The Thorne Visitor

Thorne

Eric had waited for nightfall, but really wasn’t all that impressive. Maybe our mooring was sheltered, but we’d been expecting much worse. Sideways rain and being buffeted about had been our expectations, but it passed over with a few huffs and puffs and a couple of small showers.
Tilly checking the top of Micks head had been cut
Time for a haircut. Mick got a set of new clippers at Christmas. The attachments are numerous, ears, noses, beards and hair. The shortest one for hair is a little bit longer than I used to use so Mick isn’t quite such a skinhead as normal. It was nice to have sharp clippers again, those awkward thin bits (yes he has a few left on top) were a lot easier to cope with today. As the clippers buzzed away Tilly kept an eye on us and the towpath from up high.
Mick, Nick and Me
This afternoon we had Nick Lane to visit. Nick is a writer, director, actor and a jolly lovely man who I know from my days working at Hull Truck. He arrived early, well he only lives around the corner! For those who know Nick this is a rarity but it meant we got to spend more time with him. We had a lovely catch up talking boats, plays, friends, windows, knights and Thorne. 
Nick is being kept busy with various projects up and down the country. His kids Christmas plays have been going down a storm in Scarborough the last few years and he’s been commissioned to do an adaptation of Treasure Island this year.
Christmas Office Party

I designed a few of his Christmas shows at Hull Truck when there used to be an adult show playing in the evening with a kids show on the same set during the day. An Italian restaurant became a town square for an actors troupe to tell the story of Pinocchio. A modern  warehouse office became various locations to tell A Christmas Carol. All good bonkers fun. 
Pinocchio

It was so lovely to see him and be able to spend some time catching up.
Tilly, you’re out of focus!

0 locks, 0 miles, 1 Saturday paper, 3rd ball yarn nearly used, 9mm not grade 3, 1 cat taking up residency in the trees here, 1 fake knight, 1 Nick, 23567 memories, 2 portions of Nick Lane beef stew, 1 photo bomb.

Missing Eric. 8th February

Thorne

I’m so glad I don’t have to clean a house anymore. Our house is actually two knocked together, so twice the surface area to dust, sweep and hoover. Not that we did it that often, imminent visitors would spur us on, sometimes we’d hope for family to come and stay so that we’d get round to having a good tidy up!
Living in limited space does however mean we have to be better at putting things away on a regular basis, otherwise there would be nowhere to sit down or work surface in the galley to cook on. I do wish there were more recycling bins on the network so cardboard, glass etc didn’t build up around us. But we seem to be in a more sensible part of the world at the moment, Thorne now has recycling bins.
You can’t beat a bit of Pink Stuff

All the windows got a good clean inside, floors swept through, bathroom cleaned and even some of the woodwork got a bit of a polish. I have some almond oil to do this with (I hate the smell of honey) but even this can be a touch too much, so I do an area at a time. Whilst I was busy polishing Mick gave the cooker a good going over. We have some oven cleaner, but that needs to be done and left overnight. So instead he cleaned the glass doors with a selection of products, Pink Stuff being one of them. The end result is pretty good, you can now see through the door again. We’ll save the oven cleaner for a few months time.
Going into every corner of the boat with a brush means all of Tilly’s toys get found. We have a toy box for them, which also doubles for me to put my feet on at the dinette. Behind Tilly’s food bowls  I pulled out six balls, down the side of the toilet the mouse she got from Joa at Christmas and her big fish was taking up quite a bit of space under a radiator. All of them were put back into her toy box, but the lid would not go back on.
Now which one? Two?
Too many in the box

Fish!!!
Selection time! I chose a cat nip ball, a blue mouse and my fish, oh and a bouncy ball. I can’t live without a bedoingy ball. They are super great as they come back to you as you play, can fit under doors where they always come back from, but for some reason always end up at the back of the boat.

Our mooring is either very sheltered or we have missed out on the worst effects from storm Eric today. No rain and hardly any buffeting from the wind. We are glad we got off the rivers as the flood gates on the Upper Trent have been closed today at Sawley and Cranfleet.
Rescued from the towpath

0 locks, 0 miles, 12 more trees, 7 woofers, 1 stick that I don’t have any use for, 1 mouse rescued, 1 clean oven, 1 large ball of fluff, 6 mats shaken, 1 trip to the bins, 2nd ball yarn nearly used, 3rd ball required for more acurate calculations.

Is She A Cat? Or Is She a Squirrel? 7th February

Throne Lock

Trees!

Tilly was allowed to come and go as she liked this morning, disappearing for lengths of time, then returning for a few treats. 
Late morning we took advantage when she returned and headed out ourselves. We had some parcels to post which meant walking past a friends house, so I popped a note through his door hoping that we’ll get chance to catch up. Despite thinking that I’d backed up my phone when I got a new one, I have lost quite a few phone numbers so a note through Nick’s door would be better than a text.
Soft Alpaca gloves

At the Post Office we dropped off three parcels, including my latest sales from my Etsy shop. We called into Clarke’s to buy Mick a pork pie for lunch and then carried on to do some shopping first at the new Lidl and then Sainsbury’s. As we checked out with just a few things Sainsbury’s gave us a voucher, triple points! So in the end we have won, we just need to find a suitable place to have a delivery to do a big shop in the next two weeks.
Very detailed

A few boats were moving today, most probably ahead of the bad weather forecast for the next few days. We certainly plan on staying put until Storm Eric has passed through.
Tilly spent much of the rest of the day up trees. There are a couple of big trees that take quite a bit of climbing, but the rest of them are quite young and easy to scamper up. Watching her makes me quite nervous. Alongside the boat she managed to climb one tree then scale it’s heights, gingerly pass from tree to tree to tree, at least 20ft from the ground. The diameter of branches only just enough to take her slight weight. If we stay here too long she’ll be trying to fly from branch to branch like a squirrel.
Going right to the top!

This afternoon we have confirmed a visit to Finesse our boat builders in a couple of weeks time. There are still a few winter stoppages in our way, but they should be finished by the end of next week clearing our way. 
Calculations

I’ve also made a start on my next knitting commission. With the tension square done I worked out my pattern and that I had just about enough yarn. However by the end of the evening I’d just about used up one ball of yarn, this suggests that I may well need a few more balls to obtain the right size. I’ll wait till I’ve used a second ball before I revise my calculations.
What is he doing up there?

0 locks, 0 miles, 3 parcels, 1 average pork pie, 2 days shopping to avoid getting wet, 3 x points, 1 note, 4 moving boats, 1 knight, 201sts, 2.75 inches per ball, 3 balls short?

Crossing The Border. 6th February

Keadby to Above Thorne Lock


Dredging by the lock

No alarm clock set this morning. No need as the dredger started to dip its bucket into the canal hoiking out masses of dark grey mud at 7.30am, in the process rocking Oleanna. Not a gentle rocking more a sea sick inducing rock!

Vazon Sliding Bridge

Keadby isn’t the quietest of moorings. The drug dealers and their customers meeting in their cars then zooming back out of the car park (we suspect it’s noisier at weekends), traffic on the swing bridge at the lock and then trains crossing Vazon Sliding Bridge, long goods trains from Immingham  that run all night. We’d still managed to get some sleep and had been hoping for a lie in.

A different Marge this time

Mick popped out to see if we’d be able to get to the water point behind us at some point. Once the next lorry turned up the hopper would be moved and there would be space for us. About an hour later there was a loud knocking on our roof. We pulled back topped up with water and emptied the yellow water tank. The dredger started again scooping out the mud and dropping it into an empty hopper called Marge. The last time we were here heading towards Yorkshire we’d just come off the Tidal Trent with NB Large Marge, space was limited at the moorings so we’d breasted up Tilly and Jaffa got to know one another through the windows.

Once topped up we moved out of the way and made ready to push off, another sunny morning.
Approaching Vazon Sliding Bridge we held back as a goods train crossed in front of us. Mick checked his train app to see when the next train was due, would there be enough time for us to get through the bridge or would we be treading water a while longer. Luckily the bridge operator had spotted us, opened his window and we could hear the warning siren start up to warm any pedestrian who might be crossing the rails that were about to slide for us.
Going through

They slid back on the diagonal opening up the way for us. Mick put Oleanna in gear and we were off getting through as quickly as we could, we knew when the next train was!

Straight on to Yorkshire

Now we were on the South Yorkshire Navigation properly. Long straight stretches, views for miles over the low flat land and the low swing bridges, none of them operate the same.

Godnow Swing Bridge

I’d made sure of extra fuel at breakfast to have enough umph to get some of these bridges moving. The first one, Godnow Swing Bridge should have been one of the easiest but proved problematical.

No traffic coming from that direction

Here the bridge controls are linked to a level crossing on the railway directly next to the bridge. There is a bridge keeper in his little hut, who you have to check with before you can open the bridge for boat traffic.  Key of power in the control panel, turn clockwise a quarter turn. This panel talks to you, two letters illuminate to say what to do next. GA, close the gate at the far side to stop traffic. Done. WA, Wait for confirmation from the crossing keeper. Done, his gates were closed. WA, still. WA, still. We tried pressing buttons but still it said WA. Maybe something wasn’t as closed as it should be time to try again. By now there were a couple of vehicles I’d stopped so we let them through. I removed my key, all the time the Crossing man reading out   v e r y    s l o w l y   the instructions, not sure if this was for my benefit or just the speed he read at!

Key of Power … not working very well

Key back in panel, we both (under i n s t r u c t i o n from the keeper, I so wouldn’t have known what to do on my own!) closed our gates and returned to the panel. WA. Mick had joined in by now, still WA.

Apparently we were the first boat to go through since the bridge had work done to it. We’d tried everything but still no joy. Time to call C&RT. As I was waiting to get the right option for problems the crossing man spent time in his hut, then all of a sudden OP appeared. I could press the button to open the bridge. It turned out that he had an emergency key or something which he turned and everything started to work again. Maybe an emergency button had been pressed in the cabin during the works, or he’d turned something by accident. Who knows, but we got Oleanna back on the way again, closed the bridge and gates, the man handing me back my keys as if I was about to leave them there!
Going though

Medge Hall worked as it should, key turn, lift, push, push, kerchung, key back.

Crossing the border

Then after the next slight bend we could see it, The Border. A dyke to the south marks where Yorkshire starts, the grass very much greener on the other side. As we crossed the border we had a big cheer, back home again. We’ve not been here by boat since picking Oleanna up from Sheffield in 2017.

Wykewell Lift Bridge

At Moores Swing Bridge I forgot to push the button on the panel to unlock the road gates so increased my steps for the day. At last I managed to hold three cars up whilst Oleanna came through the bridge. Then Wykewell Lift Bridge rising high to let us through, 1 car, 1 man, 1 dog. Luckily there are bridge landings on both sides of the cut at these bridges. I say luckily because an old cruiser was moored up, chained to the bollards.

Not waiting for the bridge

Just chained to the bollards

Next Princess Royal Swing Bridge. I hopped off to operate it, keep calm, read the instructions and all will be fine. The barriers on this bridge are renowned to cause problems. The lid to the panel was more securely attached than I remember it being and as I turned the key lights actually lit up! I closed the barriers and made sure they felt like they had located. Pressed the button and the bridge opened. With Oleanna through I then followed the instructions to close the bridge. Press and hold the close button until the Bridge Closed light illuminates. The light came on but the barriers were locked fast, ‘here we go!’ I thought. A lady waiting to cross said I should hold the close button until there was a big ‘clunk’ noise, so following local knowledge I did so. CLUNK. The barriers could be opened.

We pulled in just past the services for lunch and to check if we’d be alright pulling up alongside boats outside Thorne Boat Services to fill with diesel. This was fine and at 80p a litre a good price so the tank was full again.
YES

The forecast for the next few days is very windy and wet, not suitable cruising weather. We wanted a sheltered spot to sit it out so decided to move up above the lock where some low trees might give us some shelter. As we approached the lock the gates opened, a man in C&RT blue stood in the door of the little lock cabin with a control panel, two other chaps came to take ropes and take photos. They were here to check out the lock. The pound above has dropped by some six seven inches and they were trying to find the reason. According to the chap in charge, C&RT policy is to leave locks full, safer to fall into than when empty. Thorne lock opens a paddle to help keep it full when not in use, however the bottom gates are leaking so the lock rarely gets above 80% full. It looks like they will be planning on doing something with the mitred gates to reduce water loss.

We pulled in and moored across the way from Staniland Marina. A touch noisy with boats being worked on in the dry docks, but hopefully sheltered.
I like Yorkshire!

Wowwee!!! They say we’ll be in this outside for a few days, Brilliant!!! Paul you have missed an m from your map, but then maybe it’s best other people don’t know about it. Trees, trees and even more trees. Plenty to climb over the next few days. Birdies, a bit of friendly cover and a big patch of grass to graze, once I’ve finished with the trees that is.

1 lock, 10.23 miles, 1 sliding bridge, 7 swing bridges, 1 lift bridge, 4 cars held up, 1 man, 1 woman, 1 dog, 1 selfish boat, 3 C&RT chaps, 1 Marge, 3 thin patches of ice, 1 cat very happy, 1 Mrs Tilly stamp of approval.


Cosy Cheeked Cruising. 5th February

Torksey Pontoon to Keadby Visitor Moorings

Ice hanging from the banks


The alarm woke us to fog. Not thick, but it was definitely there. Overnight the cut had frozen over and then the tide had gone out leaving perilous jagged ice hanging from the banks.
About to push off

No time for a cuppa in bed this morning. The Lock Keeper had said we should leave at 8:45 and not hang about, we still needed to wind, with ice this might be difficult. A bowl of cereal eaten and layers donned we made Oleanna ready. Two swans had made themselves a water hole in the ice, which all the time was slowly getting larger as they had their morning wash. We kept an eye out for the Aegir bringing in the flood, but this morning it wasn’t as evident as last night. Gradually the level rose, not enough force to break more ice just steadily rising until the jagged edges now lay horizontally where they had frozen.
A frost covered Oleanna and her ropes had turned white, I’d put an extra twist in the bow line which meant it would be hard to untie. I carefully stepped onto the bow then made sure Mick wasn’t going to get on the back as the gas locker lid was very very slippy, one false move and I almost certainly would be in the freezing water. I didn’t want to see if my new life jacket worked, so I clung on for dear life. I managed to persuade the rope to give just a little, enough to get us untied and then gingerly climbed back into the well deck where my footing could be relied on.
Cracking the ice with the bow thruster

Mick reversed Oleanna a touch as we’d stopped near to where the cut is slightly wider, and then brought her forward, the ice crackling as he used the bow thruster to help push the bow round. If it had been any thicker we’d have reversed out  of the cut and winded in the main channel of the river.
Turning right down stream

Wow! It was cold, frosty and the fog was lifting giving a wonderful effect blending colours and shapes together. Cottam Power Station looked beautiful as we turned right, northwards out onto the river.

Torksey Castle silhouetted 

Torksey Castle atmospheric as we passed pushing our way against the incoming tide. Plenty of revs but only 4mph, this was just about the only way to tell that the tide was still coming in, the river almost a mill pond with no wind to whisk up waves.

Cosy now
It was cold out there, time to put on our balaclavas. Immediately I felt the difference, my cheeks and chin started to feel cosy. For an item I never thought I’d ever make, I was glad I’d taken the time.

The Chateau up on the hill
Around four miles further on the elegant Chateau huddled itself against a wood for warmth. The small chateau, more like cottage was built by a Gainsborough lawyer as a weekend retreat and is now owned by The Landmark Trust and is a wonderful Georgian house that you can stay in. The views must be great from there.

West Burton
West Burton Power Station now takes over the view, the old cooling towers dormant, the modern gas power station working hard filling the sky with steam.
Gainsborough Road Bridge

The tide now had certainly turned, our speed doubled as we started on the big bends towards Gainsborough. First Kerrys flour mill, the drop in water evident on the pilling at it’s wharf. Mick knocked back the revs as we came round the bend towards Gainsborough Road Bridge giving him a bit more time to line Oleanna up for the central arch. Once through Gainsborough it was time to put the kettle on, the electric one is allowed on such days.
West Stockwith Lock

We both had cuppas in our hands as we came round the bend to West Stockwith Lock, we were just over half way to Keadby now. Next through Owston Ferry, where we still wonder which pub Mick’s grandfather stayed in whilst on a long bike ride from Hessle on the 10th September 1940. From here on the flood defences hide what lies behind them, a touch dull now, we were very glad it wasn’t a grey wet windy day.

I’d like that job

Friendly cover and big sideways trees had been cut down on both banks and a chap sat high up in his chipper feeding it with a claw at the front whilst it spat the chips out behind.
Nearly there now

The M180 Road Bridge was where we rang Keadby Lock to announce our arrival in about twenty minutes, this means he can get the lock ready for us, so no stemming the tide waiting for gates to open.

Higher flood defences going in

On the east bank pile drivers were hard at work raising the height of the flood defences, a noisy business but I’m sure the houses don’t mind that much if it means they will remain dry the next high flood.
Not far now
Keadby Bascule Bridge was our last on the Trent and meant we should now cross over, wind so as to face the out going tide and then position ourselves to enter the lock, first diagonally then bring the stern round and into the lock.

The white building is the Lock Keepers look out

I went down front to get ready with a rope, by now we had winded and the Lockie could talk to us, he’d take a centre line, no need for the bow.

Starting to wind as we passed the open lock
So as I made my way back through the boat I missed most of Micks text book manoeuvre into the lock. Mark the Lockie commended Mick as we passed the rope up, what a relief to now be off the river. I don’t mind river cruising, it’s the turning off them that is a touch nerve wracking, but today there was absolutely nothing to worry about. We’d made it in good time and would easily have gotten over the sand bank outside the lock, however our two day delay due to ice had meant that the dredger had already cleared it.

Mark up in his hut above the lock

Mark brought us up nice and slowly to the canal level. Time to ask him where we might find some coal and him to tell us where the shops were.

Hoppers and a crane waiting to fill a lorry after lunch

Our timing was such that when the road bridge was swung out of our way the dredging team were on their lunch break. We pulled in past them where thin ice still remained. It took a little while to moor up and clear ice from between us and the bank. Mick headed back to see Mark about some coal whilst I let Tilly out.

Last time I was here I had a tasty view!

At Bloomin last!!! Nobody, just nobody was going to stop me, well apart from the occasional woofer. Even the cars coming and going didn’t bother me, none of them stayed long they just touched hands with each other and sped off again. After the first time they didn’t bother me as there were friends to find and trees to climb.

Apparently this will burn better than excell!

Mick and Mark returned with five bags of coal, we just need to top up with diesel tomorrow in Thorne and we’ll be happy.
Over the last week we have been very appreciative of the help the Lock Keepers on the Tidal Trent have given us. We’ve felt that they’ve been looking out for us, even before we left Cromwell. We must have had three or four calls from Keadby to inform us of ice, wind etc and suggesting other days and times for our cruise. Even though the river is a lonely place to be the only boat, we knew they were there. Another lovely day on the Tidal Trent.
1 lock, 27.98 miles, 2 winds, 2 rights, 1 cut frozen over, 2ft rise in 20 minutes, 2 balaclavas, 4 cosy cheeks, 2 cosy chins, 5 bags coal, 1 dredger, 2 hoppers, 8 sausage rolls, 4 cheese straws on arrival, 1 happy cat again.


https://goo.gl/maps/yFvF3NzNJBk

On Our Way. 4th February

Cromwell Lock to Torksey Lock Visitor Moorings

Waking during the night to rain and wind was not encouraging for our day ahead. But as we drank our tea in bed the rain abated and we hoped the wind would follow suit. Mick called Keadby Lock to check that all was still good for us to set off today and it was. All systems were go.
After breakfast we got ourselves ready, layers on, everything was tied down on the roof, our tyre fenders came inside and into the bathroom sink. Whilst Mick checked the weed hatch I cleared the well deck of anything that might get in my way should the anchor need deploying, this filled the shower up quite nicely but put Tilly’s nose out of joint because that is where her water bowl lives!

Green!
All ready for us

The lights at the lock turned green at about 10:20 and we pushed back about ten minutes later, winded and headed for the open lock.
In the lock 

Mick decided to only hold on using the centre line, well we were going down which meant I could close up the cratch covers, these would help keep waves from coming into the well deck if it got windy

Gates opening

Through the other end 

As the gates opened to let us out onto the Tidal Trent we waved a shouted thanks up to Sean in his cabin. We were now out onto the river on our own.

Onto the river
What wind we had was from behind us, until the river turned our course and put us head on into it. But these moments were few and far between, the sun came out and there was no sign of any rain.
I quickly realised that I’d not thought about navigating glasses before I came outside, I had my distance ones on not my bi-focals. With these changed I could see both where we were going and our chart properly and adjust our course as required.
Pylons leading to the power station
The tide helped us along this now fairly familiar section. The occasional lining up (which maybe isn’t really needed on a narrowboat) with pylons and windmills came back to us as we approached them. Sunken Islands avoided and no need to be wary of water skiers as the river was empty other than us.

Cottam Power Station
The shape of the cooling towers at Cottam Power Station soon appear in the distance gradually getting closer.

WAB etc!
At Fledborough Viaduct we lined ourselves up to go through the correct opening, the graffiti now almost all washed away until you are up close.

Dunham Bridges
Once under Dunham Bridges and clinging to the east bank for a while to avoid the shoal  we then had a short distance to travel before the power station heralded our arrival at Torksey. We turned into the cut, empty but for a few fishermen and chose where we wanted to moor for the night. A very pleasant few hours cruising with the sun out and no need for balaclavas.

View from the lock
After lunch a butternut squash and chickpea goulash went onto the stove to slowly cook, sadly I should have done this much earlier in the day as the squash was still quite hard by the time I wanted to add some yoghurt dumplings to the top, so an hour in the oven was needed, but my it was tasty. A good job really as we’ve got enough for another meal.
Goulash with dumplings
Cruising sausage rolls were prepared for tomorrow, ready just to have egg wash added and baked. At around 7:20pm I felt Oleanna rise in the water, the mini Aegir had just come along the lock cut. It felt like only minutes for us to rise with the incoming tide.  If tomorrow is like today we’ll have a lovely cruise to Keadby, just a shame that fog is forecast for the morning, here’s hoping it clears quickly otherwise we’ll have to postpone the next leg on the Trent.

I love a power station
1 lock, 16.49 miles, 1 right, 8 cooling towers, 0.75 glove made, 400gms squash, 250gms lacking of mushrooms, 12 yoghurt dumplings, 1/3rd the way to Keadby.


https://goo.gl/maps/8ZybiS3ywUt

The Frozen North. 3rd February

Cromwell Pontoon

Tilly enjoying being part of the morning sunrise

The Lock Keepers on the Trent are very good. Before Mick had even turned his phone on this morning they had already tried to call, so before rolling his sleeves up to cook us a Sunday morning breakfast he called them back.

Obligatory breakfast photo, sausages a little disappointing sadly.

The North/Yorkshire is still frozen, however with temperatures set to rise in the next few days we may have a window of opportunity. The Lockie suggested we make our way to Torksey tomorrow then on Tuesday morning push off at 8:45am, push against the incoming tide for an hour before it turns and helps us to get to Keadby. The tide times are more sociable than they would have been today and hopefully we’ll not need to wear our balaclavas, Tilly is pleased about this. We are to call him as we come through Gainsborough, this will give the dredger and hoppers time to move out of our way and he’d make sure there would be somewhere for us to moor for the night. So we are booked to penn up at Keadby on Tuesday.

We’ll wait to top up the tank!
Despite the sun being well and truly out this morning there had been quite a hard frost, we’d have to wait to fill with water today, still some bedding to wash.

We didn’t venture far today, just to the bins really and to see Sean. His little cabin overlooking the lock had it’s door open, but nobody was home. It was around lunch time so we sat on a bench by the lock and waited for 1pm before we tried to call him, hoping not to disturb his lunch. He came out of the lock cottage and headed to his cabin to make note of our booking passing us on his way. 10.30 / 11am he’ll let us loose onto the tidal Trent tomorrow. High tide here is at 10am tomorrow so we should get a little bit of extra push from it as it goes out.

Wonderful clouds today
With balaclavas now out of the way I made a good start on a pair of gloves. Well I’d already done the rib on them a week or so ago, but knew that I didn’t have quite enough yarn to knit a pair. Even though they are just a single colour I stopped after the rib to await more yarn. Different batches of yarn can end up being slightly different, so stopping here and changing meant any difference would not be noticed as there is a change of stitch.

First moving boat in days

Much of the rest of the day was spent trying to work out where to move the blog to as we are fed up of Google moving the goal posts. At the moment it’s looking like we’ll head to wordpress where NB Lillyanne’s blog is. If we do move we’ll give you plenty of notice. We’re not sure what will happen to those who subscribe to the blog and get emails, you may have to re-subscribe. We hope to still be able to use oleanna.co.uk, but will it still show on peoples blog rolls? A lot to look into and set up if we do move. As I say we’ll let you know.

0 locks, 0 miles, 1 bag rubbish, 2 locks booked, 1 moving boat,  30 seconds of cat freedom, 1 harness almost pulled off, 1 lovely day to cruise, 1 frozen tap, 1 empty washing drawer, 1 glove complete, 4 slightly disappointing low fat gluten free Lincolnshire sausages (they need the fat to taste good), 1 joint of roast pork.

3 MPH On The A1, Toilet Survey Update. 2nd February

Cromwell Pontoon

The view from our bed this morning.

As discussed with Craig (Lock Keeper at Cromwell) yesterday we called Keadby this morning before getting ready to set off. We had already made a good guess as to conditions on the canal there as we’d woken to a frost some 30 miles further south accompanied by a wonderful sunrise.

The north was frozen, about half an inch thick today with more minus temperatures forecast for tonight. The other news we weren’t aware of was that C&RT had moored all their dredging hoppers on the visitor moorings above the lock, so even if we could get up in the lock and through the road bridge there would be nowhere for us to moor. So we decided to postpone our Tidal cruise, called Sean at the lock here in Cromwell and cancelled our booking for today. Here at Cromwell we can stay hooked up to power, the sun rises and warms the water points in the morning, so a better place to wait than at Torksey in the shaded cutting.

We should have been going out of view to the left but instead sit behind the lock to the right

Instead of getting chilled at the back of the boat in the sunshine with winds of up to 20 mph we walked to the nearest shop for a newspaper instead, a three mile round trip to Cromwell Service Station on the A1. On route we stopped off to say hello to Sean, today’s Lock Keeper and discuss the tides over the coming week. Mick had been studying tide times and come to the conclusion that passage would be possible (tides wise) up to next Saturday when they would be too late in the day to get in at Keadby. Sean confirmed this. If conditions didn’t improve then we’d have another full week to wait before the times were favourable again.

The lane to the A1

Our walk was a sunny one, no dragonflies as when we last walked the lane. Gradually the noise from the A1 takes over and as we turned the bend to climb up the incline to the bridge to cross it we tried to say good morning to a lady walking her dog, we think she replied but no one could hear anything other than the traffic.

A1 and the newspaper shop just in sight

Hiding!

Snowdrops

The other side of the bridge brings you past a farm where cows stood in a muddy barn and a wooded section was filled with snowdrops, a lovely sight.

Fast people filling up

The chilled medication would last us a while
Cromwell Services were busy, only two of our Saturday newspaper left, but that was okay by us. Inside we had a look around in case we end up being at Cromwell for a while. No milk unless you want it in tea or coffee, no bread unless it comes with a filling wrapped in plastic. If we get stranded then we’ll be eating a lot of crisps and chocolate. Our friends from NB Large Marge were once stuck at Cromwell for a while and they ran out of ideas for meals due to what was available. We should be able to last a couple of weeks, but no milk or fresh veg and fruit would get to us. If it got to that then we’d head back up stream to Newark for fresh supplies.

The Old A1

Signs of the old A1

On our way back we walked along a section of what used to be the A1 before it bypassed Cromwell village. Here there is a speed detector, we were only managing 3 mph!

During the afternoon more washing was done, three episodes of The Victorian House Arts and Crafts whilst I carried on with my balaclava, by the end of the evening it was complete. Now our cruising welfare has been looked after I can get back to my commissions.

0 locks, 0 miles, 1 tidal river put on hold, 3.02 miles walked, 1 newspaper, 1 hidden cow, 1 load of washing, 1 empty wee tank, 1 full water tank, 2nd helpings of chilli.


Image may contain: food

Last week I posted about a Boaters Toilet survey that Kate Saffin has put together. So far 1000 people have filled it out which is brilliant. However as there are 35,000 boats on the network she is hoping to try to get 10% of all boaters to fill it out. If she can get 4000 responses then C&RT will have to listen to her findings.

So if you own a boat or a share in a boat, are planning to buy a boat, or have a new one built, take holidays on boat and dream of owning one, one day… then this survey is for you!

Please could I ask other bloggers to share this link on their blog to help get as many responses as possible. The findings will hopefully help to improve services around the network for all of us, no matter what toilet you have/will have on board.

The Great Big Boating Bog Survey

If you are interested in the findings from the survey then follow its progress on facebook here

Facebook Great Big Boating Bog Survey

3rd And Final, Ready And Waiting. 1st February

This post was originally loaded onto the blogger site on 2nd February using the third work around of Tom’s, but the photos didn’t show (Tom had difficulty too). Then I did a new post, third work around, so identical, but loaded to the site today. Worth a try, but didn’t work. This version is now back to basics and done just on blogger. Sorry for all the posts, we are fed up with this and today we shall start looking at moving our blog. 


Kiln Pontoon to Cromwell Pontoon

Before heading off towards Cromwell today we thought we’d try the water tap here. Last night hadn’t been as cold as the night before so it was worth a try, but the pipes were all frozen, no joy. We hoped that we’d have more luck at Cromwell otherwise major washing would be put on hold and we’d start to smell! Mick tried calling the marina but there was no answer so he walked round to see if there was ice or water. Not enough ice to stop us from going in, but turning would be a touch hard, so we’ll manage without a top up of diesel.
Love the old Nicholsons facades

We pushed off and headed up stream a touch before winding. The dam that’s been put in close to the scrap yard narrows the channel somewhat so we wanted to be well clear of it before turning. Then as we came back we could see where they had stored their boat for the night. It was being swung over and into the river by the crane on site, we got past before it was lowered into the water.

New panel and instructions
Approaching Nether Lock
Nether Lock was on boater operation. As I crossed the gates I noticed that the top gate sluices were open, well I wasn’t going to be caught out by that again! But hang on, the panel had changed, only two buttons to press, one to open, one to close. The instructions took a bit of reading as the operation isn’t just simply open and close. When the green light is constant (open) you press and hold it, when it flashes you release it. This gradually opens the sluices at the end you are operating, so you can decide to only open them a bit and take your time to rise.  But today the level was in our favour and the gates just opened on the first push of the button. Opening the bottom gates took a little longer, the panel thought everything was level and tried to open the gates, but then had to wait another couple of minutes before trying again. The new buttons (which might be several years old) are all fine, but when it comes to closing up the lock it takes forever! The gates have to close before the sluices even think about closing, all the time Oleanna trying to tread water by the low moorings to pick me up.

Balaclava test
The next reach we know quite well. Under the East Coast Main Line and then under the A1, a distinct lack of fishermen around today. The wind picked up and boy was it chilly. Mick decided to test wear his balaclava, verdict cosy chin and cheeks. I just need to get on with mine and hope it’s ready by the time we do Torksey to Keadby.

Maid Marian our neighbour

Mooring up with water and electric

Maid Marian a C&RT tug/workboat was moored up on the outside of the pontoon, looking all smart with a fresh coat of paint. Luckily there was enough space to get a view from the inside of the pontoon whilst facing upstream. Mooring this way round will make emptying the yellow water easier. Once tied up we tried the water taps. Both were frozen to some extent, the nearest only a very small trickle, but the other one showed more promise and might improve with usage. Next the hook up cable came out and we had power. The washing machine was soon earning it’s keep whilst munching its way through an electric card.

Cromwell Lock

After lunch we took our rubbish for a walk to the lock. Two chaps were walking along the bank, they were discussing where to put some bee hives, wonder if you’ll be able to buy Cromwell Honey from the lock keeper in future? Our rubbish was divided up into recycling and not, it’s so nice to be able to do this properly, we made use of the ladies toilet and then headed for a chat with the Lock Keeper.
Cromwell is always manned by a full time Lock Keeper, no volunteers here as the lock leads out onto the tidal river. Craig (he used to look after Hazelford Lock and we’ve met him a couple of times) was on duty today. We were invited into his hut above the lock to keep warm as we chatted.
Nearly Yorkshire is still frozen over, so he advised that we should call Keadby tomorrow before setting off to Torksey (an overnight stop en route). His large page a day diary sat open, one boat booked in for tomorrow NB Pollyanna, that’ll be us then! The last boat through the lock had been a couple of days ago and since NB Seyella headed upstream there have only been four more boats going that way. Not the busiest time of year, but the locks are still manned when the tides are favourable in normal working hours.

Chilli for the five thousand

The remainder of the day was spent smelling a chilli slowly bubbling away on the stove top whilst watching lots of things from the PVR, finding places to dry washing and knitting. My balaclava is now nearly half knitted, not enough to keep my face warm tomorrow but hopefully finished for Sunday, a longer day out on the river.
1 lock, 4.93 miles, 2 winds, 1 inside mooring, 1 big neighbour, 3 loads washing, 1 lot dried, 3 days worth of chilli on the multi-fuel stove, 2 Lego Masters, 1 Nadia Hussain, 0.5 balaclava knitted, 1 cat plotting mutiny.


https://goo.gl/maps/hNWN7gKHkD22

Ready And Waiting. 1st February

Kiln Pontoon to Cromwell Pontoon

Before heading off towards Cromwell today we thought we’d try the water tap here. Last night hadn’t been as cold as the night before so it was worth a try, but the pipes were all frozen, no joy. We hoped that we’d have more luck at Cromwell otherwise major washing would be put on hold and we’d start to smell! Mick tried calling the marina but there was no answer so he walked round to see if there was ice or water. Not enough ice to stop us from going in, but turning would be a touch hard, so we’ll manage without a top up of diesel.

We pushed off and headed up stream a touch before winding. The dam that’s been put in close to the scrap yard narrows the channel somewhat so we wanted to be well clear of it before turning. Then as we came back we could see where they had stored their boat for the night. It was being swung over and into the river by the crane on site, we got past before it was lowered into the water.

Nether Lock was on boater operation. As I crossed the gates I noticed that the top gate sluices were open, well I wasn’t going to be caught out by that again! But hang on, the panel had changed, only two buttons to press, one to open, one to close. The instructions took a bit of reading as the operation isn’t just simply open and close. When the green light is constant (open) you press and hold it, when it flashes you release it. This gradually opens the sluices at the end you are operating, so you can decide to only open them a bit and take your time to rise.  But today the level was in our favour and the gates just opened on the first push of the button. Opening the bottom gates took a little longer, the panel thought everything was level and tried to open the gates, but then had to wait another couple of minutes before trying again. The new buttons (which might be several years old) are all fine, but when it comes to closing up the lock it takes forever! The gates have to close before the sluices even think about closing, all the time Oleanna trying to tread water by the low moorings to pick me up.

The next reach we know quite well. Under the East Coast Main Line and then under the A1, a distinct lack of fishermen around today. The wind picked up and boy was it chilly. Mick decided to test wear his balaclava, verdict cosy chin and cheeks. I just need to get on with mine and hope it’s ready by the time we do Torksey to Keadby.

Maid Marian a C&RT tug/workboat was moored up on the outside of the pontoon, looking all smart with a fresh coat of paint. Luckily there was enough space to get a view from the inside of the pontoon whilst facing upstream. Mooring this way round will make emptying the yellow water easier. Once tied up we tried the water taps. Both were frozen to some extent, the nearest only a very small trickle, but the other one showed more promise and might improve with usage. Next the hook up cable came out and we had power. The washing machine was soon earning it’s keep whilst munching its way through an electric card.

After lunch we took our rubbish for a walk to the lock. Two chaps were walking along the bank, they were discussing where to put some bee hives, wonder if you’ll be able to buy Cromwell Honey from the lock keeper in future? Our rubbish was divided up into recycling and not, it’s so nice to be able to do this properly, we made use of the ladies toilet and then headed for a chat with the Lock Keeper.

Cromwell is always manned by a full time Lock Keeper, no volunteers here as the lock leads out onto the tidal river. Craig (he used to look after Hazelford Lock and we’ve met him a couple of times) was on duty today. We were invited into his hut above the lock to keep warm as we chatted.

Nearly Yorkshire is still frozen over, so he advised that we should call Keadby tomorrow before setting off to Torksey (an overnight stop en route). His large page a day diary sat open, one boat booked in for tomorrow NB Pollyanna, that’ll be us then! The last boat through the lock had been a couple of days ago and since NB Seyella headed upstream there have only been four more boats going that way. Not the busiest time of year, but the locks are still manned when the tides are favourable in normal working hours.

The remainder of the day was spent smelling a chilli slowly bubbling away on the stove top whilst watching lots of things from the PVR, finding places to dry washing and knitting. My balaclava is now nearly half knitted, not enough to keep my face warm tomorrow but hopefully finished for Sunday, a longer day out on the river.

1 lock, 4.93 miles, 2 winds, 1 inside mooring, 1 big neighbour, 3 loads washing, 1 lot dried, 3 days worth of chilli on the multi-fuel stove, 2 Lego Masters, 1 Nadia Hussain, 0.5 balaclava knitted, 1 cat plotting mutiny.

https://goo.gl/maps/YVB5YyNGJjG2

3rd workaround