Down onto the Trent

Saturday 5th June 2021

A very sunny day and a very busy day.

We left our overnight mooring alongside the playing fields immediately after the other two boats that had also been moored there. This meant that progress down the last 7 locks was very slow as we had to refill each one as well as one of their crew always leaving the offside lower gate paddle partly drawn. 

 

The 34 rod fishing competition further down didn’t help either. None of them admitted to catching anything except the man on the last peg who claimed half a dozen.

We stopped at Sandiacre for milk, tonight’s dinner and melanin wound dressings as Mr Clumsy had used up the last of the stock on Jannock on both of those ‘poorlies’ from life’s little accidents. Poor Mr Clumsy! No where to get dressings from.

 

Then down to Trent Lock where we passed through watched by loads of Gongoozlers outside the pub and café. We turned left onto Cranfleet cut and then passed through the lock onto the River Trent. The views immediately opened right out with geese, cormorants and the odd swan populating the ‘beaches’. The first kingfisher of the year was spotted briefly as it crossed the river.

 

We passed through Beeston lock and then stopped at the sani-station to fill with water. Here we met a cousin of the ‘oiks’ at Langley Mill. Our hose was connected to the water tap and he asked rudely whose hose it was as he wanted to disconnect it. Graham explained that we were filling our water tank and he got all huffy announcing “ but my dog wants a drink” whilst indicating the empty pop bottle in his hand. Graham told him , but then had to show him how to turn the tap from left to right to get water to come out of the other side of the bollard to fill his bottle. No please or thanks, he just went off with half a bottle of water.

Once the tank was full we planned to pull across to the visitor moorings for the night. Graham was on duty as Blood Bike controller all night so we didn’t want to cruise any further. The first spot we chose turned out to be half lock landing as well but there was a fisherman setting up in a suitable sized gap one boat ahead. No problem he said, I’ll move my stuff there so you can moor here. The nicest fisherman we’ve met under the circumstances. That’s two in three days and both young men.

B & G