We are on the move again,
somewhat fitfully as weather and weary old bones permit. Wind batters Basil's flank as I write and Barb
is slumped in the saloon nursing her aches and pains after tackling the
most recalcitrant locks we have ever encountered.
But, to begin at the beginning... We left Mercia Marina on the 18th and
set off at a leisurely pace down the Trent and Mersey canal east
towards Shardlow. The T&M is our 'home' canal, familiar to us now
but still revealing new delights. We stopped the first night at a quiet
spot in the country (right) and went for a long walk along a disused
railway line now transformed into a public path.
We spent the next two days in Shardlow, a fine old canal town with good
pubs but no shops (see last year's journal for more about Shardlow).
Once again we copped the best mooring in town in front of the old Clock
Warehouse, saved in 1979 by conversion into a fine pub and restaurant.
Next morning we had a rude awakening as a giant crane rumbled up
alongside us. We had to move Basil
so that they could raise a boat out of the water on to a transporter.
Later, Michael Culley and his son Paul came over to work on our stove.
They run Lockgate stoves and serviced ours for free. Michael is a
Harley fan (far right) and we had sent him some kit from our local
dealer in Phoenix, so he returned the favour and then some. The stove
now works better than it ever has.
While we were moored up, some friends sailed past by chance and I
hailed them. Angela and Patrick publish Pipeline, the magazine of the
Piper Owners Club and I have written several articles for them. They
tied up next to us and we spent a couple of interesting hours with
them, culminating with lunch in the Clock for all six of us.
Next day (August 21), we cruised down to Sawley and the mighty
intersection of three rivers and three canals. The Rivers Soar and
Derwent lose their identity as they flow into the larger River Trent.
The canals are the Erewash, the Trent & Mersey and the Cranfleet
Cut which leads to Nottingham. (See sign, far right).
We went up the River Soar for about a mile to meet Peter Fairhurst
who showed us his Piper Dutch Barge Kathe
II, the best equipped floating home we have ever seen. It has
every modern convenience and is beautifully designed by Simon Piper
with a lot of input from Peter. It is capable of cruising the wider
waterways of England, coastal waters and most of the waterways of
Europe, which Peter intends to do when he retires. I could write reams
on this boat alone (the engine room is an engineer's dream) but we must
move on.
Move we did, back up to the confluence with the River Trent again. This
is one of my favourite places on the entire system and we found a
perfect mooring (far right) against the wall opposite the Trent Valley
Sailing Club. The whole place is a hive of activity with boats
appearing from all directions, squadrons of swans taking flight and a
bevy of horses galloping around in a field opposite. The next day was
sunny and hot, a rarity in these here parts, so we went for a long walk
up the towpath to Sawley (right) and then lazed on deck until sundown.
That night, the heavens opened and I had to check our lines every
couple of hours in case the river rose in flood.
Next day, we tackled the Erewash canal, despite grim warnings about the
condition of its locks and the hoodlums who prowl its towpath. It
begins at Trent Lock (far right) where we spotted Hereford (right) the restored butty
owned by Chris Deuchar, who writes regularly in Waterways World magazine.
The Erewash is pleasant enough to begin with, setting off along the
backs of houses through Long Eaton and flanked with lines of
houseboats. There are numerous reed beds, islands of water lilies,
clear water teeming with fish, and huge swan families - one had eight
cygnets - all good eco signs. However, the navigation is very poorly
maintained. The locks are incredibly heavy. We made it as far as
Sandiacre, which is a faded, nondescript Midlands town which does boast
two good shops within walking distance and two kebab joints, obviously
the local fast food of choice. The town mooring is right by a busy
intersection of two main roads so was somewhat noisy.
Today we continued through the next two locks and decided to turn back.
We have encountered numerous broken paddles (the sluice gates on the
locks), leaking gates, low water in the pounds, and debris wrapped
around the prop. In my youth I would have continued undaunted but I
guess I am not the Little Red Rooster I once was. Barb is no spring
chicken either. The locks are very heavy to operate even for me and I
constantly had to help Barb out, slowing our progress. We have only
seen one other boat on the move since we left Trent lock. The wind is
gale force which adds to the boat handling difficulties. We are now
moored up for the night next to a field above Sandiacre.
Link to MAP of the Erewash Canal to
Sandiacre
|
COUNTRY MOORING on the T&M
RIVER TRENT at SAWLEY
ROGER TAKES TEA (pinkie retracted)
AUTHOR CHRIS DEUCHAR's BOAT
EREWASH ECOSYSTEM
MOSTLY BARB WORKS ALONE..
...BUT OCCASIONALLY HAS HELP
|
MICHAEL CULLEY and his HARLEY SOFT TAIL
SIGN at the JUNCTION of 5 WATERS
PERFECT MOORING, SUNNY DAY
TRENT LOCK and RATCLIFFE POWER STATION
SANDIACRE MOORING
SANDIACRE
Click on any photo to enlarge.
|