Beeston Marina

Our lovely mooring at Beeston feels like a retreat, far from the City of Nottingham, moored up on the wooden pontoon the boat gently swaying with the flow of the current on the river Trent and outside of the cabin windows, the delightful beginning of Attenborough Nature Reserve.

I've got a the week off work and have been soaking up the environment around us from my new favourite seating spot outside...

The weather has been very mixed with heavy rain showers and glaring sunshine, a strange summer so far. It has been fascinating and frightening to watch the speed of the river flow increase as whole trees were swept over the frothing weir. The boat is well secured to the pontoon and is positioned with the bow pointing against the flow so the water breaks around the boat. As I watch the surface of the river around us, from what seems like nowhere, there suddenly appears whirls and ripples, as the constant movement of the water dances and chases it's tail.

The pontoon is one long strip which ends with a sudden stop. Stood on the edge looking into the pull of the hypnotizing river is quite unnerving. There are a mix of Narrow Boats and Cruisers on this stretch and we are by far the largest. Leigh was congratulated by another long-standing boater for his Captain skills at manouvering all 65 foot of steel into the marina pontoon.

We have been met with kindness and friendly faces here, from fellow boaters and the marina employees, which is making our idea of moving off the boat a little sad to come to terms with. However, we have good things lined up for our next chapter of the adventure, so more will follow about that soon.

Whilst overlooking the beautiful greenery of the Nature Reserve, I decided to go for a walk and explore the muddy paths in the woods and the lakes surrounding them. It was such a joy, I was met with colours, bird song, swaying trees, water dopplets falling from leaves, bridges, benches, shadows and mirroring, shimmering lakes stretching wide...

We have had good luck this week too, after preparing the boat for the Boat Safety Certificate on Tuesday, we have passed with flying colours and received a new Certificate to cover us for the next 4 years.

And so, Leigh and I look forward to a pending visit by a good friend from the North-East and our moves out to Derbyshire.

Changes

Big changes are afoot. Over the past few months our cruising of the waterways has been very limited, partly due to the immense rain and rivers in flood, partly due to work commitments as well as a lack of physical fitness and issues with the engine. As a result, we have been 'bobbing' around Nottingham trying not to get in the way of grumbling boaters and jobworths at BW. We have been scrimping to get by to pay the license each month and cover maintenance costs. I have made the final payment today for the license, horrah! and it isn't due again now until 1st January 2013. We have however replaced this payment with mooring fees, and we are now on a pontoon mooring at Beeston Marina.

The pontoon is based on the River Trent and we are moored on the inner side, much to my delight, as we face the wooded walk into Attenborough and are a safe distance from the rushing weir.

We moved here this evening as the water level for the river was just on the proceed with caution warning. We left the steady canal through Beeston Lock where there is no need to use a windlass to open the paddles as this lock has them welded in place. As we headed out on the river the boat felt slow and sluggish facing the flow of the river. We decided to give it a go to head along the pontoon via the facilites mooring point. Now, in a 40foot boat this would be a sinch. 65foot of steel however and a moored boat in the pathway to access the pontoon, plus the rough current and the odds were against us. Overall this didn't make it an easy situation and we were dragged away from our course bashing into the moored boat and then careering into the footbridge and were wedged between the bridge and boat for a short while. We removed the chimney and bike from the roof to enable us to get under the footbridge and with a bit of barge pole action we were back on course heading under the bridge as opposed to into it and gently passed the moored narrowboats and cruisers along the pontoon. Phew! Rivers sure are tricky. Now we plan to stay put until further notice.

Delia seems to be coping well for her first evening on the pontoon and has been checking out the other boats around us.

Our lovely home is warm from the glowing burner to keep away the damp rainy day and the indoor window-box garden is doing splendidly...

The bush tomatoes have an abundance of flowers and the basil is broadening out like a tree.

My parsley is looking happy too!

There is movement in the water and changes in the air as we stir up the cooking-pot of possible pathways and watch the settling of choices we make.

I pose the question into the ether: Will Delia Derbyshire be living in Derbyshire soon?

Leaving Birmingham

The Christmas market in Birmingham is winding up and with work opportunities in Nottingham we made the decision to move. It has been a lovely experience in Birmingham and I would like to return at some point to explore the canals further than our mooring point at Cuckoo Wharf in Aston.

It has been a joy at Cuckoo Wharf with easy access to the city centre, a garage nearby for emergency wood, coal and snack supplies, water on tap and good security.

We have so far survived the start of winter. The burner has been going day and night to keep away the cold. We have 6 bags of coal left from the 12 we purchased from Ken Warring in Stoke Golding, which should see us through to February. I've just stocked up on three sacks of wood from the garage but at some point in the New Year hope to drive down to the folks in Saltdean where there is a heap of wood I can pickup.

So in the build up, or count down to Christmas (however you choose to see it) we've planned the route to Nottingham. I am still in dispute as to us mooring in Nottingham as I would rather live else where and travel to work there. Birmingham was just that little too far - I couldn't do a 4 hour commute each day.

There are positives and negatives to each mooring spot and winter rules out some places. Redhill Marina was a possibility but when we moored up there over winter 2009 the pontoon was covered in ice and not properly secured was at a 45degree angle, not easy to get onto or off the boat without slip-sliding into the icy river soar!

There are good reasons to be in Nottingham, Sainsburys is a 2 minute walk plus it has a garage, Castle Marina is there with water, pump out and diesel too. From the canal you can walk into town, I can walk to work. It's easy and if it freezes it'll not be a big hassle.

This week I finished work late on Tuesday and travelled back to Brum with Leigh helping me out with my luggage. On Wednesday we did a lovely food shop, getting some fine foods from M&S for Christmas. With the cold weather we have a free and instant fridge to keep our food fresh! So we have enough to see us right through to next week.

We said goodbye and Merry Christmas to our neighbors at Cuckoo Wharf, who were lovely folk and untied the ropes and reversed out.

There wasn't a spot large enough for us to wind before the locks ahead so we reversed through the bridge, aqueduct and right back to the main junction under Spaghetti Junction.

This was not an easy task but with a bit of shouting, laughing and concentration riding the throttle and tiller we did it!

It was a superb day, the weather was fantastic - sunshine and a chill in the air. My lovely thermal gloves from Sis worked a treat keeping the wind from my hands. We passed the backs of industrial units on our way out of Birmingham and the strangest of all things under a building....

On the Birmingham and Fazeley Canal we passed Erdington and reached the first lock at Minworth. It was these three locks we were caught out on before. They require a special key to unlock the anti-vandal padlock.

We now have the key and whizzed through.

The padlock is a simple bar that pops through the top of the ground paddle bracket.

The key...

turned in the hole triggers something to pull the bar through so the paddle can we wound up or down. To re-set you just push the bar back through and it clicks into place.

After the locks are a few miles overlooking fields and farm land. We passed through lovely little Curdworth Tunnel

and under the M6 where we reached Curdworth top lock. This is a flight of 11 locks with cruising inbetween. We made it to lock 10 and I was tired and had enough so we moored up at a lovely spot.

During this winter period there is a lack of boats cruising the network, I wonder if this impacts on the amount of rubbish that accumulates around the lock gates. We had several examples where the boat became wedged in the lock due to debris inbetween the wall and the boat. I pulled out an entire wooden crate the size of a bath in one lock!

Delia loved being back in the countryside, she was out for ages in the evening, probably on the prowl for live, small creatures. She has loved the fire blazing in the burner and cooks herself as though she were getting a lovely sun tan. She is currently being a little darling which we are relishing.

This morning I set off on my own buy preparing the lock ahead, untying the ropes and pushing out the bow. A gentle cruise into the lock was made easier by lining up the boat at a distance. There is a process to single-handed working on a lock. Taking it slowly is a must as far as I am concerned.

By slowing the approach into the lock and then gently reversing allows the boat to head in allowing me to jump off onto land with the rope and tie her off. One annoying thing about this final lock was that the bollards were on the left but the gate balance beams were on the right. Anyway I closed the rear gate and ensuring the boat was forward of the cill, opened one of the paddles to let the water out. The boat naturally rides forwards when lowering in a lock which is good for missing the rear cill. When it had gone down about half way, I opened the second paddle. Each time I ran back to the rope to give it the necessary slack and pull the boat away from the cill when necessary.

Opening the gate is easy when there is no water pressing against it and I pulled the boat through with the rope. It is rather amazing how you can pull a 15tonne boat without much bother. I tied her off at the bollards, closed the gate (ensuring I'd put the paddles back down) and was off on the straight run.

It was three miles to Fazeley Mill Marina where we planned to stop and use the facilities. The stretch was lovely with winter colours along the towpath, a nature reserve next to us and a beautiful horizon of low hills. I couldn't believe my eyes when in amongst the red woods and brown bare branches I saw a flash of brilliant turquoise. It was a Kingfisher!

Leigh joined me at the marina and we left £45 lighter but with a full water tank, a canister of gas and a light toilet tank. Leigh took over as I warmed by the fire.

We took the turn at Faseley Junction towards Whittington and then the heavens opened. My lovely was drenched after a good hours cruising so we pulled over and moored up at Hopwas. We didn't cover the miles we had hoped today, but things never quite go to plan. We made the most of snuggling down in the warm with a hot sausage casserole and thoughts of Christmas! That's right, Christmas 2011 will be spent afloat The Dove of Belgrade!

Birmingham Winter

A month since my last blog post and we are still at the same mooring point in Birmingham, Cuckoo Wharf in Aston.

I'm rather enjoying Birmingham overall. The narrow canals carry their history as they weave under dark brick bridges. It has such an industrial landscape surrounded by Scalextric roads and people live dotted between the industry. Transport is great, with three train stations within the center. My favorite being Moor Hill station with the Chiltern service.

I'm getting into the Festive spirit these days too, spending time at the Christmas market in Birmingham's centre. I've spent a bit of time inside one or two of the wooden huts selling jewelry and bespoke knitted goods.

I do in fact write this from Nottingham as I now have a 'proper' job and am living a double city life at the moment; weekends in Brum on the boat; mid weeks in Nottingham in a house. It's all very strange and I'm having a culture shock but coping just fine in the same token. I am looking forward to the spring-time moment we un-tie the ropes, cuddle on the stern deck and head off into the countryside again but City living is a survival mechanism I guess. Just how it is.

Nottingham to London day 8

We left our lovely mooring and passed underneath the black and white bridge leading to a field of rabbits that Delia had a fight with the other day.

The trip was picturesque.


We stopped at Debdale Wharf marina to use the pump out facilites.


At £10 it was a most reasonable price and they did it for us which was nice. I recognised this area from the journey we took getting the boat to Nottingham when we had not long purchased her.

We reached bridge 62 just before Foxton Locks Staircase and needed to fill up with water after all the washing yesterday.

There was quite a queue for the locks and it started hailing so we decided to abandon the flight until tomorrow. We retired to Bridge 61 pub, overlooking the basin and enjoyed some great food and a pint. This is one of my favorite pubs plus I discovered they had a shower for £1.20. It was a marvelous power shower - I came out super clean and sparkling.

Day four - journey to Nottingham

We prepared to leave our overnight mooring near to Willington at noon with a plan to reach Cramfleet on the river Trent by the end of cruising today. After having to give the starter motor a whack! with a wrench to get the engine started we are thinking this part will need replacing at some point. But we were on our way without too much fretting.

We pulled into the first marina on route as we knew that the diesel needed a top up. Leigh did a sterling job at swinging all 65foot of steel round and into the tiny entrance to the marina.


It was a huge marina, like a mega shopping centre, not my idea of fun. We filled up and set off towards Stenson.


The landscape was vast...


and the sun was shining sweetly. We went though Stenson lock , the first of the deep double locks so far on our journey. It was quite an experience!







Phew! We carried on towards the village of Swarkestone. After another lock it was three miles to Weston Upon Trent and another couple of big heavy locks.


We reached Shardlow and were looking forward to the rivers ahead.


I took the tiller at Shardlow and Leigh worked the lock helping a couple of hire-boaters who were as unsure as when we first started out.


Shardlow is a picturesque village to cruise, though it is a bit tight going round bends especially when boats are doubled up.


With some lovely helpers at Derwent mouth lock we were out on the river heading towards Trent Lock. It is amazing how the area opens up, it makes the boat feel really small.


The sun was shining beautifully and we got into the speed of cruising the river.


We passed under the M1 bridge...



and had reached Trent Lock in no time. We were heading for the River Trent (North) and had reached Cramfleet but it was still light with the sun high in the sky. We decided to plough on...


through Cramfleet lock on to the river.

Along this section the wildlife were becoming more interesting, with what I think are Cormorants and a Grebe.



As we were getting closer to Nottingham it was getting darker.


We hoped to get to the centre before dark, so every minuted mattered.


We finally made it and at 10pm we were moored up, chained up (this is the city after all) and wandering off to get some pizza for dinner. We were both frazzled, on our third winds and beaming with our achievement of 22miles in one day.