see, so will you!
So here are our final statistics for our boating year which ended up being cut short.
According to our Nebo link
Oleanna was underway for 173.53 hours. This is not a real indication of our movements, if we are stationary in a lock it does not count that time
Nebo link was on for 365.48 hours. Sometimes the Nebolink is turned on a bit before we set off, on occasions it is left on at the end of a day incase we decide to carry on, so this is also not a real indication of how long the engine was moving us
End Mileage. 712.725 miles
Distance travelled. 695.6 miles, don’t understand why the two figures are different most days, but I go with the end mileage
Average speed 3.26 miles. We were mostly on rivers this year
Average Maximum Speed 4.78. We were mostly on rivers this year
Total Mileage 719m 3.75f 7 and a bit more miles than Nebolink
Made up of 152 miles 5.75 f of Commercial Waterways, 143 miles 4.5 f of Broad Canals, 61 miles 0.5 f of Narrow Canals, 78 miles 0.5 f of Small Rivers, 66 miles 6 f of Large Rivers, 200 miles 4.75 f of Tidal Rivers, shows how much cruising we did on the Tidal Ouse and Trent this year.
Total Locks 214 fewer than most years as we were mostly on rivers. This figure doesn’t include flood locks
Made up of 51 Large Locks, 98 Narrow Locks, although some of these were broad locks on a narrow canal (Chesterfield), 63 Broad Locks, 2 Locks on Major Waterways
Moveable Bridges 58. 4 were left open, 5 didn’t need to open as we went below them. Although those that didn’t need to open I think should have been 14 to include all those on the River Ouse. 107 vehicles were held up, another 23 when we worked Barnby Dun lift bridge for Mick on Amerouse.
Small Aqueducts 68
Major Aqueducts 6
Tunnels 2, that is 1.4 furlongs underground. I think this is a record for the least amount of time spent underground in a year.
0 Boat Lifts
629.4 litres of diesel. The cheapest £0.89 at Viking Marina, most expensive £1.10 at Kings Marina, total cost £639.26
265kg of smokless coal. This was 12 bags at a total cost of £190.50
2 x 13kg bottles of gas. Cost of £94.87 although we will need to replace a bottle as soon as we get back on board.
Other expenses £144.60. This included 1 starter battery, 1 excess payment for a new drive plate, 2 roller poles, 1 wee tank connector, Cutweb membership
£115.03 Mooring Fees and electricity whilst out cruising
2 Ambulances 3 A&E’s whilst out cruising
1 stroke
0 rain for months
706.85 miles walked whilst on the boat, nearly as far as we cruised! 9504 brisk minutes
Over £3000 raised by knitting socks for Dementia UK (over the last 3 years, 110 pairs) and I’ve still got more to do!
1 Panto design, 3567 pink roses
40 Boxes of Wine
30 Mrs Tilly stamps of approval moorings, she’s not letting onto how many friends!
419.8 engine hours
Us
Phew, that new spread sheet has alsorts on it!
Thank you for joining us on our travels in 2025. We hope you’ll be back for more in 2026 and that the start to our boating year is sooner rather than later.
Being out of the water means we can suspend our CRT licence. They only refund you for full unused months. Mick went on the website and filled out the form. Soon afterwards I got an email saying that we would be refunded two months of licence, £197.62, this was back on our credit card by the end of the day. Not having to pay a licence for a few months makes the marina fees for a boat you can’t go anywhere on that bit better.
Tilly just out of shot at the Black and White cat Triad in next doors garden
On the train the other day Mick had a look at the Carefree Cruising website and our old shareboat NB Winding Down. There was a share in WD going quite cheaply, 4 weeks for £400, should we get a yellow share, so we could still go cruising? A look further down the list of shares for sale, £1 for a 24th share in NB Kingfisher an older boat than WD. Hmmm?! However the running costs are quite high for an older boat and then we’d have a share to get rid of when Oleanna is all bright and shiny back on the water. It was appealing, but we’ll cope being on land for a while…. hopefully.
What a stunning day for a beach walk
Mick has remembered that somewhere he has a 50m long cable. Suitable hook up plug and socket have been purchased from 12volt planet for him to make up a long cable so that Oleanna can have power again. This will mean he can keep an eye on the batteries, temperature onboard etc. Plus when we visit we’ll be able to make a cuppa with the electric kettle.
On Thursday afternoon Mick climbed back onboard a train heading towards York, then swapped to one going to Derby. A night at the Premier Inn close to California was called for as he had a 10am appointment Friday morning with the Ophthalmologist at the Royal Derby Hospital. Whilst he had his gammon and chips, I tucked into a prawn risotto, suspect mine was far nicer, plus we got to sit in front of the Dragon for the evening.
Everything crossed for a good outcome
This appointment had been made pretty soon after Mick had left hospital. His GP had also requested an appointment for him here in Scarborough, so far he’s been told he’ll be given an appointment in the future, but the wait may be up to 34 weeks! Thankfully Derby was much sooner. Tilly and I sat, everything crossed, waiting for news. Mick symptoms which had first taken him to Burton Hospital back in September had been blank spots in his vision, and bits that were like looking through a kaleidoscope. This led to him having a scan and being diagnosed as having had a stroke. By the time he was discharged from hospital his symptoms had nearly all gone. Now they have.
A good array of castles
Today he did a periphery vision test. On the stroke ward this had been done by nurses and doctors doing jazz hands at him. Today it was similar to those you have at the opticians, where you sit with your head in a box, you have a clicker for each time you see a dot of light. Mick got to do both eyes at once, first with his glasses on, then a second time without them. He was shown the results, this revealed where the frames of his glasses had been blocking out the dots. If you have four dots missing in one area then the DVLA won’t allow you to drive. The second read out showed that he’d only missed one dot on the whole test, everyone misses at least one. So this was very VERY good news.
Trent Junction was shrouded in mist this morning. It got worse as the hours went on, the sailing club opposite becoming a misty blurr by mid morning. No rush to do anything today. Mick was still snotty, but improving and so far, fingers crossed I’ve not succumbed to it. Papers were read in bed as the white mist enveloped more of our view.
Not much of a view this morning
Brandy snaps, Potato bobbing, underpass trees, contrary jasmine and frying pan discipline were subjects on the Geraghty zoom. Some people had views of the sky, others didn’t.
Chicken sausage sarnies for breakfast, not as good as a pork banger, but a more healthy treat from the freezer.
Fake roses coming out of my ears
I spent much of the morning going through what flora we’d be needing for panto. So many roses and after the near mutiny a couple of weeks ago I’m hoping there will be enough money in the budget for what we need. I put together a long email with links and off it went to the Production Manager, fingers crossed.
Over the weekend Chippy posted a video across their social media with quite a nice view of my model.
Emails about props started whizzing around again today, so hopefully things will get cracking.
Fizzing away
Oleanna’s sinks needed some attention, a clean out of the pipes. A few days ago I bought some bicarb of soda and white vinegar. Reading up about it, you pour the bicarb down the plug hole, then add a similar quantity of vinegar. Pop the plug in and leave it for a while before rinsing everything through with a kettle of boiling water.
Berry berries
I had a go at the bathroom sink first. The bicarb took a bit of persuading to go down the plug, then adding the vinegar created an expected frothing, plug in quickly. I then took the shower plug to bits, cleared out all my hair, then did the bicarb and vinegar trick. This of course on the shower would only reach the section before the gulper pump. It was left to fizz, hoping it was doing what it’s meant to.
Alongside Long Eaton Lock
An hour later I returned to the bathroom, kettle poured down the plug hole and pump turned on. Well I’m not convinced it’s done much other than a chemical reaction, but it was fun watching the frothing!
The end of Harrington Mill from the footbridge
Time for a walk, somewhere I’d not been recently. I opted to walk up the Erewash to Long Eaton Lock. Here a footbridge spans the canal, but to reach it you have to literally walk around the houses to find it. Along Milner Road are a series of single story mills. These mills superseded the larger multistoried lace factories that are across the canal. The large factories were driven by steam and had built in fire breaks and staircases on the outer walls should a fire break out. These smaller factories from around 1903 had DC powered motors to drive the machinery.
Across the bridge into West Park. This is a huge park which gradually expanded through the decades, it started off at 17 acres in 1905 and by 1949 it had expanded to 127 acres. Long Eaton is prone to flooding, so the park is used as a flood plane capable of holding 67 million gallons of flood water which can then be slowly released into the Trent. The flood banks make for a nice walk around the southern side of the park.
I then walked down snickets (ginnels, alleyways). More factories passed and quite a selection of graffiti, the best artist being Soap. Then down towards the river across fields close to Sawley. I chanced walking across the golf course, only one shout of FOUR! I think aimed at me, I had waited quite a while and hoped to be out of all possible areas of golf balls. I didn’t get hit, so that was fine.
Time not quite blown away yet
Back along the river bank to Trent Lock, the cooling towers looking quite majestic in the lowering sunshine. I came across an article the other day in the AJ about them. The Twentieth Century Society had applied for them to be listed, but sadly their application was denied.
What a view
Back at Oleanna there were more props emails to look at whilst I put together a roast pork slop, the last left over pork, onion, red pepper, mushrooms, and tomatoes, brought up to heat and then popped on the stove top. A long chat with Lizzie up in Crick and then the final episode of Blue Lights was watched. Now just have to catch up on Bake Off and start Riot Women.
Sun setting at Trent Lock for the last time this year
Miraculously we both managed to sleep pretty well last night despite the strong winds. This morning the wind was still about, we expected it to get worse after midday with rain too. So far the only casualty from the winds was a lid from one of our solids containers. When buckets become full they are put outside, either on the roof or the gas locker, with a lid almost closed on them so that the contents can breath as the composting process begins. Maybe in future storms the lids will be firmly pushed on!
After pottering away a few hours, no shore leave granted for Tilly in case she blew away, we both headed out, hoping to beat the rain. Mick headed into town by bus for a flu jab and I walked along the river bank towards the west, heading into the wind. Coo, blimey it was strong! My hood up to keep my cap on my head, and clinging onto my hood whilst my coat filled up with air like a Michelin Man.
Under Wilford Suspension Bridge, the river side path moves away from the bank a little and is boxed in by fencing and a flood protection wall. In amongst the modern glass and concrete buildings stands 26 Wilford Lane, a Victorian house with a tower and many pigeons in residence. The boarded up windows suggested a building awaiting a sad end, the tower suggesting it should be given a new lease of life in my opinion.
Looking round on the internet later I came across numerous articles about the house, a few years old now. The property was first approved for demolition six years ago, a new building encompassing six dwellings was to be built in its place. Two years ago the Nottingham Civic Society was urging that the building should be kept, it’s architecture and historical interest needed to be kept.
Pretty boats and buildings
The house used to sit next door to the Plaisaunce. The son of John Boot, who founded Boots in 1849, Jesse Boot is known for having transformed the chemists into a national retailer. The businessman commissioned Plaisaunce himself and it was built in 1897 by Charles Glenn, having been designed by the architects Bromley & Watkins. It was Jesse and Florence’s Summer House, with extensive grounds, tennis courts, garden parties and firework displays were held here for their employees. During World War 1 it became a venue for wartime fundraising activities. After Jesse’s death it was sold in 1932 and was demolished in 1961.
I found a date that suggests permission for demolition is due to expire 14th October 2025! Will it still be standing in 10 days time?
Trams making use of the old river crossing
I carried on along the walk, passing a couple of schools, and joined the tramway which crosses the River Trent at Wilford Toll Bridge, this according to our maps is the furthest you can get by boat up stream. It opened for traffic in 1870 and is known locally as Halfpenny Bridge. In 1974 it closed to traffic as it’s central span was found to be in poor condition, it was replaced in 1980 by steel girders and concrete. In 2014/15 it was enlarged to accommodate trams.
Wilfred Toll Bridge
The rather nice little toll both today was emitting an aroma of toast, it’s now a sandwich bar. Sadly customers stood in the way of the menu and prices. Back along the northern bank under the London Plane trees, I hoped their sturdy trunks would keep them upright in the strong wind.
By Trent Bridge are some old Victorian public toilets, Grade 2 which appear to be to let. Well the sign says they are under offer, but that looks to have been the case for a few years. The toilets were closed 20 years ago and the council were looking for someone to repurpose the building whilst keeping the terrazzo flooring and cubicles. Photos of inside can be found here.
Toilets
Discussions regarding the next few days, what to do, where to go? A few days ago we’d made a plan, but it didn’t have enough spare days, just in case something went wrong. This along with a comment from Paul Balmer has changed our minds. So long as the river behaves after the storm we’re likely to stay put for a little while and enjoy being in and around Nottingham.
Might need to wear my sunglasses for this pair!
The afternoon was spent in front of the stove. Firstly finishing off sock pair 105 of my Sockathon, then winding up some extremely PINK yarn for the next pair. These were cast on whilst watching Alpha Papa 2013, on iPlayer. An Alan Partridge film where Norfolk Radio station is about to be taken over and one of the presenters ends up holding the staff as hostages. Jingle Genocide ensues, an amusing film for a blustery Saturday afternoon with a bored cat on my knee.
A touch of mending required
Pork stroganoff this evening to help use up some of the roast pork from a few weeks ago.
Mick cleared the engine bay before breakfast, anything that might get in the way was put on the bank. A phone call from Kane with his ETA came at just gone 9am and his satnav was pretty much spot on as he walked up to Oleanna at 10:25, a big crow bar in his hand and other tools and a new drive plate in his rucksack.
Engine held by strop and crowbar
He set to work removing the gear box to gain access to the old drive plate. This all took a while. Before the last bolts were removed he passed a strop around the engine and suspended it all from his crowbar which was positioned on our stern lockers. Inside I could hear just about everything, as the last bolt was removed I could hear the engine slump just a touch into the strop.
A new version
Inside I got on with re drawing the gates for Panto. Once scanned it was sent off to Jamie to see what he made of it. I didn’t hear back from him today. I then turned my attention to a logo that is needed for the show, an adjustment of a very well known brand logo was needed. This was done and shared. Not many little jobs left to do on my to-do list.
Gear box removed
Outside work progressed. The drive plate was removed. Yes it had been the culprit, not that you can see that easily without moving it. Time for a cuppa and for Kane to stretch his legs. His estimate the other day of three hours to remove the drive plate halved. Would putting the new one on be as quick?
Lots of crud where the old drive plate used to sit
Tightening things up in a confined space, engine suspended almost where it needed to be caused a little cursing from the engine bay. A few bangs occurred, at least he’d warned us they might happen. He’d had to remove the oil sump pump from the engine, this had failed on Mick at the last engine service. Mick asked if instead of putting the old one back on, could Kane install the new one we’d already got. It maybe took him an extra five minutes to fit, but he didn’t mind.
Guess which one Kane used
After three hours in our engine bay the ignition key was turned on. Oleanna was put into gear, no grinding noise. Then reverse, no grinding noise. Hooray!!!
Brand new Drive plate
Kane said the old drive plate would have lasted a while longer before failing, but best not to find out how long! Mick was given instructions to make sure some bolts were still tight in a week or so’s time with a 17mm spanner. Job done. Kane now headed off into Nottingham to his next job somewhere between Castle Marina and Sainsbury’s.
We had lunch. Should we move on today or stay put? If the river was busy with people looking for moorings we’d have moved, but as we’d only seen a couple of boats so far today and one of them had pulled away from the pontoon mooring this morning we didn’t feel we had to move. Also we were the only boat moored on the visitor moorings and there is space for four. As well as all that, C&RT had given us an overstay approval until 14th October. So we stayed put.
12km from Nottingham
My walk today took me along the road from the lock to Stoke Bardolph. Plenty of anglers and someone being trained in paddle boarding. I then carried on walking along the road on the river bank towards the big bend in the river where I followed the footpath. Here the anglers had set up fences around their vans, I wondered why for a while, but then twigged when I saw a heard of cows. Maybe these cows are known to lick vans like those do to boats at Lechlade on the Thames.
Back along a path that crossed the railway. Was this the crossing where Tilly had been found nearly ten years ago with her siblings? Then into Burton Joyce village. A lovely village hall where the local amateur dramatic society have just put on a show. Several nice looking shops and buildings. I popped into the Co-op for some milk. A heritage trail to follow, maybe next time when it isn’t a five mile round walk. Back in February 2016 my brother gave me a lift to Burton Joyce to a house on the hill here. That was to pick up our little thug Tilly who we adopted from Burton Joyce Cats, they no longer exist.
Lots of jolly pebbles
At the station there is a pebble display to mark the Platinum Jubilee. Lots of local groups and the school contributed to it painting pebbles. I was amazed at the number of cats wearing crowns, then later realised they were actually Corgis! The Beef Eater certainly had very square shoulders.
Back along the road to the boat. Today I’d tracked my journey via the NHS Active 10 app, 87 minutes brisk walking; on my step counter 12110 steps just short of 5 miles; but also with the OS app. The Ordnance Survey app had tracked my route and said it was 5.42 miles. So which do I believe? Have I got my step counter calibrated correctly to my stride? Have I actually been walking further than recorded all year?
Walsall Schnitzel tonight, turkey that needed finishing off from the freezer. We discussed where we should go now and when. There’s a storm coming, so we don’t want to stay at Stoke Lock with all the trees. Would we have enough time to go that way or should we just stay pottering about for a while longer?
0 locks, 0 miles, 1 new drive plate, 3 hours, 1 new gate drawing, 2 logos, 1 rose email, how many? 1 last day of good shore leave for Tilly, 4.95 miles, 0r 5.42 miles, 82 brisk minutes, 1 huge gaggle, 1 mended boat ready to push off.
Tofu had been omitted from our shopping list on Saturday, no rush to buy it, but I decided to see how far it was to the nearest shops. Yesterdays find of paths along the drainage ditches across the fields, meant there might be two routes to the retail park. I headed across the fields to the good track that skirted round more fields. After a while the tarmac vanished, but well worn tracks took over. I’d studied Google maps and not been able to find a definite way into the retail park, so when I heard voices up on the embankment by the lagoons I headed that way to see if someone could help. With directions I could now carry on, arriving at the delivery side of the shops, but from here I could easily get onto the main road and gain access to the front side of the shops. Around 2 miles walk.
Along the drainage ditches
First stop M&S Food Hall. I was after tofu and a cooking apple. They had apples but not tofu. I scanned the shelves for yellow stickers, best done in the mornings at M&S, but very little took my fancy, so I left empty handed there were other supermarkets to try.
Next, Pets at Home. It’s a certain cat’s birthday tomorrow and some treats may be required. I considered boring presents. A new bowl, no point she has bowls in both house and boat. A new collar, that wouldn’t go down at all well. A rainbow bow, or glittery one, they wouldn’t last even a matter of minutes. I scanned the shelves for her favourite treats and picked up a new toy.
A strong Halloween vibe in Morrisons
Across the way to Morrisons for tofu, success and an apple, I had to buy 5! I only wanted one. Oh well there are some blackberries in the freezer, we’ll just HAVE to have a crumble! Never mind!
I found the other route back to the river that the Lock Keeper had mentioned to Mick yesterday. Not a route I’d choose to do near dark, a well worn path, but carved through dense undergrowth. Back at Oleanna a little later than planned I tucked surprises away in a cupboard and had lunch.
Mick called in to see the Lock Keeper to let them know we’d be here for a few more days. A note was made in the book for when the number checker comes round, they are apparently quite hot round here, shame they’re not so effective around Nottingham at the moment.
Trimmed ends
A bit of hunting around for panto again, another blog post caught up on then it was time to finish weaving ends in on a pair of socks. Who decided to use so many colours?! It took forever to weave all the ends in, but at least they are done now and once packaged up they can be on their way.
A request for a hair cut was granted. Stool placed out on the bank and a grade 2 trim was produced without either of us falling in. Mick now looks a lot neater. Lemon Chicken stir fry tonight.
After a quick shower each this evening our water tank is now down to a quarter. Tomorrow we’ll maybe bite the bullet and head for a top up, hoping to make it back to our mooring with a full tank to await RCR’s return.
0 locks, 0 miles, 1 sausage day for Tilly, 79 brisk minutes, 5 miles walked, 1 bag of surprises, 1 block of tofu, 5 apples, 4 boats, pair 104 finished, 2 clean boaters (we couldn’t wait any longer), grade 2 hair cut, Day 1 of waiting.
Knapolitans, blood transfusions, hash brown recovery, coffee and conspiracy were some of the topics covered on the Geraghty zoom. It was very good to see everyone this morning back home where they should be, fingers crossed it will be the same next Sunday.
Mick returned to Sainsbury’s to pick up some food caddy bags that we’d forgotten about yesterday, then we were ready to push off. Last night our mooring had been pretty quiet for the centre of Nottingham, Mick had been aware of people chatting and walking past, I’d been aware of some road noise, but thankfully the students didn’t keep us awake as they have done in the past. This morning however was a different affair as the Nottingham half marathon was going past on the road. Supporters cheering runners on, runners with ghetto blaster strapped to their backs kept the drum and bass pace going.
Choral accompaniment
At Castle Lock we had a different musical accompaniment to normal, the pub’s speakers being drowned out by a choir on the bridge below the lock singing Amy Whitehouse songs as the half marathon passed by them, what a jolly affair. As I was closing the bottom gates a cruiser came into sight heading for the lock so I pushed the gate open again for them and walked round.
Looking under Trent Bridge to the steps
I walked ahead to Meadow Lane Lock. At the 90 degree bend Mick brought Oleanna round after a blast of the horn. The fishermen complimented him on his turn as they are more used to small cruisers totally messing it up. The lock was full so we could go straight in. Then with only one paddle working to empty it we took our time to descend. It then felt an absolute eternity until I could open the gate, is my reduced ballast playing a part?
New bridge
Surprisingly there were no rowers, sailors or boats of any sort on our way down stream towards Holme Lock. We’d considered mooring at the County Hall steps and it looked like there would have been room for us, but we opted to go a little further today. The new Waterside Bridge is being constructed on the north bank, there will be a navigation closure when it gets moved into position. Mick radioed ahead to the lock. We were told to take our time as the lock needed refilling and this would take 15 to 20 minutes. Engine now in tickover we sauntered the remainder of the way.
In my opinion the volunteer here should alter the wording of their instructions. They stand pointing to a cable riser for you to pass your rope round, then says ‘Pass a loop round here’. Never pass a loop round one of these cables, I know why!
Radcliffe Viaduct
Onwards downstream, the willow trees starting to turn yellow as Nottingham gets left behind. Would there be space above Stoke Lock for us? Would we be able to moor on the low mooring? Not on the pontoon, so that Tilly can have some shore leave. As we rounded the final bend I zoomed in with the camera. One boat on the pontoon, nobody on the low wall, Hooray!!!
Approaching Stoke Lock
We winded to face upstream and pulled in right to the end of the mooring. Shore leave rules were recited to Tilly and off she went, claiming everything in sight then she headed off into the trees, her limp not seeming to bother her too much. This year we’d started to leave the stern hatch slid open so she can jump out (it’s harder to jump back in), saving us getting up and down to open and close the door so often. However, to stop her from over stretching and reduce her jumping for the time being the hatch will remain shut, we’ll get more exercise opening the door for her. The option of seeing a vet is still there, I’ve noted the location of a surgery close to the canal back in Nottingham.
I’m not sure how that is taking it easy Tilly!
During the afternoon Mick had decided to lift the engine boards, there had been an unusual noise, he thought that maybe he should tighten the stern glad, checked the gear box oil, he refilled the greaser. Then popped Oleanna into gear. Hmmmm! I’m normally the one who notices a different tone coming from the engine, I’d not noticed it when we were under way today or even yesterday. But right now, she sounded ropey, grindingly ropey! Mick’s initial thoughts were that maybe it could be the gear box or the drive plate. He’d give Alastair in Goole a call in the morning to see what he thought.
A little later than planned I got on with a bit of work for panto, but I’d not reached my 40 minutes brisk walking for the day, so headed out to walk back towards Nottingham and see what the Netherfield Nature Reserve was like. The riverbank path is pretty good for a mile or so back towards Radcliffe Viaduct, then it narrows and started to be a little muddy. I tried to find a path shown on the OS map, but only one end of it was obvious heading into a field that had been growing maize.
Netherfield Lagoon
A steep bank brought me up to the lagoons, quite good views across the water, but nothing but standard water fowl to spot. I walked round the bottom end of the lake back down some steps by the viaduct, rather than a scramble down the muddy bank I’d come up. Time to return to the boat to pop a chicken in the oven to roast. We really should have waited longer before buying parsnips. They are one of my favourite vegetables, but before the frost gets to them they can be exceedingly woody and very boring to eat! Shame we’ve a couple left over, maybe I should make some apple and parsnip soup.
Bunny!
3 locks, 6.9 miles, 1 left, 28 voices, 4567687382 runners (maybe slight exaggeration there), 1 volunteer, 0 life jacket, 1 wind, 1 good mooring, 2 neighbours, 1 stern hatch closed, 4 hours shore leave granted, but take it easy Tilly! 1 growling engine! 63 brisk minutes, 1 Mrs Tilly stamp of approval.
