That’s them done then…

 “Them” being the broad locks. All except for Big Lock up in Middlewich but we’ll not see that for a couple of weeks yet.

We had to drop down Kegworth Deep Lock on our own last Thursday morning, but we caught up with another boat to share Radcliffe Lock a little later.

Kegworth (very) Deep Lock

This final stretch of the river is very prone to flooding and to reduce the threat to Kegworth in the 1980’s an ambitious and effective project was completed, involving lowering the normal water level from here to it’s confluence with the Trent. This lock was deepened, and the following one, Kegworth Shallow or Flood Lock is now only used in winter. Radcliffe Lock was also deepened to lower the final reach to the Trent. Both of the new locks have the remains of the earlier ones alongside, now filled in for safety.

Kegworth old lock still has bollards along the coping and the top of the ladder emerging from undergrowth.

 

Below Redhill the Soar flows into the Trent before the mingled waters drop over Pollington Weir to pass around Cranfleet Cut.

We swung left and headed upstream to Sawley where we pulled onto the services on the backwater before heading up the lock. Both paired locks are now in use after a problem with Lock 1 was fixed, and we had a pair of lock-keepers to see us and another boat up onto Sawley Cut.

Sawley Locks.

Wide Trent waters under the M1 bridge.

Derwent Mouth, where the River Derwent flows in from the right, the Trent from the left and ahead the Trent and Mersey Canal emerges after it’s 93 mile journey from Preston Brook in Lancashire.

We made our way up Derwent Mouth Lock and moored on the confined waters of the canal.

Later that afternoon we had visitors, friends Carol and Victoria came around for a chat.

 

On Friday morning we chugged through Shardlow and waited for another boat coming up behind us at Shardlow Lock. Surprisingly there was a pair of lockies there too, so that was helpful.

We shared all the remaining broad locks to Willington, working easily with the couple on MIJ.

Weston Lock

Swarkestone Lock.

The remaining short arm of the Derby Canal is occupied by a boat club, who will be displaced if plans to reopen the canal come to fruition. I don’t think they need to worry just yet though…

There was another canal off from the towpath side along here, just a short link down to the river. There’s no sign of it now though.

It was an uneventful trip, at least until Stenson Lock. We arrived just as the bottom gates were closing, so I walked up to see what was happening. The lock was occupied – wait for it – by a chap with an 8 foot canoe! It was loaded with camping gear though, so carrying it around would have been a long job, to be fair.

Anyway, after he’d left we emptied the lock ready for our two boats. I snapped a centre rope while filling, Seyella moved back then surged forward, and the angle down into the deep chamber was too much for the line. It was getting on a bit, though. No damage done.

After this, the last of the broad locks, MIJ pushed on into Willington while we pulled in near Mercia Marina. I had to get replacement centre lines after all…

We finished up staying there till this morning.   

Moving off past all the moorings in the village I was surprised to see the service wharf vacant at half-nine. so I pulled on to fill with water and empty those things that needed emptying… 

Chores done we toddled on out of the village towards Burton.

It was quiet on the water, we only saw a couple of boats heading down until we came up behind another going up Dallow Lock.

It’s the first of the narrow locks and quite shallow too so we were through fairly quickly. Next stop was Shobnal Wharf for diesel, reversing under the narrow access bridge. Topped off at a very reasonable 69p/lt (base rate) we pulled out and headed for Branston.

At Branston Lock a boat was just coming down but we pulled over to allow a following boat to go up before us. They’d been stuck behind us while we filled with diesel, the wharf blocks the access to and from the mooring basin at the top of the old Bond End Canal. So we let them get on. We were only going a little further anyway, and pulled in before Branston Bridge and the new one (Nurton Bridge).

While we were moored near Willington I got stuck into a job I’d been putting off. I’d already cleaned and repainted the swim and bilge in the left side of the engine bay, but the right needed doing. The Webasto heater had to be removed to do this, and it had started to misbehave the last couple of weeks so it had to come out for servicing anyway. It was quite badly carboned up but a good clean, a new burner pot and gasket set sorted it out.

 

All back in and working in a nice clean engine bay.

Moving on tomorrow, probably Alrewas.

Locks 11, miles 25¾