Random Writings

My plan for the day was to get to Keadby so that I could do some work on Sunday morning before locking through into the Trent in the afternoon. I went out to do the engine checks and found that the couple on nb Evening Star, moored next to me, were also getting going. We went through the first lock at Whitley together, and then they stopped for water. I trundled on, doing the lock at Pollington on my own and then chugging across the increasingly flat landscape in the direction of Goole. I swung right onto the New Junction canal and caught up a widebeam, “Mizuki” at the first bridge. They were a mother and daughter, and the daughter hopped off to operate the bridges for us both. After that I asked to tag along with them, and was grateful for it, as the New Junction has a lot of lift and swing bridges, mostly power-operated. At Bramwith, just outside Doncaster, we swung a very sharp left onto the Stainforth and Keadby canal and stopped at Bramwith lock. Having seen barely any boats all morning, Bramwith was a busy spot, and I shared with another narrowboat while the Mizukis waited until they could have the lock to themselves. The other boat kindly opened the swing bridge for me and suggested that I might stop at the New Inn in Stainforth for lunch. I took their recommendation and had a generous and tasty portion of braised steak with mash, veg and Yorkshire pud for about a fiver! Having then got chatting to some other boaters, I was reminded that I needed diesel and gas, and a gent pointed out that I should get going in order to be at Thorne before the boatyards shut. Thorne has four boatyards, three of which sell gas and diesel, and this had been my first opportunity to buy either since Huddersfield (where the yard had been shut when we arrived) and in fact I’d last bought diesel at Anderton Marina in Cheshire! When I arrived at Thorne I found myself following Evening Star again, who’d passed while I was lunching in the pub, and as we approached the lock I saw the first boatyard, Stanilands, who are also a yacht club. The club were having their annual regatta, which was more like a village fair, and I didn’t fancy fighting through crowds of people to try and find someone to sell me some fuel. Besides, I could share the lock with Evening Star. The next boatyard (one lock and two swing bridges later) looked rather shut and had two rather shiny cruisers on either end of its service mooring, so i didn’t fancy shoehorning myself in. On to the third one, which conveniently had a big sign saying “Diesel here” so you knew where to go. I manoeuvered in between two residential boats and stopped by the pump. An elderly gent waddled up and I said hello and that I was after some gas and diesel. “Not now you’re not” he said “we’re shut. Shut at 4. 9-4 weekdays and 10-4 saturdays”, he added as if I was stupid not to know that! I was glad he wasn’t the proprietor or I’d have torn him off a strip, he sounded so self-righteous! Anyway, I decided to plod on to Keadby (more swing bridges, woo!) and get diesel at Newark instead. At Vazon, just shy of Keadby, we had to wait about a quarter of an hour for the signalman to open the unusual sliding railway bridge, as you have to wait for a big enough gap between trains. Finally we arrived to find the visitor moorings deserted and I moored up, had a bite to eat and went to bed!

Day 61: Whitley Bridge to Keadby, 26 miles and 5 locks.

This entry was posted on Monday, September 6th, 2010 at 3:32 pm and is filed under Narrowboat.