Down the River Trent to Newark

 Friday 1 October Trent Lock through Nottingham to Holme Lock (12 miles, 4 locks)

The forecast was a  good morning, so we were on the river below Cranfleet Lock before 9am, helped by a fellow boater.

Dunkirk veteran Lady Sylvia

The five miles past Thrumpton, Barton Fabis and the Attenborough Nature Reserve has gentle curves, pastures and willows. Beeston sailing club and marina herald Beeston Lock and its weir close by.

We used the services just after the lock. 

The Nottingham & Beeston Canal used to be quiet, but there must be twenty or more boats moored near the lock, plus as many along the straight between bridges 19 and 17.

Once past Boots and Players factories, we soon passed under the ring road and past Trevethick’s Boatyard, where Harry’s NB Lady Lee (ex RWBC) is moored. 

We often stop near Castle Marina, but today we continued through town, where the riverside is redeveloped with lots of new blocks of flats, some for students. The block with weird legs still impressed me! 

We shared Castle Lock with NB Slow Coach. Great name!

Turning right at the Premier Inn, we saw this ahead.

Workmen were fitting pigeon proof wire netting to a newly refurbished canal bridge.

We moored above Meadow Lane lock, then had lunch and shopped in West Bridgford with Flo, Liana’s mum. Liana and Flo have found Jo Jo Maman  Bebe baby shop, so our grandchild Hope has lovely new clothes from Grannie and Great Gran!

Back on Annie, we operated Meadow Lane Lock. This has paddles at each end which need mending, CRT.

Thankfully it was sunny with just a fresh wind on the way down to Holme Pierrepoint National Watersports Centre. We saw a black swan.

We moored at the high concrete wharf, level with Annie’s roof. Please, CRT, consider fitting floating pontoons for narrowboaters to moor more easily and much more safely! Holme Lock is a great place to stop, but take care to avoid bashing your boat on underwater ledges or the wharf side!

Saturday 3 October Holme Pierrepoint to Newark ( 20 miles, 5 locks)

The weather forecast was fair, getting worse in late morning. It did! John lit the fire, first thing. 

We set off through Holme Lock, operating it ourselves. It took ten extra minutes for Liana to get the bottom gates to open, using the new (to us) electric control. She had to reset it.

It was cloudy but pleasant, with little wind, so the two miles or so to Stoke Bardolph Lock was lovely. Surprisingly, both Stoke and Gunthorpe locks were manned (thank you!),  as the computer voice informed us all locks were boater operated when we phoned earlier. 

John rang ahead from Gunthorpe Bridge, and the lock was ready for us.

There were large flocks of greylag and Canada geese in the water meadows around Burton Joyce. 

The river level was not high, but we got swept along by the current at six knots, according to John’s Iphone. After 11am, the rain started, and came down gently most of the time to Newark. 

A half sunken barge preceded Hazelford  Lock, which was like Stoke Lock.

Our first oncoming boat came out of Hazelford Lock.

Liana had three attempts to open the bottom gates before they obliged. John was feeling lonely, stuck for twenty minutes in two huge empty river locks! John picked up Liana from the steps below the lock.

We only saw one oncoming narrowboat all day until nearing Farndon and Newark. 

The Bromley Arms at Fiskerton is a pleasant stop. The power station and Averham Weir are impressive, too. You go past the weir, but keep clear, especially if the current is strong.

There were boats moving near Newark Marina. Town Lock was preceded by moored workboats. CRT could add a pontoon here for narrowboaters, too, and more below the lock.

The rain had intensified, so we were very glad to get moored past the castle, on the wall opposite the CRT offices, as their pontoon had not enough room for Annie. John rang Cromwell Lock, where Neil from Torksey Lock said anytime in the morning to go to Torksey. We booked Sunday lunch in the pub at Torksey.

Pizza Express fed us, thankfully, before we settled down on the boat.