Category Archives: walks

2025… The Year Of Fools, Drought, NHS and Roses.

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.

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.

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.

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

According to Canal Plan

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

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.

Californian News. 24th October

Scarboreugh / Derby

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.

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.

**A bit of illustration for Separate Doors**

Fizzing Sinks. 12th October

Trent Junction

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.

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.

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.

https://www.facebook.com/share/r/1D8BXXUZQ1

Emails about props started whizzing around again today, so hopefully things will get cracking.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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**

0 locks, 0 miles, 1 slow morning, 3 freelancers emailing away, 300 plus roses, 26 garlands, 1 box tissues blown, 2 sinks fizzed, 1 not so bothered cat, 99 minutes brisk walking, 1 nearly empty freezer, 1 last cooling tower sunset.

Jingle Genocide. 4th October

County Hall Steps

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.

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.

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.

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.

Pork stroganoff this evening to help use up some of the roast pork from a few weeks ago.

0 locks, 0 miles, 49 brisk blown minutes, -1 lid, 1 amusing comment, 1 change of plan, 1 bored cat, 1 flu jab, 2 bikes collected, 1 tower, 9 lucky pigeons, 1 toasty bridge, 2 public loos, 1 sock, 2 feathery holes mended, 1 inventive use of gaffa tape.

Strop And Crow Bar.2nd October

Stoke Lock

**Containers of oil and stuff and things**

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.

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.

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.

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.

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!!!

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.

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.

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.

A Bag Of Surprises. 30th September

Stoke Lock

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.

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.

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.

Drum And Bass Pace. 28th September

Sainsburys, Nottingham to Stoke Lock, River Trent

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.

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?

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!

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!!!

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.

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.

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.

https://what3words.com/spooked.hologram.tinkle

Up For Bargus. 27th September

Trent Junction to Sainsburys Nottingham.

Tea in bed, then we were up and dressed and heading out with bags of rubbish and a windlass each. Rubbish disposed of we then sat by Trent Lock. Kat had said she’d be leaving Sheet Stores at about 8:30 and she had a boat to visit before she’d arrive at the lock, it was now a little after 9, we didn’t have long to wait for NB Bargus’s bow to come into view. We lifted paddles to fill the lock. My phone rang, Kat hadn’t found the boat with two mermaids, where had it gone? It turned out it was also below the lock on the river towards Sawley.

**Teddy and Bella a little chilly this morning on the stern of NB Bargus**

We worked Kat, Teddy and Bella down the lock onto the river, then met them alongside Oleanna. A top up of diesel, still at £1.01 a litre and two bags of excel coal, thankfully they were at the right end of Bargus. A chap came along wanting a gas bottle, as Kat had passed him above the lock he’d just run out. Then the owners of the boat with mermaids arrived with their dog, they curtailed their walk and headed home to wait for Kat. I suspect we won’t see Kat again this year, she’s headed back to the Trent and Mersey and hoping to get up the Coventry, Glascote and Atherstone to supply boats. CRT are hoping to open the locks for a week maybe a bit longer at the end of October to help businesses and also so that boats that have been stuck get back to home moorings before the winter stoppages kick in.

A day or so ago a notice had been put out by CRT. The Grand Union will be opening for a window of three weeks, but the south Oxford may only open for a week if there is sufficient water to do so. We’d already decided to not head that way for me to go to work on panto. We’d be able to make it to Marston Doles in time for me to start work, but then Mick would likely get stuck somewhere, so it’s not worth it. We’ll keep kicking our heels around the Trent for a bit instead.

**More breakfast was required back on the boat**

Breakfast. A treat felt in order, so we headed to the Lock House Tea Rooms to see what I might be able to eat. Have to say we were a touch disappointed that they didn’t do a breakfast. They did do bacon or sausage cobs and they had gluten free bread. We ordered one each and a cuppa. A few bites and they were gone, so we returned to Oleanna for a couple of slices of toast to follow.

Sailing boats were going back and forth as we got ready to push off, a narrowboat headed down Cranfleet Cut, we’d be along to join them in a few minutes. It took a while for a gap in the sailing boats and then for Oleanna to wind, she really wanted to cling onto the high wall, but we got there in the end.

Today Cranfleet Lock had four volunteers on duty, mob handed. They waited for us to arrive, something needed picking up out of the water, volunteers ran to their shed and got a grabber, nowhere near long enough to reach whatever it was. It turned out that they’d dropped a pen! Well they’d not be getting that back. Down we descended, our lock partners led the way out onto the river, a little chap occasionally having a go at steering, no wonder they were zigzagging as he couldn’t see over the roof at all!

This river section now very familiar, we’ve been along it now four times in about five or six weeks. No boats stuck on the sand bar, however we could hear Oleanna scraping over the top of it! At Beeston Lock landing, the narrowboat had moved off leaving just enough space to pull in for one boat, the remainder of the pontoon was still full with over staying boats (if you can class them as that as they shouldn’t be there in the first place). I have had a reply from CRT after I’d sent them my photo of the landing, they are of course aware of the boats.

**CRT are aware of these boats, hard not to be really.**

Dad and son from the boat ahead walked up to the lock to set it. I walked over their stern to go and help leaving Mick and Oleanna to hover. Mum and daughter came along too. Something was said, son ran screaming back to the boat, this was the start of the running! What followed was a seriously stressful time at the lock for me and possibly Mum and Dad. I’d stupidly crossed over the bottom gates and the daughter wanted to do the same. Both kids were wearing buoyancy aids, this didn’t stop them from running round the lock. Their dog ran back and forth as Mum now was left on her own with the kids climbing onto gates, winding paddles, running, watching from under gate beams. I did my best to keep calm, Mum did a better job, I suspect she’s used to it. This was their first lock and the kids were just so excited! Thankfully it was soon over and no-one had fallen in or been crushed and we were all back on our boats.

We carried onwards towards Nottingham. The pennywort stretched across the canal. One cruiser had managed to collect a large clump of it around their prop, so they were doing their best to free themselves, we pushed a large patch away with our bow for them. It always takes longer than we think to reach Castle Marina. A space was found, mooring rings as always with useless spacing for us.

With a shopping list in hand we aimed to do a biggish shop quickly. However when we got back to the boat and everything was stowed I suggested we stay put for the day. Our plan had been to reach County Hall Steps on the river, that would take at least an hour, we’d not be letting Tilly out anyway today as she was having an enforced rest day for her limp. We opted to stay put, after all we’ve not minded staying here before and some of the boats that had made us feel uneasy a month or so ago had moved on, leaving their rubbish behind mind!

A walk was needed. I plotted out a route that would hopefully have me back long before dark, up to the cathedral, round the castle and back along the canal. I found a footpath that took me up the hill on the other side of the canal. Here there were vast posh houses, the road markings blue not yellow! I’d entered the Nottingham Park Estate. I walked past about twelve tennis courts. Came across a road called Tunnel Road, this had to be investigated as I could see houses high up above.

Tunnel Road is a Grade 2 listed tunnel that was carved out of the rock to give access, quite an entrance, to The Park Estate in 1855. Carved through sandstone it was to give access to horse-drawn carriages from Derby Road. It is 125m long and has a section open to the sky in the middle to give ventilation and light, here a staircase climbs up around to reach Ropewalk and Upper College Street. The incline ended up being too steep for horses and carriages so a different route into The Park was found for them.

**I didn’t fancy climbing all those steps**

I walked round some more seriously posh streets, past the Nottingham Playhouse, found a very steep set of steps that brought me down to near the castle and then followed the tourists down the hill further to pass Ye Olde Trip to Jerusalem pub then the canal and Oleanna. Mick had popped a couple of potatoes, double wrapped in foil in the fire box of the stove. I then popped some left over chilli in a pan, got it up to simmering temperature on the hob and then moved it over to the stove top to carry on bubbling away whilst the potatoes finished cooking inside. I get pleasure from cooking on and in our stove in the cooler months of the year.

2 locks, 8.3 miles, 1 cat on sofa rest, 2 bags coal, 76.4 litres diesel, 1 coal boat helped down, 1 scraping along the bottom, 2 hyperactive kids, 17 pennywort rafts, 1 box of wine, 1 plan changed, 1 thinner rope required, 105th pair of socks cast on, 49 minutes brisk walking, 1 hill climbed, 125m tunnel 2 steep for carriages, 2 jacket potatoes.

https://what3words.com/whips.hurry.coins

Tweeting Birdies. 26th September

Trent Junction

The early morning mist clung to the river early on. As the clock ticked closer to breakfast time the mist increased and the view of the cooling towers almost disappeared before the sun took over and burnt its way through.

An email from the printers arrived, the final adjustment corrected. At last everything was ready to be printed and the big red button could be pressed on the copy machine. It feels like it’s been going on forever! Maybe it has!!

Tilly was given shore leave, rules recited and the reasons I call her home reinforced today!

Part way through the morning a shiny boat came past from Redhill. NB Hereward was on its way from being repainted by Tom at Gibson and Kentwright. Very nice looking boat. She’d gone back in the water a couple of days ago. I wonder if the owners had much to clean up, I’ve heard that the grit from being grit blasted gets everywhere inside despite all openings being covered up.

Time to think about illustrations for the Separate Doors book. I’d had an idea whilst on the train and squiggled it down. But now I realised it was actually two ideas rolled into one. I ended up with three versions sketched out to send to Vanessa for her to point me in the right direction for the style of the book.

This afternoon’s walk had me walking up the Erewash towpath, further than I’ve been of late. At the very tree covered bridge into Sheet Stores I could just make out the stern of NB Bargus, it looked like Kat was delivering to a moored boat in the basin.

After we’d seen her in Burton her stern gear had developed quite a big problem and was letting in water when the prop turned. Brian on NB Elk had breasted the boats together and taken her down the Trent, up the first lock on the Erewash to Sheet Stores where NB Bargus was lifted out to await new parts, some welding etc. Whilst she was out of the water Kat blacked her and put the base coats on the port cabin side to paint out the old livery and get her looking more like a Jules Fuels boat. Bargus was now back in the water and preparing to head back to the Trent and Mersey. I’d seen that Kat had planned her next coal run and sent her a message asking for a top up, but after hearing nothing back we’d assumed she was already on her way up stream, but we’d been wrong. Later in the day we heard from her and yes she still had supplies on board and would see us in the morning.

I walked through the same boring estate I’d walked the other day, it wasn’t any more interesting walking in the opposite direction. Across and under the many railway lines. At one level crossing I had to wait for a train to pass and then almost as soon as I’d crossed the lights started to flash again, only a couple of minutes between trains.

I opted for a different path back to the river, this one I thought might be more interesting as it was between two lakes. However, the lake to the right was totally invisible because of trees and the one to the left I only caught a little glimpse of the water park before brown fencing cut off my view totally! Back to the river bank with its high foliage so no view there either. The best part of today’s walk was listening to the birds and spotting them all on the pylon and cables, singing their hearts out.

Back at Oleanna Tilly was hanging about, well you told me I had to come back when told to! That is when I noticed she was limping again. It’s not been noticeable for quite a few days, but was definitely back now. We’ll see what some sofa and bed rest does for a day or two, then see if we need to pay a visit to those people who wear green!

**Chilli Turkey Sausage and Squash Risotto**

Lurking in the bottom of the freezer had been four chilli turkey sausages. I decided to see what they would be like in a risotto with some roast squash. It turned out to be really rather nice. Recipe will be found here.

0 locks, 0 miles, 1 misty start, 1 big PRINT button pressed (I hope), 3 squiggles, 1 invoice, 1 coal boat, 3 railway crossings, 1 boring walk, 72 brisk minutes, 1 out of 4, 4 turkey sausages, 0.5 squash, 2 plates of yummy food, 1 chink of glasses for William.

Jelly Webb. 25th September

Trent Junction

Time to look at Saturdays newspaper puzzles with a cuppa in bed. Tilly was given shore leave, after breakfast we had a quick tidy up and sweep through. The boat in front of us had backed up to the water point, would they be coming back to the mooring or heading off afterwards? Mick went to ask, they were heading onwards, so we could pull up to the end mooring, within reach of the tap for our hose. Only thing was that Tilly was out and about and we’re not allowed to move the outside with her in it.

Thankfully she appeared quite quickly when called and obliged by heading inside. We then pulled Oleanna along towards the water point and improving the view of Ratcliffe Power Station in the process. As soon as we were back onboard Tilly hopped off and vanished again, I only just had chance to warn her that the outside had moved by a bit more than a boats length, she most probably wasn’t listening anyway!

A little while later a voice could be heard outside. Jane Elliot Webb had come to visit. Jane was working at the SJT when I started in 1996, I hadn’t realised that we’d only been there for one season together. When the Stephen Joseph Theatre opened in 1996 (in it’s new home the Odeon), it had two auditoria and had required more members of staff and funding. The staff increased, hence me getting a job, but the funding didn’t. It had been decided to not compromise the opening season due to the amount of funding, but it did mean that quite a few members of staff were laid off in the autumn, Jane and myself included.

I went off to paint panto at Watford Palace Theatre, with Lizzie (NB Panda), and Jane went to work at Nottingham Playhouse. I ended up returning to Scarborough, but Jane whilst doing a few other things found herself working at Nottingham in Stage Management. I really thought we’d both been at the SJT together for longer. Plenty to talk about over a cuppa on board, we have quite a few friends in common.

Lunchtime. Time to get Tilly back so we could go out. I called. I walked up and down several times calling. Mad Cat Woman caused people to stop and ask if I was looking for a dog or a cat. I called again. Tilly was given three chances to return to Oleanna over half an hour, I for one was getting very hungry!

Her bed and Escape Pod were put out on the stern hatch, rear doors left open, the ones into the cabin locked. We headed round the corner to the Lock House Tea Room for lunch. We’ve only once left the boat when Tilly’s been out before, we really don’t like doing it, but she was seriously showing us up!

Tuna jacket potatoes and a round of sandwiches were accompanied with more cuppas and conversation sat outside the Lock House in the bright sunshine. What a beautiful day, no real need for jumpers in the sunshine. What a lovely time we had catching up, thank you for visiting us Jane and we’ll make sure we let you know when we’re passing again.

Back round the corner, we’d been gone for maybe an hour and a half. Would Tilly have come home? Had Tilly got confused with the hire boat that had pulled in behind us earlier, where we’d been moored first thing? That hire boat was just coming back and heading back towards Sawley. I could just make out the shape of two pointy ears through the pram cover. She was home.

A severe telling off was given to me! HOW Dare you leave me in the outside with no means of getting inside! No one to open the doors for me!!

She got a severe telling off too. Where have you been?! Some self catering obviously has been happening. When I call, I call you for a reason! You really showed us up!!!

Tilly was grounded for the remainder of the day!

New proofs from the printers came through. All correct apart from the Front Cloth. They’d not needed to do anything to the front cloth as I’d already stretched it to the right size, they’d stretched it even more. Pooh! An email was quickly fired off, but most probably arrived as they were heading home for the day.

Time for a walk. I opted to walk up the Erewash, cross over on the footbridge by Mill’s Dockyard then walk through the golf course. Plenty of people in the driving range and I had to pause a couple of times to check if I could cross without getting hit by balls. I then carried on walking towards the B6540. The route along the top of flood banks giving me great views of the power station.

Reaching the road I wanted to turn towards Sawley but on my side of the road there wasn’t a pavement. The traffic was very busy heading towards Long Eaton, but thankfully someone spotted me and waved me across. However not too much further along the pavement ran out on that side! I had to cross back over again. This meant an even longer wait until a bus gave me space to cross.

Along Sawley cut, past all the moored boats, down to the locks, then across the river with the railway line and back along the river bank. All the time the sun was getting lower in the sky, all the time photos were needing to be taken. What a stunning evening, back to Oleanna for Walsall Schnitzel (Turkey Schnitzel) with tomato spaghetti.

0 locks, 0 miles, 29 years ago! 6 months, 1 bottle of red, thank you Jane, 2 jackets, 1 round sandwiches, 3 cuppas, 1 very good chin wag, 1 AWOL cat!, 0 stowaway, 50 brisk minutes walk, 1 lovely sunset.

Narrowboat Oleanna

Travels of Narrowboat Oleanna

Category Archives: walks

2025… The Year Of Fools, Drought, NHS and Roses.

Californian News. 24th October

Fizzing Sinks. 12th October

Jingle Genocide. 4th October

Strop And Crow Bar.2nd October

A Bag Of Surprises. 30th September

Drum And Bass Pace. 28th September

Up For Bargus. 27th September

Tweeting Birdies. 26th September

Jelly Webb. 25th September