Leaving the Tidal Trent Behind

It's taken a while to get this down on paper, so to speak, with internet connections not exactly the best. Worst of all it has been very quiet as we cruised along, particularly on the rivers where it is difficult to see anything, just as mentioned last post.

We managed our short cruise from Lincoln to Torksey Lock after our battery overhaul the day before. Plenty of time to fill the water tank and chat to the other boaters before our midday launch on to the Trent. The weather was a little overcast so I put on my wet weather gear to try and keep the rain at bay,  it never seems to rain much when you're prepared!

It wasn't long before Rachael had lunch ready, quiche and homemade ginger cake.

Not much to view along the way, this old mill did pop up. It looks like its working days are well behind it and its all accommodation these days.

There was no looking for a sign or a gap in the side of the river to turn into Cromwell Lock, this time you couldn't but run into it. The lock to the right of the photo and the huge weir to the left.

Once in the lock I told the lock keeper that we would avail ourselves of the lock moorings once through the lock. I was a little tired after cruising from Lincoln to Cromwell and you need to be extra vigilant on the river part of the cruise. We took a mooring on the wall just outside the lock along with all but one boat that continued on. Great view back from the mooring to the top of the weir.

We set off early the next morning, in fact second boat off the moorings, and headed for Newark. We cruised into Newark two hours later just as another boat set off from the jetty moorings, we promptly dropped into the spot otherwise it was going to be on the wall, meaning a small climb up to the path. There are plenty of moorings in Newark, all close to the centre of town. The jetty is very popular because water and electricity (if you are lucky) is available to all the boats.

Newark is a market town of around 25 thousand with a rich history in the English Civil War. There was enough shops and sights to see to keep us busy for a few days. The view from the mooring was very good, this was taken just up from the mooring.

The centre of town is mainly pedestrian mall, beautiful old buildings and all situated around the market square. This building, currently a credit union, with a normal shop front until you stand back and look up.

Market square

The Church of St Mary Magdalene was prominent from most points around Newark, having one of the tallest spires in the UK.

The church is a Grade 1 listed building and parts of the it date back to the 11th or 12th Century. It was difficult to get a good picture with buildings and a heavily treed park surrounding it.

A second day in Newark started with a bit of excitement. For some reason a boater in a 70ft narrow boat who had cruised well past the jetty moorings decided he wanted to back track and fill the 35' of jetty that was left behind us. He under-estimated the wind and the current, this was the result.

I saw him hit the plastic boat, pushed the side in around 20cm and it sprung straight back out again. We spent the next hour trying to remove it, we were against the fast running Trent, the wind, the stern was grounded and it was against the far bank. Hauling the bow around eventually freed it and he arrived in the mooring behind us with half his boat moored, the other half hanging off the jetty, two ropes securing it.

I took a few more pics of the remains of Newark Castle, not too much left after three long sieges. Newark was a Royalist stronghold so the Parliamentarians, the winners, made sure there wasn't much left.

Newark Castle from the park

Newark Castle from the river

Our mooring was across the river from a metal recycling centre, they were happy to take my five old boat batteries off my hand. They were very helpful too, providing a wheel barrow for me to haul them across the footbridge. Money in my pocket!

We spent three days in Newark and headed off up the Trent towards Nottingham with an overnight stop at Gunthorpe along the way. There were a few interesting obstacles along the way.

The Trent break out over a natural weir for around 500 metres.

Plenty of ponies, ducks and geese

Coming into Nottingham it got a little crowded, there were probably around thirty sailing boats going all over the place!

We cruised into Nottingham along the Nottingham and Beeston Canal where there were no shortage of moorings although, the mooring rings were spaced at very awkward spacing; for a 57' boat anyway. The closer to Castle Marina we got the ring spacing changed and we were able to tie up right near Sainsbury's and a retail park, very handy!