North again: Day 12

The forecast for today was pretty bad with thundery showers and some heavy rain, but actually it’s been nothing like that.  We’ve had the odd bit of rain, but nothing to write home about.  This morning, one of Adrian’s former colleagues who lives in Mansfield was coming to see us, so we walked down to meet here by the marina.  There was a big Park Run going on at the Weir Fields recreation centre.

I diverted to the Beeston Canalside Heritage Centre to see if I could find someone to talk to for a podcast episode.

It’s a lovely place with a tea room and a nice garden, and not only did I find an interviewee, I also got a sneak preview of the canalside cottage which has been dressed to look how it would have done in the 1840s, which opens in the next couple of weeks.  I went and found Adrian and Michelle in the Boat House Cafe at the marina, and we walked back to the boat as Michelle wanted to see it.  Then we went to the Heritage Centre cafe for excellent toasted sandwiches for lunch.  

After saying goodbye to Michelle, we walked into Beeston town, which is a bit of a step but has much more than we’d expected.  Among the attractions is a street art trail, and we found a few examples.

We’d already decided that because of the forecast we wouldn’t be going anywhere today, and shortly after we got back to the boat there was one of the heavier downpours.  I’ve spent the rest of the afternoon making another podcast (because I always like to have a couple in the bag ready to go), while Adrian has been reading and listening to things.  It’s a surprisingly nice spot here, but we’ll be on our way again tomorrow.

0 miles, 0 locks.  (76 miles, 53 locks)

North again: Day 11

Rain first thing, but we thought it had stopped by the time we were ready to set off just before 9.  However no sooner had we let go of the ropes than it started again.  We were immediately through the Cranfleet flood gates, with the railway bridge over the top.  Last night, we lost the tv signal every time a train went over!

We headed along Cranfleet Cut, and had been planning to do water and washing at the water point just before the lock.  But we didn’t like the look of the towpath overhanging at cabin side level and there were a couple of lock keepers on who were already filling the lock for us, we we went straight down.  Cranfleet Lock is a deep one, and takes you back out onto the River Trent.

Briar Rose always seems to love a river, and this one is no exception.  It’s wide, deep, and we were going with the flow.  Occasionally there are little cabins up on the bank, often with boats outside.  Fortunately, the further we went, the more the weather improved.

We were quite quickly at Beeston Lock, which is a funny one because it has a paddle left open and both ends so the river can feed the canal.  There’s a pontoon to wait on, but getting to it feels odd because the weir is pulling you the other way.  The lock itself only has a difference of a couple of inches, so it didn’t take long, and we then stopped at the services to do the water and much needed washing.  The water point is at the side of the services building, so up the hill; I’m not sure we’ve had the hosepipe at that sort of angle before.

We were off again at about 11, going first past the Boots site, some of which is now being turned into housing.

There are quite a lot of moored boats on the canal, which changes from the Beeston Cut to the Nottingham Canal about halfway along.  Nottingham Castle Marina looks to be in a bit of a state, with lots of the pontoons out of action because they appear to be collapsing.  The moorings in the city are not the most appealing either.  We went down Castle Lock, swapping with a narrowboat coming out and a widebeam to go in, and passed lots of new buildings.

We turned around at the big corner, headed back a bit, and moored up.  We walked up to the bridge and had lunch in a cafe, then walked into the city centre.  At Broad Marsh, they appear to have a big regeneration plan, with old buildings coming down and being replaced.  There’s a new library and bus station, and there’s a really nice wild park type area, which will apparently put the marsh back into Broad Marsh.

A bit further on was a big square with the Council House at one end, and trams running along one side.

We’d decided that we didn’t particularly want to spend a Friday night in the middle of Nottingham, especially as none of the moorings are that nice.  So we set off again, past the former BW building and into Castle Lock.

There are quite a few widebeams here, and we met one just as he was coming round a moored one.  But of all the places we could have met, this was one of the better ones, because at least there was somewhere for me to wait.

We returned to the moorings before the Beeston Changeline Bridge, where it’s a bit more countrified.  

15 miles, 4 locks.  (76 miles, 53 locks)