The Big Trent–Monday 30th May

This morning June asked Mark, the lockie, if she could go up in the control tower to see the view and how the lock works. The views over the Trent valley are magnificent and from here the swing bridge and lock are controlled. Depth gauges are used to monitor when the tide is right to release the boats so that they clear the cill and any sand bars which have developed at the entrance.

Mark called us into the lock at 11.00 am and we were on the Trent heading up stream with the tide at 11.15. Here is Autumn Years catching us up having just passed through the biggest lift bridge I have seen and then 3 abreast we motored up the river for a short while.

All along the banks is evidence of the old days with de-commissioned Windmills like these.

At Owston Ferry we saw the only boat moored on the river (Trisantonia 11)

We were welcomed into West Stockwith with Pat and Bruce’s (Nb Ersenmyne) grandchildren waving to us from the bank. They were visiting friends in the village and came out to watch us pass by.

The Junction with the Chesterfield Canal is at the end of the village and would provide a challenge to get in the narrow lock entrance with a good tide running. There are no pontoons to moor to to wait for the lock so you would have to moor up to the high wall.

All along out journey we have been following Cormorants fishing in front of the boat but now I had a chance to photograph one on the banks of the river.

Gainsborough does not look inviting from the river and there were no boats moored on the pontoons.

Passing under Gainsborough Bridge we could see the effect the tide was having on our progress even though it was only a small tide today it still appeared to be rushing upstream through the bridge.

We soon seemed to reach the village of Torksey with its lovely Church and Castle ruins by the side of the river.

A short distance beyond the village is the entrance to the Fossdyke and Torksey Lock Moorings where we stopped for the night. In the distance is Cottam Power Station one of many on the river.

The Fossdkye,which runs to Lincoln, was cut in the time of Emperor Hadrian (120 A.D.) and was deepened by Henry 1 in 1121 A.D. Torksey Lock was constructed in 1671.

Nb Ersenmyne was locked up just after we arrived with a cruiser and as we watched them we noticed that the inner lock gate has rows of Teapots on the stretchers. This theme is continued on the wall of the cafe at the side of the lock which unfortunately was closed when we got there.

Although it was a small tide we covered the 27 miles from Keadby Lock to Torksey Lock in four and half hours which meant that we had being doing 6 mph which is somewhat of a change from our usual 3 mph on the canals we normally frequent.