PUMP OUT PALAVERs

Wait for me Mum

As most of you know we are a pump out boat, for those not in the know, this means our toilet has to be pumped out as the waste is held in a tank under our bathroom sink. Toilets are a favourite subject for most boaters. There are 3 main types, a cassette (porta potty), pump out and a composting toilet. Cassettes are emptied into elsan’s which are dotted along the canals and rivers, supplied by CRT they are free to use. A pump out, requires as the name suggests a pump to remove the waste and these are mainly found in marina’s, although there are CRT ones also dotted a round the system, we pay for this service. With a composting toilet, dry and wet waste are collected in separate compartments within the toilet, and sawdust is used to cover the poo. Wet waste can be poured down the elsan point, but dry waste needs disposing of somewhere. CRT have decreed that this waste must not be placed in the general waste bins, so I am not sure what you do with it.

Anyway moving on from this fascinating subject, and on to our journey.

Our next port of call was Beeston, and on the way there we shared Cranfield lock with NB Old Sam, this boat is notorious in some circles, as a number of years ago it was filmed trying to open a flood gate, which had been padlocked shut due to the state of the river, the owner attached a rope to the gate, and then reversed hard to try to open the gates, not a great idea, and it was lucky that the gates weren’t damaged. It shows that some boaters have no consideration of what damage they may do, and how it would affect other boaters. We did not mention at the time knowing about this.

We moored for the night at Beeston and took a walk to the marina, it has a decent chandlery, cafe and more important a bar. We had a long chat with the guys running the chandlery, and then had to try a pint. There was Theakstons mild on for the Captain and Cruzcampo, and at only £8.45 a round, very reasonable, we did sit outside watching the river, until a sharp rain shower moved us inside. They do food from 5pm and the menu, though basic was very cheap.

https://www.beestonmarina.com/

Now we were on the Nottingham and Beeston canal, which takes boats through Nottingham and rejoins the river at Meadow Lane lock, but first we had some family commitments to fill.

Our journey to the mooring outside Castle Retail park was uneventful, but we were surprised at the number of boats moored, this stretch is usually devoid of boats but not on this occasion as we passed one after another after another.

But there was plenty of room for us just were we wanted to be. After mooring up I sat and was doing the last blog, when there was a lot of reversing and engine noise, and then a horn blared out, so I stood up only to find our friends Keeley and Dean Crowther on NB Mole hovering at the side of us. We had met them a few years ago when we did the Wigan flight together. It was great to catch up. They are now moor their boat at Market Bosworth on the Ashby canal, so hopefully when we get back to Coventry we can get together.

The Mole as it says on the tin

Then just as I had got back to writing Grumbleweed with Emma and Harold turned up and moored behind us so, it would have been rude not to have a chat.

As I have said, staying in Nottingham was about catching up with family, on Sunday my daughter Jess, hubby Stuart and little Lowen came to visit, we had a couple of pints in the Olde Trippe and then a bite to eat back on the boat.

Before they arrived a flotilla came by, there is a group called Fund Britain’s Waterways, and they belonged to it. They are travelling up and down the country highlighting the need for better funding for our rivers and canals, I wish lots of luck in their endeavours.

https://waterways.org.uk/waterways/sites/fund-britains-waterways-overview

Monday and we met up with my sister Diane, unfortunately her hubby Mick, didn’t join her, but again it was nice to catch up.

Tuesday, we headed off and onto the wide River Trent and Gunthorpe.The pontoons at Gunthorpe were almost empty, much to our surprise and relief. We were soon moored up, along with Lou Pride and Polestar. Peggy Sue joined us later. The Captain and Crew off Polestar came for a chat, and a bit of advice. It turned out they had only recent bought the boat and were taking it to their mooring near Sheffield. They were going to be liveabords just like us, and even in the short time they had been onboard they were loving it. We got on well with Brod and Beth, and even the dogs came to say hello. We were only staying the night, and they said they may join us in the lock next day and on to Newark. Of course off to the pub we went, The Unicorn, on the way we were greeted by a group of Guinea fowl, not what you would expected to see in deepest darkest Nottinghamshire.

Guinea Fowl

Now back to the title, the reason we needed to get to Newark was to have the toilet emptied, it was very very full. Before we set off next morning we had another chat with Brod and Beth, they had decided to stay another night as the weather didn’t look great. So off we set with the intention of going into Kings Marina for the pump out. The journey was uneventful, then we took the rash decision to stop at Newark marina for the pump out, as we could see their service mooring was empty. The Captain executed a perfect manoeuvre and we were soon moored up and ready. This is were our problem started, although we had pumped out here before, for some unknown reason the pump nozzle would not seal properly on the outlet on the boat, and we couldn’t build up enough suction for it to pump out. Eventually the Captain gave up and went to pay, even though the toilet was still full. They did only charge us half the £15 fee which I think was fair.

So we still had to go in Kings marina, and it still wasn’t our day. We moored on the service pontoon in Kings about 2.30pm, only to discover on Wednesday they don’t open until 5pm. Bugger. But we had to wait, but not as long as we expected, as about 1 hour later a very very very nice lady turned up, and even though she wasn’t feeling well helped us to do our pump out. So relief all round. In more ways than one.

https://www.aquavista.com/find-a-marina/kings-waterside-marina

Again the pontoons at Newark which we always struggle to get were almost empty, with only 2 other boats in residence. I only got the name of 1 which was Donela 2, and we had a chat with its Captain and crew, it looks like we will be joining them at Cromwell lock to head to Torksey.

The bird life has been plentiful, we have seen so many little egrets, herons and cormorants. Along with the normal, canada and grey lag geese with their goslings, swans with their signets and ducks with their ducklings, sometimes too many to count. Egyptian geese and mandarin ducks made an appearance, and a lone Oyster catcher. In the sky we have had sand martins, black headed gulls, the occasional common tern, and swallows a plenty. And yes we have seen our first kingfisher in all its neon blue and orange glory.

Egyptian Geese

34½ miles, 10 locks (5 normal locks which we did ourselves and 5 huge river locks of which all but one were manned by lock keepers, an easy time for me). 1 river and 1 canal.

LOVELY LEICESTER.

 

Weathervane

Well the weather has definitely put paid to us cruising for a couple of days, its wet, and more importantly its very windy. So we are sat on the pontoons at Trent Lock. How did we get here.

Well we made short work of the 6 remaining locks into Leicester, and met 4 boats coming towards us, which seemed to bode well for finding a mooring at Castle Gardens or Friars Mill in Leicester. Unfortunately the gossip from the boat crews was that there was very little free mooring on either of these sites. but we came up with a plan, if there was no space on Castle Gardens we would go onto Friars Mill, and if we lucked out there we would moor opposite Castle Gardens, (and wait for someone to move) its not ideal as its not a secure mooring.

When we got to Castle Gardens there was a space which was not quite long enough for our 57ft boat, but the boat in front had a 10ft gap at the front of it. We pulled in, there was no one on the boat in front and we took the dangerous decision to move the boat forward, just enough to get our boat in and Black Swan breasted up against us. I called it a dangerous decision as some people don’t like another boater touching their boats, so it could have caused trouble for us. Luckily when the owner returned the Captain had a word with him and he wasn’t bothered, and hadn’t even notice his boat had moved. Phew

Of course we had to head to the pub with Graham and Wendy, first the Blue Boar, a proper real ale pub were the Captain got to have one of his favourite beers, Organic Chocolate Stout by Samuel Smiths brewery, and I had their Taddy Lager.

Happy Captain

https://blue-boar.ourmenu.com/?menu=111663

Then The Corn Market, a large Wetherspoons. The Captain had Darkness by Exeter brewery, a very decent stout, and Graham and Wendy treated us to tea, which was very kind of them.

A quiet day next day, well for the Captain. I spent a busy morning cleaning and cooking before heading out to pick up the Captains prescription from Boots. As it turned out they didn’t have both of the tablets required, but said they would be in next day. We decided to have a pint in the Salmon, a great real ale pub, which I had forgotten was a Black Country Ales pub, even better. The Captain was very happy to find an old favourite on the bar, Byatts All Day Extra Foreign stout as well as their own Pig on the Wall mild.

https://www.blackcountryales.co.uk/pubs/the-salmon

https://untappd.com/b/byatt-s-all-day-foreign-extra-stout/3688800

We also called in the High Cross, another Wetherspoons, which was surprisingly quiet.

We had a quiet night. But next morning when Graham and Wendy came to say goodbye, as they were heading off, they told us there had been a body found in the park right next to us the previous evening, at this time it was being treated as murder, and they had had to be escorted to the moorings by the police when they returned about 9pm, the whole of the park was cordoned off. This meant we were unsure how we were going to keep our planned meet up with Heath and Jennifer later that day.

The Captain spoke to a policeman, and he put our minds at rest, and said someone would escort us through the park when we were ready to go.

Well, when we were ready to go there was no sign of the police, well except for one at the far end sat on a bench watching his phone, so just made our own way out. We discovered the murder had been changed to an unfortunate medical episode.

We met up with our friends and had a wonderful afternoon, ending up in the Red Lion, another Black Country Ales pub, apparently there are 55 of these pubs now.

https://www.blackcountryales.co.uk/pubs

After shopping the next day, there is a Lidl with easy access from the river, we set off to do the 4 locks to Birstall. The first of these is one of my nightmare locks, firstly its difficult to get off the boat as its a high wall with no ladder or steps to aid me. Secondly at one time it was almost impossible to get the lock to equalise, which meant opening the bottom gates was a struggle, and usually took at least 2 people. Well CRT have done some good work on this lock, and even though the gates were still heavy, it was possible for me to open mine without too much trouble, we shared the lock with NB Mai Tai, which helped as they had crew on board. We parted company at the next lock as we stopped to put water in at Memory Lane moorings. Since our last visit they have also added, bins and an elsan here, which is great, but not the promised pumped out machine, bugger. The access gates to get off the moorings have combination locks on them, so you cant use these moorings to access the town.

As I went to set the next lock I was waved back to the boat, as some volunteers offered to lock us through, I never turn down help so stayed on the boat. They had been litter picking and were doing a marvellous job.

The help at the next lock was not so good, as a gongoozler who knew no better, managed to get the pawl off and just let the paddle drop, you should always wind the paddles down so as not to damage the paddle gear. I appreciated the sentiment but not the action.

We moored above the next lock at Birstall, and did it next morning after a quiet night. We were heading to Mountsorrel, there are good mooring and a pub above the locks, and this was our aim for the day. We managed to buddy up with NB Magic, owned by a Dutch couple but I never got their names, but the dog was called Bruce.

The moorings at Mountsorrel were empty much to our surprise, so we said goodbye to Magic and headed to the pub, the Waterside Inn, it was busy. There was nothing dark on for the Captain but he was happy with Guinness zero and I had Cruzcampo. The food menu was good, reasonably priced, and the food we saw (a carvery) looked really nice.

https://www.watersidemountsorrel.co.uk/

We have been lucky on this stretch and have managed to buddy up most days to do the heavy double locks. Monday was no different, and we shared the locks with NB Byefield, again I didnt manage to get their names, but we both moored in Loughborough and we headed to a new Lidl which has opened only 5mins from the moorings just before the bridge.

Of course we went to the pub, first the Tap and Clapper, very cheap at £7.10 for a pint of Murphys stout and a Madri, but it got very noisy, so we headed and found peace in the Organ Grinder, a Blue Monkey brewery pub and they had Guerrilla Chocolate Amaretto Stout on for the Captain, it was lush.

The Organ Grinder

https://bluemonkeybrewery.com/organ-grinder-pubs/loughborough/

https://untappd.com/b/blue-monkey-brewery-guerrilla-chocolate-amaretto/1265127

Yummy

We buddied up again next day, this time with Emma and Harold on NB Grumbleweed. They were heading to Newark but not stopping at Trent Lock, but we will probably catch up with them again at some point. We also met up with Magic and Bruce too, they were heading on to the Trent and Mersey at the junction so I doubt we will see them again.

The pontoons at Trent Lock were again surprisingly quiet with only one other boat on them, so plenty of room for us. We were joined later by a couple of other boats for the night. Of course once again we headed of to the pub, the Steamboat to see Simon. He always has a dark on, and the Captain wasn’t disappointed with Butter my Nuts, a peanut butter stout from Bang the Elephant brewery. We also tried the Trent Lock, a Vintage Inn. Not a lot to write home about, I looked at the food menu and thought it seemed a bit on the pricey side.

https://bangtheelephantbrewingco.com/

https://untappd.com/b/bang-the-elephant-brewing-co-butter-my-nuts/6619016/photos

So today, Wednesday, we are sat listening to the rain, very happy we have nowhere to be. Next port of call Nottingham.

Trent Lock Veiw

24½ miles 29 locks, 1 canal and 2 rivers, the Soar and the Trent.

FABULOUS FOXTON

Foxton Locks

That is the Foxton Locks and Inclined Plane.

But how we got there first.

The day after all the lost dog excitement was the Captains birthday, he had a quiet but enjoyable day, the 4 bottles of rum he received helped. We arranged to go for meal at the Wharf Inn with Anne and John to celebrate. The food was amazing, and the company lovely. (I would highly recommend giving the Wharf Inn a try) And the bonus of a decent stout by a local brewery Partizan for the Captain to quaff.

The Captain haul

https://www.partizanbrewing.co.uk/

We parted company with Anne and John next day, as we were going in opposite directions at the junction of the arm. We were heading for Foxton locks for Saturday, as our friends, Daniel and Kata from Swan Lane wharf, were coming to visit and help with the locks. The weather wasn’t great and it got quite windy. We moored up in the MONW for the night. We had a few boats pass us, and one hire boat which hit us, the lady steering was most apologetic. I think they were struggling with the wind, these things happen and no damage was done.

We moored at the top of the locks next day, it was only a short journey so we had a late start. We did head to the pub, first the Bridge 61, a little micro pub with a bottle of Bullseye Stout by Langton Brewery for the Captain, but the lager was not to my taste, so we decided to give the Foxton Locks Inn a go. We don;t usually bother with this pub, as its not renown for its real ales or dark beers, but the Captain was pleasantly surprised to find they had a decent pint of Murphy’s to offer. We also checked out their food menu, and decided we would eat here after doing the locks with our friends.

https://www.restaurantfoxtonlocks.co.uk/

Friday was a beautiful sunny day, and after a lazy morning we took a walk to Foxton village itself. We believed we hadn’t been here before, but our memory (must be an age thing) was wrong, and we soon recognised the pub The Shoulder of Mutton, we had to make do with lager, but their food menu looked interesting.

https://shoulderofmuttonfoxton.co.uk/

We took a walk up a very steep hill to the church and had a look round. St Andrews dates back to Saxon time, about 850ce, and it is mentioned in the Doomsday book of 1086. Most of the current church dates to the 13c. It is lovely in an understated way and very peaceful.

https://www.foxton-pc.gov.uk/st-andrews-church

It is also next to the second pub in the village, The Black Horse, and of course we had to try a pint. Again nothing for the Captain but the lager was good.

https://thenewblackhorsefoxton.co.uk/menu/

Daniel and Kata turned up right on time next morning, but before we headed down the locks we took them to see the Inclined plane, now derelict it was a masterpiece of engineering when it opened in 1900.

The company who ran the canal decided to build the Plane in response to a demand to use wide beam boats, rather then the traditional narrowboats, wide beams could not use the narrow Foxton locks. The Plane consisted of 2 wide caissons, rather like big bathtubs full of water which balanced each other. A steam driven winch pulled 1 caisson up as the other went down, and they could hold 2 boats. The Plane only lasted 11yrs, and was mothballed in 1911 when the use of boats to transport goods declined. It was dismantled in 1926, and the locks which had been left to nature were reinstated.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foxton_Inclined_Plane

How It Looked

Our friends were fascinated by it all.

At Foxton locks you have to book in with the lock keepers, as they are staircase locks. On our way back to the boat I spoke to the lockee, and we ended up being 3^rd in the queue. But as usual I got my trusty windlass and went to help out. I gave Daniel a windlass too, and Kata came along to help with the gates. It was very busy with gongoozlers, so lots of questions were asked and help given. There was also some great volunteer lockee’s on too. We were soon down the 10 locks, 2 sets of 5 with a passing pound in the middle, and off to the pub for a late lunch and a few pints. Again the food was good and the company great.

Daniel and Kata and us

After they left we had a quiet afternoon before our next port of call Market Harborough, were we had organised to meet more friends, this time Dave and Sandra Biddle, ex boaters and lovely people. We also needed a pump out and shopping, both available there.

But it was not to be, and this sometimes happens with boating, an unexpected disaster, a tree was down blocking the canal into the town. We had started off down the arm not knowing about the tree, before meeting 4 boats who had to reverse to the winding hole when they found they could not get past the tree. With a heavy heart we had to cancel with Dave and Sandra. We winded and moored back near Foxton village, then headed to the pub to have a discussion about what we were going to do. The nearest pump out was at Debdale marina, not to far, but with the next day being a bank holiday we weren’t sure if they would be open, after that it was Kilby Bridge ,which was 11miles, 12 locks 2 swing bridges and 1 tunnel from our present position.

It turned into a long day next day as Debdale was closed for the holiday, so we had a push on to Kilby Bridge, it took us about 6hrs, which is double the hours we normally do in a day. But needs must.

The first thing we did when we moored up was go to the pub, The Navigation, and had a well earned pint. We got talking to some boaters that were moored with us, Chris and Jana on NB One Day, it made a very pleasant end to a busy day.

We didn’t get up very early next day, and had to wait for another boat to use the pump out machine and put water in. Whilst we were waiting for the water to fill, we were joined by NB Black Swan and got chatting to its Captain Graham and its crew Wendy, they were heading the same way so we agreed to wait for them and do the locks together. It makes it so much easier doing the wide locks with 2 boats, and we soon got into a rhythm. They needed shopping too, so we moored near South Wigston and headed off, them to Tesco and us to Lidl. Our mooring for the night was on the end of a lock landing with them on a short bit of arnco behind us.

It was then a short hop and 6 locks into Leicester next day.

The Leicester Line of the Grand Union is a very rural canal, with stunning views, deep woodland and a myriad of wildlife. We have seen a Tree Creeper, creeping up a telegraph pole, Pheasants and a Green Woodpecker. The usual suspects of Ducks and duckings, Swans and their signets, Moorhens, Canada and Greylag geese. Elegant herons and snow white Little Egrets. Squirrels have sat in the trees and a tiny Muntjac deer was spotted in a field. But we have yet to spot the elusive colourful Kingfisher.

Green Woodpecker in flight

24miles, 29locks, 2 swing bridges (done twice) and 2 tunnels at 2046yrs total.

A HAPPY WAGGY ENDING

 

Our first week out has been pretty uneventful, well that is if you don’t count my black eye and sprained wrist. But I will come to that later, and a lost dog

After a night in the middle of nowhere we set off for Hilmorton locks.

The sky was blue and the sun was shining, but the wind was chilly and gusting, this was to become a problem over the next couple of days.

We hit our first tunnel of the year at Newbold, only a short straight tunnel at 250yrds, the Captain doesn’t like tunnels (that’s putting it mildly) but this one was easy. Then through Rugby. The mooring were busy, so it was lucky we didn’t need to stop for shopping, there is a Tesco by the canal

Hilmorton are a set of 3 side by side locks, this means there are 3 sets of locks in the flight, with 2 single locks side by side. It is said to be the busiest locks on the system, but today it seemed quiet. I asked the resident lock keeper how many boats they had helped, and the number I thought was quite high at 22, but he said on a busy day it can be over 50, now that’s a lot.

https://www.hillmortonlocks.co.uk/

A second night was spent in the MONW

The wind caused serious problems next day, we set off hoping to get to Braunston, and go up 2 of the 6 double locks to moor near the Admiral Nelson, a pub we have passed many times but never been in. but it was not to be, the gusts of wind got stronger and stronger, and the Captain was having problems when passing other boats, both moored and moving. He decided to call it quits about a mile and a half from Braunston.

We decided to go to the pub, not the Admiral Nelson but the Boat House (it was closer), a large Marston’s pub on the side of the canal and a 25 minute walk down the towpath. Now you would have thought that being so close to a major canal junction and attraction (the locks), the towpaths would be good, but uh boy they weren’t. At one point where it seriously narrowed I thought about turning back, but the pull of a pint was to much and we soldiered on. Its was nice when we got there, and to sit outside overlooking the canal with a couple of pints of Madri. Unfortunately there was nothing dark on for the Captain. We only had 2 before heading back to the boat, and this is were disaster struck. As I have already said the towpath was bad, and I was concentrating on all the trip hazards ahead of me when I failed to see the nearest one, and this was my downfall, or should that be fall down. And I went down like a bag of spuds, what made it worse, I couldn’t fall on a grassy bit, oh no, I had to pick a bit of gravel. I landed on my right hand, arm and cheek. My glasses fell of and I was completely winded. The captain following my instructions grabbed my handbag. (I was afraid of it going in the water). After a moment just catching my breath I managed to get up, and luckily found I had not broken anything, including my glasses. My cheek felt sore, but that was about it until the next morning, when I realised that my fall had given me a black eye, and a lovely yellow bruise on my cheek.

Looks worse in real life

Oh well never mind.

But it did not stop our cruise, and off we went next day up the 6 locks at Braunston. These are double locks, but it was quiet and no one joined us, but we did meet a few boats coming down. Just past the locks is Braunston tunnel, not one of the Captains favourites at all, its 2 way working, and 2042yrds long and with more than a few kinks along the way. But fate was with us and we met no one coming towards us, so an uneventful passage.

Our aim for the day was Norton Junction, were we turned left towards Leicester, moored up and headed to the pub. The New Inn at Long Buckby, another favourite pub of ours. But no darks on for the Captain once again, so he had to make do with Fosters.

We had arranged to meet the Captains sister Ann, and hubby Chris there the next day for a meal. We had a lovely time, the company and the food were great

https://www.newinnbuckbywharf.co.uk/

Saturday and more locks, this time the Watford flight, a set of 7 locks, the middle 3 being a staircase. You have to book in with the lock keeper, so this is what I did and then stopped to help the boat coming down. Its always nice to help.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Watford_Locks

Our moorings for the night were at Crick, but there was another tunnel to traverse before we got there. Slightly shorter than Braunston at 1528yrds, but still daunting and our luck didn’t hold out as we met another boat coming towards, us but we passed each other with ease and we were soon moored at Crick, and off to the pub of course. This time the Wheatsheaf, no darks on again, but the Captain was happy with a pint (or 3) of Cruzcampo. There is a Coop across the road from the pub, so I picked a few bits up, as shops are sadly lacking on this stretch of canal.

Crick tunnel

Our plan was to go down the Welford Arm in time for the Captains birthday, and we made it with a day to spare.

https://canalrivertrust.org.uk/canals-and-rivers/welford-arm-leicester-line

We moored up outside the pub The Wharf Inn, and were soon joined by Anne and John on NB Kallisto. We got chatting and introduced to their deaf dog Meg. But when they went to find their 2^nd dog Flora there was no sign of her. She had jumped ship somewhere between Foxton Locks and Welford. At first they thought it might have been at the one and only lock on the arm, so they walked back to see if they could find her. In the mean time the Captain and I looked round the immediate area and spoke to people. I went in the pub and asked in there but no one had seen Flora. When Anne and John returned they joined us for a pint, there was still no sign of Flora, and this is where the power of Facebook comes into play. I posted it on a couple of the boating sites I am on, another gentleman posted on a local boaters page, and a lovely lady posted on the Welford page. The response was almost instant, a boater moored near Foxton had posted about a dog running free on the towpath near the locks, and people pointed me towards the post. We were able to confirm it was Flora. Anne and John took a taxi back to Foxton Locks, and Todd the boater who had originally seen Flora, turned out to look for her as well. It was a happy waggy ending when Ann and John returned with Flora, none the worse for her adventures.

Flora

So a bit of excitement to end our first weeks cruising.

44miles 17 locks, 3820yrds in tunnels and 2 canals

ITS THAT TIME AGAIN.

Balloons in Marrakesh

Well folks as the title says ‘its that time again’ and we have set off on our summer adventures.

But first I must backtrack to where I left you in August 2025.

We had reached the top of Atherstone locks and were in touching distance of our home in Swan Lane. But first we had a very important favour to do for our good friend Keith and Andrew, they were taking steam boat Hasty to be blacked at Alvecote marina, which was at the bottom of the locks we had just come up.

They sounded their horn as they passed us by, and we headed down to the top lock to meet them windlasses in hand and raring to go.

Our celebration at meeting up with our old friend was short lived, as they told us absolutely terrible news. Canal and River Trust had given all the boats at Swan Lane wharf 6 months notice to quit, as they wanted to sell the wharf to a developer. We had a lease that had years to run, but apparently this wasn’t worth the paper it was written on. As you can imagine we were gobsmacked, my opinion of CRT, which was already poor, hit rock bottom on this news.

However much to our surprise Keith had an ace up his sleeve. It would appear that when we renewed the lease a clause had been added, which some how had passed CRT by, which allowed the person running the wharf first refusal to buy it at going rate. As Keith runs Swan Lane he was that person, and he and Andrew had decided to sell their house and buy the wharf, we were saved, hopefully. At this time CRT had not agreed to the sale, but was considering it, and eventually they agreed. So Keith is now in the process of buying the wharf, and as anyone who has ever bought a house knows, never mind a business, it can be a long drawn out business.

But Swan Lane Wharf is saved. YIPPEE

It was a long day getting Hasty down the locks, but it made the pint at the end of the day even sweeter, and we headed to the Market Tavern and the Angel Ale House, our 2 favourite haunts in Atherstone.

We took a couple of days to get back to Swan Lane, and I vetoed the idea of going up the Ashby, as I find it rather boring with no locks for me to do.

On our return we found we had new moorers, Kata and Daniel a lovely Hungarian couple, Pete Jones, a rather absent minded gentleman who had bought Stuart’s boat Throstle, and Jimmy with Yeti the golden Labrador.

We caught up with our friends Col and Mags, they were in full wedding mode (well Mags was) with their wedding being only a few weeks away.

Of course I had to organise a get together to get to know everyone, and we headed round to the Brickies for a few pints, before going back to the meeting room for food, and more beer of course. A great night was had by all.

Friends old and new

The wedding went without a hitch and everyone had an amazing day.

The happy couple and their best man

I started back at work almost straight away, a shock to the system that’s for sure, and our life on the wharf settled into our normal winter routine. Meaning there was not a lot for me to write about.

Christmas came and went, we had our usual Wharf Christmas meal which was well attended, and between Christmas and New year another wharf social when Kata cooked a lovely Hungarian goulash, and some amazing cakes.

Wharf Christmas Party

As it was a long wet winter, the Captain and I decided to book a holiday to Marrakesh, which happened to coincide with my birthday. Marrakesh is manic, but we loved it, and the weather was great. For my birthday the Captain booked us a hot air balloon ride to see the sunrise over the Atlas mountains. Wow what an experience, as we and 50 other balloons took off just as the sun was rising.

Balloons as far as the eye can see

Now it was getting time to plan our summer cruise, we decided to do the north east this year, starting on the Oxford canal before joining the Leicester line of the Grand Union, then on to the River Soar and then the Trent. We will get to Boston this year, and hope to call in at Doncaster and Sheffield before our trying to get to Ripon on the River Ouse. We have to be in Langley Mill for the 7^th Sept, as we are coming out of the water to be blacked and have a few jobs done on the rudder and skeg. So an interesting cruise planned, and fingers crossed there will be no problems with water or infrastructure this year.

We did do a shake down cruise at Easter just up to Hawkesbury, with Kata and Daniel and Col and Mags, who drove to the Greyhound, and we all had a meal, next day we headed down to Coventry basin for the night. The boat ran perfectly.

Coventry Basin

So back to the present day and we have set off, as usual our first port of call was Hawkesbury, and of course a pint or 2 in the Greyhound. Today the weather has been very kind to us, even if the wind is still a little chilly, it was nice when the sun was out, and we travel about 9 miles. Only 1 lock today, the little stop lock at Hawkesbury, but of course I ended up helping a couple of boats before we came through. We have moored in the middle of nowhere for the night, but the canal has been busy with plenty of boats passing us in both directions.

So now we are all up to date, and I will be posting a blog every week of our journey (or should that read floating pub crawl).

So I hope you enjoy reading about our adventures.

ANNOUNCEMENT, PANIC, A MAD DASH.

 

Beautifaul Sunset

And this describes our life over the last week or so.

We did as we said at the end of the last blog get to, and stay in Newark for a couple of nights. We spent the first night moored on a highish wall, not the best for me but we did make it to the pub. I was up early next morning willing one of the boats on the pontoon to leave, and my prays were answered and we were able to move over mid morning. I picked some blackberries and made a crumble for the Captain.

We discussed our plans, and after visiting Boston at the end of the River Witham, we would have time to go up the Erewash in time for a heritage weekend being held by the preservation society on the 13^th September, leaving us enough time to get back to Swan Lane in time for the wedding of the year.

https://canalrivertrust.org.uk/things-to-do/events/canal-events-canal-festivals/2025-09-13-echoes-of-the-erewash-canal

Thursday and on a bright sunny morning we set off for Cromwell lock and the tidal part of the River Trent, which would then take us to Torksey and onto the Fossdyke, and then the Witham to Boston.

Facebook can be a wonderful thing, and it was here I first got an inkling of the announcement which would change all our plans. I did not think a lot about it to start with.

Coming off the Trent at Torksey we decided to push on, and got to Saxilby (a favourite of ours because of the chippy and a couple of good pubs) around 7pm. For a change, and because it was quite late, and we had had a long day (well for us) we decided to give both the chippy and pub a miss. The Captain checked out exactly what the announcement from CRT was all about, and it worse, so much worse than we had thought. It announced that all the locks on the Coventry canal were being closed from the Monday the 26^th August, and that this decision would not be reviewed until the end of September.

If we didn’t make it up the Atherstone flight of locks before then we would be stuck, unable to get home to Swan Lane until at least October, and even then there was no guarantee the locks would reopen.

Panic set in. We basically had up to 11 days to do a journey which had taken us 3 weeks. But we knew we had to do it. This meant early starts and long days, which the Captain hates, but needs must.

It started the very next day, up early and off by 9am (usually just having our first cuppa in bed at this time) we winded the boat and headed back to Torksey. The Captain had spoken to the lock keeper as usually this needs to be booked 24hrs in advance, as did Cromwell lock, but given the circumstances they waved this, and we were able to lock out with the other boats waiting. We made it as far as Newark for the night, and yes we did go to the pub, and we tried a new one called The Loose Cannon, it was very nice and had a decent stout on for the Captain which made him feel better after the long day. 27 ½ miles and 3 locks in 9hrs. This included a couple of hours wait for the tide at Torksey lock.

https://loosecannonnewark.com/

Next we did Newark to Nottingham, and off to the pub again, the Olde Trip to Jerusalem. I did have a quick chat with Caroline once again, as we had planned to go for a drink when we stayed in Nottingham on the return journey. 24 ½ miles, 7 locks, 8hrs.

Next day was the real killer, we travel faster on the rivers usually, but now we rejoined the Trent and Mersey canal at Derwent Mouth Lock, and things would slow down.

From Nottingham we decided to make for Willington, but it nearly didn’t happen. As we approached the first lock I could see a lock keeper on the phone, but he walked away from me, strange, but hay ho I am quite capable of doing the locks on my own. We realised as we exited the lock that the pound above was extremely low, and many of the boats moored there were sitting on the bottom. We chatted to a Captain of one as we cruised by, and he said that CRT would probably be closing the Trent and Mersey, but wasn’t to sure how far would be affected. This made us panic even more so we kept going, the pound through Shardlow was very very low, at times we could hear the bottom of the boat scraping the canal bed, but once up the next lock things improved greatly. CRT did close the pound at Shardlow for the next two days, but we were well away from the affected area by then. We made it to Willington after 10hrs, and yes you guessed it headed to the pub. 24 ½ miles, 11 locks.

Day 4 and we decided that we were on track and could have a slightly easier day and headed for Alrewas, 12 miles, 6 locks, 6hrs.

Things were definitely looking up, and we knew we would make Atherstone with time to spare but decided to push on just to be sure.

We left the Trent and Mersey at Fradley junction and joined the Coventry canal, it was so good to be back on our home canal. We stopped at Fazeley for the night, and after a couple of pints the Captain treated me to a kebab. 13 miles, 5 locks and another 6hrs.

Day 5 and we hit the first of the Coventry locks which were being closed at Glascote. There are only 2 locks here, but they were on reduced hours, which meant there were a lot of boats waiting for them to open at 10am. We were the 5^th boat waiting to go up, and 2 more joined us later, but coming down there were over 10 boats waiting, and more arriving by the minute. Of course off I went to help and was joined by Ann off NB Wild Swan. We locked boats up and down helping to speed the process up, if everyone did this life would be so much easier, but they don’t, and I actually had to ask for help as I locked a single hander through on my own.

Once through Glascote, our aim was to lock up the first 5 locks of 11 at Atherstone, CRT were only actually locking the top 6locks. This meant we would be there and ready for the final push in the morning. We were joined at the locks by Ann, off Wild Swan, and the single hander Debbie off NB Europa, helping each other out were we could we all moored between lock 6 and 7 for the night. On our return from the pub we had a drink and a chat with the other boaters. Jeremy and Ann were not stopping above the locks as they had much further to go, but Debbie was, so we said we would go for a drink next day to celebrate getting back in record time. 10 miles, 7 locks and another 6hrs.

Up bright and early next day, I didn’t get to say goodbye to Ann and Jeremy as they headed off as soon as they could, but we did help Debbie out were we could, the were Volunteer lock keepers on which made life easier.

6 locks later and we were home and dry. Moored at Atherstone with a deep sigh of relief and a large dose of regret that we didn’t get to visit everywhere we wanted. But there is always next year.

112 miles and 45 locks in 7 days.

WIDE RIVER AND BIG LOCKS.

 

Small Boat big lock

And by big locks I mean BIG locks.

We sat out the weather at Shardlow before heading to Shardlow marina for a pump out next day.

It was great to see that a new sign had been erected at the entrance to the marina, and the vegetation had been cut back to.

https://www.shardlowmarina.co.uk/

Cruising through the moored boats to get to the pump out was still challenging in the gusts of wind, but the Captain made it look easy.

Oh no!!! what was this, a wooden fishing boat moored (well abandoned) on the service point. We stood and scratched our heads trying to work out how to get to the side, so the Captain could at least could get off and find out was was occurring.

With a lot of manoeuvring we eventually managed to get close enough for him to jump off and go to the office. He returned with one very annoyed lady in tow, muttering under her breath about what she would like to do to the owner of the boat. Apparently the boat had been on the slipway for sometime before it sank, and now he was blocking the services as he pumped the water out. She was not a happy bunny at all, but this didn’t help us, and our full toilet. After much discussion we decided to untie the boat and push it out, using our boat to allow us to get to the side and the services. And it worked, yippee. I asked her what she was going to do about the boat, and after covering the marina’s logo on her shirt, she said sink it again, she was joking, well I hope she was.

But we got our pump out, and at £10 it was a bargain. After tying the offending boat up once more we headed out, it was then off to our mooring for the night on the pontoons at Trent Lock. We were lucky and there was space for us on the inside. We headed to the pub later, The Steamboat, and said hi the Simon the owner before enjoying a couple of pints outside watching the world go by. The Captain was very happy as they had Camden stout on.

Only a short hop again next day and we headed to Beeston on the outskirts of Nottingham. Only 2 locks today, the first a deep double lock and we were on our own, 2 boats had penned down just before us and the lock took an age to fill, then I realised one of the bottom paddles was still a little open, and this with the badly leaking gates meant the lock wouldn’t equalise, and I couldn’t get the top gates to open. I dropped the paddle fully and lo and behold the gate opened.

The second lock was only the shallow flood lock at Beeston, I jumped off and then jumped on again, the lock had so many helpers on there I wasn’t needed. It turned out to be a group from Leicester on a team building exercise, so no exercise for me.

Now we were on the Beeston and Nottingham canal.

My Captain had decided we would stay on the moorings at Beeston for the night, as it was somewhere we had never stopped before. They aren’t the best moorings as you have to moor against a highish wall, and there are a lot of large willow trees along the whole length of the moorings. At first it appeared that there was no space, and we had accepted that it was not to be, when we spotted a boat getting ready to leave, we hovered waiting for him to set off but disaster, he got something around his prop and everything stopped. Never mind, so off we went again only to find a couple of boats further on a great spot for the night.

We headed to the pub (of course) The Boat and Horses, a huge pub with a function room and large garden. Although they didn’t do food, you could bring your own, or order it in from a range of takeaways, and on some nights they had independent food trucks in the car park. What a great way to drum up business.

https://www.facebook.com/p/Boat-and-Horses-Beeston-Rylands-100090484647109/

A quiet night even though we were right by the road. Then into Nottingham. Just before we moored outside Sainsburys, a great spot, and the mooring weren’t busy at all, I spotted NB Manatee, Caroline and Oscar the dog’s boat. We had travelled up and down the Erewash with them the previous year, and spent a lot of time in the pub with then too. We called but there was no sign of life.

We didn’t go to the pub that night, surprise surprise, the Captain wasn’t feeling well (man flu) and didn’t want to spoil our plans for the next couple of days which involved seeing family.

Our first visit was to my daughter Jess, hubby Stuart and baby Lowen in Mansfield where we had a bbq with them and my son Adam, wife Julie and little Dylan came to. Before leaving for Mansfield I walked down to Caroline’s boat and had a chat with her, and was enthusiastically greeted by Oscar the dog, who even after a year remembered me.

Lowen, Dylan and me

Our next visit was back to Ripley, my home town, to meet up with my sister Diane and hubby Mick. This turned out to be a boozy afternoon and I caught up with a few people I hadn’t seen for a long time. We had a great time both days.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ripley,_Derbyshire

Then it was time to leave the canals and head out on to the big wide river, with its huge locks, these hold around 6 to 10 boats (sometimes more) and are usually manned by lock keepers, but not always.

Coming out onto the river Trent at Meadow Lane lock is always breathtaking, the banks seem so far away after being on a narrow canal. At the first lock at Holme Pierrepoint I was reminded how big these locks actually are. Our home Avalon Two looked so tiny and insignificant in it. There was a lock keeper on, so my job is to hold the front of the boat steady using the rope through a runner in the side of the lock to do this. For big locks the flow of the water is actually quite gentle.

Our mooring for the night was at Gunthorpe, but with no room on the pontoons outside the pub, we had to moor against the wall just before the lock, not ideal for me to get on and off the boat, but the Captain managed to get us by a ladder which helped. And yes we did head to the pub, the Unicorn, a Marston pub but no darks on.

Next morning and time to head to Newark, we waited to see if a lock keeper would turn up, but by 10am it was obvious we were on our own. The locks are electric and you use your BW key to operate them. On the control panel buttons control the sluices (paddles) and gates, one button opens and of course one button closes. As I started a lady boater joined me, she explained she had never had to operate these locks and was unsure how they worked, so I took her through it step by step. She still didn’t look to confident when we parted company, but I hope I gave her enough training to help.

Our aim was Newark and the pontoons for a couple of days, buts that for next time

24 miles, 11 locks, and 2 canals and 1 river