Birstall to Leicester

Dry but cool day. Got to Castle Gardens moorings at about 12 noon, and there was room for us at one end. Later two boats double-breasted further along the mooring.

Explored Leicester in the afternoon.

4.3 miles, 3 locks, 5 engine hours

Mountsorrel to Birstall

Gareth and Yuko came for coffee. Then, some time after 1, we set out as the day was beginning to get quite hot. Fine cruising and a few rather tough locks. Stopped at Sileby Mill Boatyard for kindling, Supatherm and a floating keyring. Took on water at Leicester Marina – no problem at all with us asking. Ran into Maffi as we were looking for space to tie up. He helped us through Birstall lock.

Moored just above the lock, on Armco.

7 miles, 5 locks, 6 engine hours

Zouch to Mountsorrel

Cloudy day at first, but cheered up and became sunny after lunch.

Called in at Pillings Lock Marina Engineering, and they were able to do the 250 hour service. Didn't need to change the air filter. £100 all in. Used a PelaPump to extract the oil through the dipstick tube.

Tied up just above Mountsorrel Lock.

10.3 miles, 5 locks (inc 1 flood lock open), 8 engine hours

Trent Lock to Zouch

Nice sunny day again. Called in at Kegworth Marine to see if they could do a service, but they were too busy. However they supplied 164 litres of diesel @ 61p/l, so can't complain.

Some of the locks on the Soar are very stiff, but we had occasional help. Tied up just above Zouch Lock, effectively just one day behind CanalPlan's schedule for us.

6.2 miles, 6 locks (inc 2 flood locks left open), 3.5 engine hours

Nottingham to Trent Lock

Another sunny day. Stopped at Beeston to meet up with Andrew Chard, who came for a coffee. Then filled up with water at Beeston Lock, and went up on to the river section.

Arranged with Debdale to do the blacking next week, probably Thursday / Friday. They agreed to have a look at the seal on the propellor drive lubrication at the same time, but indicated there may be a wait for parts.

Tried to visit Mills boatyard on the Erewash to get the 250 hour service, but the mechanic was elsewhere. On the phone he recommended a yard in Kegworth, though it wasn't entirely clear which one.

Continued up the Erewash to the first winding hole, then came back and tied up just above Trent Lock.

10.4 miles, 4 locks, 6 engine hours

Gunthorpe to Nottingham

Set out, once the mist had cleared about 10.30. Late morning after getting up to watch the eclipse of the moon in the middle of the night. Lovely sunny morning. Explored the navigable bit of the Trent down to the County Hall moorings, before coming back and going up Meadow Lane Lock.

Went into Castle marina for a pump-out – DIY for £12.50 without Blue. Bought a new chain and a new windlass from the chandlery.

Reversed back up the cut a bit for a shop in Sainsbury's, and tied up facing the right direction for the morning.

13.2 miles, 4 locks, 8 engine hours

Newark to Gunthorpe

Set off around 11 a.m., once the mist had cleared. Very nice section of the river – far more interesting than any other part so far. The sunny weather really helped. Lots of family groups and fishermen out on this Sunday.

Tied up on a floating pontoon above Gunthorpe Lock. Very good mooring, and so far very peaceful.

13.6 miles, 3 locks, 5.5 engine hours.

Torksey to Newark

Fine but foggy morning. Cruising on the tide up to Cromwell was difficult – the visibility could have been dangerous if there was more traffic or worse weather. As it was, it cleared after an hour or so, and we cruised in bright sunshine.

Through Cromwell Lock and Nether Lock, and tied up on the wall before Town Bridge. Moorings very bad – very difficult for Mgt to get off the boat and up the wall.

21.9 miles, 3 locks, 6.5 engine hours

Lincoln to Torksey

Another fine day, clouding over and getting a chilly during the morning.

Winded in Brayford Basin, took on water at the Lincoln services, and made good time back to Torksey. Investigated whether we could tie up nearer the lock, but in the end came back to the 72 hour visitor moorings.

11.2 miles, 0 locks, 4 engine hours.

Lincoln

Had a day exploring Lincoln.

0 miles, 3 engine hours

Saxilby to Lincoln

Fine day. Ran engine for showers first thing. Set out for Lincoln around coffee time. Found a space on the visitor moorings just before the bridge – though it was all pretty full.

Walked up to the Cathedral around tea time, and joined in the Evening Prayer service. Ran the engine again in the evening.

5 miles, 0 locks, 5 engine hours

Keadby to Saxilby

Bright, generally sunny with some cloud. Warm without being hot, especially on the river. Went down Keadby lock at about 11 a.m. to catch the tide. Smoother exit than at Selby. No problems at all with the navigation, and did 6 - 7 mph on 1400 rpm most of the way up.

Torksey lockie informed us that tomorrow's tide for Cromwell would be late afternoon, so we decided to go up on to the Fossdyke and visit Lincoln. Tied up in Sexily.

33.3 miles, 2 locks, 7 engine hours

Keadby

Drizzly day, at times raining harder. Went to see boats go down Keadby Lock at around 10 a.m., then spent the day mostly inside, apart from a walk late afternoon, once the sun came out.

0 miles, 3 engine hours

Stainforth to Keadby

Generally fine day, though got a bit cloudy and cool later on. Rang Keadby lock to postpone our move on to the Trent until Tuesday, in view of Monday's weather forecast.

First up was Thorne Lock and swing bridge. CRT's Brian appeared as we were working the system out, having been called from Rotherham because a boat was apparently stuck in the lock. He helped us through, and I mentioned yesterday's experience with Bramwith lock, which he said he would report.

Stopped in Thorne for water, and visited Sainsbury's for a few things. Chatted with the couple on NB Two Can, and then went with them through the bridges down to Keadby. However the second bridge, Moores Swing Bridge, closed very slowly, and then reported an error. We couldn't get the key out. Rang CRT, and within a few minutes Brian reappeared. By this time I'd pressed the emergency shutdown button – and was then able to retrieve the key.

Meanwhile the other couple had gone down to work the next bridge, but must have got fed up waiting for us. However, we caught them up later, and went on together. This included the sliding railway bridge just before Keadby.

12 miles, 1 lock, 1 lift bridge, 6 swing bridges, 1 sliding railway bridge (!), 7.5 engine hours

Whitley Lock to Stainforth

Bright, sunny day. Are & Calder / New Junction Canal / Stainforth & Keadby Canal.

Nearly came to grief in Bramwith Lock, when the back left corner of Erin Mae got caught on the lock wall as we went down – I was pulling her in with the stern line to stay clear of the cill in this short lock. She was tipping well over to the right. Dropped bottom paddles. She dropped clear before we could get back to let more water in to the lock. Big scary moment.

Didn't like the moorings just through the bridge in Stainforth, so tied up just beyond the winding hole a mile further on.

14.5 miles, 2 locks, 3 swing bridges, 3 lift bridges, 5 engine hours.

Selby to Whitley Lock

Came through the swing bridge first thing, then tried to find Tesco's to buy anti-freeze and some milk. Turned out to be a very long walk. No anti-freeze, so bought 2 litres of pre-diluted stuff from a motoring shop.

Day was fine and sunny later until a touch of drizzle at 5.30. Made good time down the Selby Canal,  though we had to work the flood lock, and on to the A&C main line. Moored up below Whiteley Lock.

15.8 miles, 4 locks, 1 swing bridge, 8 engine hours

York to Naburn

Decided to move to Naburn in the morning, in view of the Met Office weather warning. Lovely, fine day when the mist had cleared. River had risen 9 inches in the night – a reminder to be careful at Naburn where, again, we won't be on a floating pontoon.

Got a bottle of gas at York marina (£27.75), but their solid fuel was very expensive. A boater at Naburn gave the number of Coopers, who deliver to Selby basin on Thursdays, so I ordered a couple of bags of Excel, to await our arrival.

After lunch at Naburn, I re-fitted the air intake for the Webasto, and topped up the header tank too much. Had to disconnect a pipe to get the liquid out, and lost the contents of the header. So we need to buy some more anti-freeze.

6.3 miles, 0 locks, 4.5 engine hours

York

Raining quite heavily first thing, but cleared up later. Took the bus to Ripon and back. Then went to choral evensong the Minster, and out for a pizza after running the engine for a while.

0 miles, 2 engine hours.

York

Quite a lot of drizzle during the day, and the overcast sky meant the solar panel did nothing to stop the batteries dropping. But I ran the engine only from about 4.30.

Wandered again, a bit aimlessly, around some of the city, and walked down The Shambles.

Got in touch with Keadby lock keeper, who was helpful in thinking about tides and times.

0 miles, 3 engine hours

Selby to York

Lock keeper Nigel had said 7.30 a.m. for going down the lock. It was actually a little earlier. I'd already checked the weed hatch. Had a plate of breakfast going down. Day was fine but chilly at first.

The tide was flowing but not too bad. Erin Mae tilted to the right as she got caught in the flow – makes sense but I'd expected a tilt to the left. There was a lot of debris in the flood, some of which we had to be careful to avoid. Once we left Selby it was all rather uninteresting because of the high banks.

Got diesel at 73p from York Marina. 100 litre cut-off, so that's what I got, for convenience. It was nearly full. Good place.

Tied up above Lendal Bridge. They were still doing repair work on the moorings, but we breasted up against NB Isobel, since they suggested it and were going to stay only a couple of hours.

19.8 miles, 2 locks, 4.5 engine hours