Going Uphill

Sat 26 March 2016 Blown uphill to Kiveton Park

Hmm .... do we REALLY want to go up 23 locks on an overcast, cool windy day? At 9.30, after a pause for thought, we set off up the Turnerwood locks to that pretty hamlet below the first double staircase lock. Again, good decision!

it wasn't just us going up the Turnerwood flight of locks

scenic gardens at Turnerwood

The ice creams and drinks are near the bridge at Turnerwood

Turnerwood

You can get a tasty ice cream and coffee at the little kiosk at Turnerwood, and shelter from the breeze in its little chalet! As it was still dry, we decided to go up the remaining fifteen locks, including two double and two triple staircases. Many of the locks are not too deep, so  John could hop off the boat and share the work, to speed things up, although we weren't rushing. We were lucky - the rain held off until we had moored at the top for  lunch at 1 PM, earlier than expected :) .

The narrows at Kiveton Park, where stone was loaded for Parliament

Looking back at Kiveton Park road bridge and the narrows by the station

The mooring near the winding hole, 400m before the tunnel

Fri 25 March From Ranby to see the Easter Bunny and Shireoaks Marina

Wow! The sun was burning our eyes out - what a BEAUTIFUL day! The weather forecasters said this would be the best day over the Easter holiday, and they were right.

Passing through Worksop, we spotted Tallulah 2 on her well kept new mooring. Her owner told us that she and her friend had bought it prior to us seeing her lowered into the canal at Forest Locks recently.

One of the mechanisms

on the outskirts of Worksop

disused Worksop pumping station

Tallulah 2 on her mooring

We moored Annie near the warehouse which bridges the canal, and walked into town.

Worksop Straddle Warehouse being renovated

Market day, again! Setting off later, we passed up eight locks to moor outside Shireoaks Marina. On the way, we passed the CCT trip boat and saw the Easter Bunny! We even passed two boats moving! A kind CCT volunteer showed Liana and I the new cuckoo boat at the marina and explained its features. We also popped in to Laura's coffee shop next to the canal bridge, which he recommended - good decision! Good coffee and delicious lemon cake in a friendly atmosphere: We will return!

Thur 24 March  From the Hop Pole through Retford to Ranby
After taking on water at the Hop Pole pub moorings, we left the CCT's Seth Ellis trip boat behind and visited Retford, which we both like as a small market town. In fact, the market was on, so we stocked up with a few bits and pieces. The large public spaces and parks around Retford are impressive.

Country mooring near A1 west of Ranby

Wed 23 March Aiming uphill ...

John had to have his blood test and see the dentist today - all was well, so we set off to Annie and our Easter trip up the Chesterfield Canal as far as we can go - to Kiveton Park, the current head of navigation, at least until the  tunnel is opened  (one day, hopefully). Cool, breezy with some sun meant wrapping up was a good idea!

Knees, holes and Grand Slams

19 March 2016 Work day at Retford & Worksop Boat Club

Yesterday was busy: Knee consultant wants me to have three injections a week in my knee, as two arthroscopies and a steroid injection still leave them throbbing - lucky boy! I have now lost 5kg on my Lenten diet, so this should help, hopefully.

Then it was Work Day at Retford and Worksop Boat Club, clearing tree branches and trench digging for water pipes, followed by watching the Six Nations Rugby. I had a look through the front weed hatch to see if there was any blockage, plus checked to see if there was a way to lubricate the hydraulic bow thruster - apparently not.

A pleasant evening meal with friends meant I was up at 6.30 to watch England beat a strong French team fairly narrowly to win the Grand Slam deservedly. We took our chances better than they took theirs, thank goodness! :)

Today I am Pontius Pilate in our Palm Sunday service mini-play (instead of the epistles): Promotion! I am usually type-cast as Barrabas (or is that next week ..).
Have a good Holy Week!

Boat Club matters, mending Annie and family visits and Lions- a busy long weekend

14 March .... a busy but fun weekend

Saturday 12 March dawned with us arriving at the boat on a beautiful, sunny morning. John got cracking fitting the new oil filter from Braunston, then added the fresh narrowboat oil without additives. The new air filter was badly needed. 50% glycol antifreeze/water mix finished the engine maintenance for the moment. Liana cleaned out the stove, cleaned the bathroom and read the newspaper, she tells me!

After a cup of tea sat in the sun on the towpath, enjoying the lovely Clayworth scenery, Sam's newly welded engine mounting bracket needed fitting. Stood one side of the engine, leaning right over the other side was ..... challenging! Removing the air filter and bunging up the hole helped, but the best rhings were my ratchet socket set with universal joint, plus ratchet spanners with hinged shafts (from Lidl or Aldi last year), which were brilliant in confined spaces. Mounting on, bow thruster pump fitted and belt adjusted, bow thruster working - hoorah! I must get at the front weed hatch and grease the bow thruster, next chance I get.

We watched the Six Nations rugby on the boat, then in the clubhouse with the crowd. England managed to frighten everyone towards the end, before we won. :)

Later, we attended the Awards Ceremony and Race Night there, which caused much hilarity from all in the full function room at Retford and Worksop Boat Club, where Annie is moored. Liana and I were awarded the trophy for Longest Cruise in 2015, for our 800 mile journey to Bath and back on Annie .... SLOWLY! Canoeing daughter Jo isn't the only one who can win a cup on the water! The target for this year? Yorkshire!

Liana and John receiving engraved tankard and award certificate from RWBC Chair John Redfern

We would have stayed on the boat, but went home, as John had to run the bell ringing at church in Market Rasen next morning, followed by serving, reading a lesson and giving out wine! We then dashed back for the Boat Club AGM at Clayworth - a very well organised event conducted professionally and with good humour.

A dash down the A1 to Newark and Nottingham followed, before watching the Scotland-France match and seeing Liana's mum, Flo, and our daughter, Rachel. That night, we played Settlers of Catan, at which I often get slaughtered by wife or daughters, but I won!

Dropped Rachel off at train station, visited sister Dianne and Ivan on the way back, so what about tonight? Well, I'm President of Market Rasen Lions Club this year, and it's their Business meeting tonight, shortly .... retirement keeps us busy!

....There's always a job .....

5 March 2016 Preparing for the next trips

I've bought narrowboat oil (without additives) and antifreeze, plus oil and fuel filters. We visited the boat on Wednesday, to service the engine and maybe go out ..... until I realised the extent of the damage to the bowthruster pump mounting. This is powered by a belt, in the same way as the alternators. This 1cm thick iron had fractured! Also, the mounting was welded to the engine mounting bracket, and it was this that had broken, so the front left engine mounting was not doing its job. John got down and managed to use our socket set and spanners to dismantle the two halves of the mounting bracket: My good schoolfriend, agricultural engineer Sam Howard, examined the break and diagnosed old fatigue fractures / cracks - the last bit had given way - so welding and added reinforcement should solve the problem, hopefully. I must open the weed hatch at the front and check and grease the hydraulic bowthruster itself, too.

The replacement oil filter turned out to have the wrong thread, 3/4" instead of 20mm: So much for Ebay. The air filter was filthy, so a quick phone call to Sam at Wharf Narrowboats of Braunston, Annie's builders, resulted in (hopefully the correct) oil and air filters in the post as I write!

Parcelforce have just delivered a new heavy duty Bosch drill to replace the worn out Bosch drill which has served me very well for years. It and the angle grinder should help me de-rust the gutters under the deck near the stern, ready for new coats of paint.
The engine compartment floor could do with a clean-up and paint, too. Cheap nappies are very good at soaking up water and oily gunge!

Finally, I must have a look at the stern gland and see if it needs new packing ...... there's always a job to do, but that's part of the entertainment!

Ebay can be useful - I've just bought an old copy of the Boating Association navigation booklet for the Yorkshire Ouse. I have the new photographic version, but prefer the old hand-written ones (we also have both old and new versions of the Trent Non-Tidal and Tidal booklets), which are more boater-friendly, in my opinion. Our intention is to travel down the Trent to Keadby Lock, then spend a sizeable part of the summer travelling to Sheffield, Selby, up the Ouse to York and Ripon, then possibly back and up the Aire to Leeds: Ambitious, but should be fun!

A winter cruise on the Chesterfield Canal

Wed 17 Feb 2016 Braving the elements!

Ellie had arrived on the embankment at dusk and departed by the time we appeared on a wet, muddy morning. John dressed carefully to stay dry and warm, and set off once the weather was not too rainy. We moored opposite the Retford Boat Club and had a stroll into town.

Retford Town Lock and warehouse

entering Retford Town lock

Annie moored in Retford, opposite the Retford Boat Club

Retford Boat Club (behind Annie). They have a handy slipway.

John picked up five hardback Terry Pratchett novels from a charity shop to improve his collection. We had an excellent skinny latte and panini at the little Italian deli on the way back from the Market Place. Ellie & Co had stopped off at the Hop Pole pub, so we waved as we passed by. After WhitSunday Pie Lock, Liana settled down in front of the stove while Annie returned homewards in the light rain.

One question: Does anyone know why there are some mini standing stones in a small glade next to the canal, between Clarborough and Clayworth? Hmm .......?

Have you any idea what these stones are?

Tue 16 Feb A frosty morning, then Ranby to near Retford

Icy canal

You know it's better to have a walk when the pebbles and sticks bounce off the ice in the canal. We had to set off back today, if possible, but clearly needed to wait a while. We stretched our legs by walking half a mile back to bridge 51, then onto the road back past the almost complete Chequers pub to the A1. A short walk along it southwards brought us back to the canal near the boat. Even after my recent knee op, I managed the embankment down to the towpath. The ice had melted somewhat, but we had just decided that an ice breaker appearing was highly unlikely, when fellow RWBC member Ellie and her family came round the bend in their narrowboat, winded and moored! They had decided to go no further.

Ellie's dad, daughter and mum

Ellie's dad and boat

After thanking them for breaking the ice for us, we set off steadily, trying to avoid damage to our new blacking. As we approached Forest Upper middle lock, we realised that things were about to happen! Two big rig artics appeared with boats to be lowered in by a huge crane lorry from Tuxford. Two lady boaters told us they were moving from the South Stratford Canal, but were wary of the River Trent passage. Sharing cranage at both ends had reduced the total cost to £2000 for both boats, they said.

the steps up to the fancy rig said "Lose the shoes!"

hovering boat!

Tallulah II in mid air

After emptying toilet holding tanks at the Elsan disposal point, we carried on to the bollarded moorings on the wooded embankment just outside Retford, where we enjoyed a peaceful night.

Mon 15 Feb A leisurely stroll to the A1!

Day dawned with snow on the roof. Wrapping up carefully was a good idea, today!

Liana well-equipped for the weather!

We started the day with a circular stroll through the park next to ASDA, admiring the play parks, the riverside path next to the Idle and the spring flowers.

We admired the Town Hall (Mairie?) in the Market Place.

Retford's rather French-looking Market Place and Town Hall

Leaving the mooring above Town Lock, West Lock needed a bit of work to clear floating plant material.

Trellis bridge before West Lock

West Lock has some newish housing designed with a pleasing warehouse look

Liana on a mission!

We passed parks and cemetery on our way to the countryside and the four Forest Locks, three miles away.

Smoke and mirrors below Upper Middle Forest Lock

The lock and well kept lock house

The third lock (Upper Middle Forest Lock) has a good CRT facility just above it, with water, loos plus rubbish and Elsan disposal. A few boats have moorings either side of the lock, but there is room for visitors.

the facilities: This is the place to go! :P

A surprise awaited us as we left Forest Top Lock: A moving narrowboat! The folk on NB Buzzard told us they had decided to give the locks up to the tunnel a miss, so winded at Worksop.

Balaclava + woolly hat = warm as toast! I like to give my daughters fashion pointers! :P

After a rural interlude, Ranby appeared in view. Bridge 51 is quite scenic, although you need to watch for the boat moored on the corner garden next to the bridge. We were pleased to hear, from the builders finishing off work, that the Chequers pub should be open by 19/2. A1 road noise is intrusive in the village, but we suppose people may get to tolerate it. Once through the A1 underpass, the bollarded moorings a few hundred metres beyond, just past the large winding hole, afford an excellent view over field and woodland to the west.

Liana and Annie moored. The A1 is behind the trees, and not too noisy.

Sunny scenic moorings.

Sunday 14 Feb a post-canapé cruise to Retford

We had a great time at the Retford and Worksop Boat Club last night, demolishing the canapés and chatting with our new boating friends at Clayworth. Thank you to the organisers and helper! After a leisurely start to the day we enjoyed the sunny winter weather and countryside to Whitsunday Pie Lock and Retford, mooring outside ASDA on the embankment in the gathering dusk. After two knee arthroscopy operations in the last few months, John has decided to help his knees by losing some weight, so we are both dieting. John has also given up alcohol for Lent .... hi, ho... Actually, Liana has taken the lead by cooking without so much carbohydrate and much less fatty food, partly using the Hairy Bikers cookbook, so that has made the food more interesting.

We both like Retford. For a small town, it has several pleasant park areas and canal paths to walk; a pedestrianised shopping area near the rather French-looking Market Place, with plenty of decent shops; a small canalside theatre; plus a selection of reasonably priced pubs, delis and teashops.

Home at last!

Friday 5 February 2016 The last lap (10miles, 4 locks)

Our first job today was to fill up with diesel at West Stockwith. Mick Ogden was available, so John moved the boat across the basin next to the lock gates, where the diesel pump is situated. Mick has recently taken over supplying diesel, and is the only source on the Chesterfield canal at the moment. 70.something pence was the price without tax, which was ok.

Today was supposed to be the best day this week: While cool and a bit breezy, at least it was dry with sunny intervals. The dark clouds didn't presage rain, for us at least.

Misterton village has seen house building next to the canal and its two locks, and looks smart. We like the local butchers and decent co-op opposite, a short walk from the canal.

A swan insisted on swimming just in front of Annie for a mile.

Shaw Lock and Gringley Lock were the last two today

Liana enjoying the sun at Shaw Lock

Shaw Lock

using a long centre rope and two bollards works well with wide locks

a pleasant setting at Gringley Lock

Through Drakeholes tunnel, we noticed that CRT have removed three trees from the moorings, where Retford and Worksop Boat Club members have a weekend BBQ in the summer.

Home at last! Ian and Peter kindly helped us moor, and Ian drove us back to West Stockwith to collect our car. A pleasant evening with Ian & Carole, Bryan, Alan & Debs and a few others finished off the day.