Lincoln

Today's Navigation - River Witham

The weather today was quite mixed. At first there was bright sunshine even though there was a breeze blowing. Mid morning cloud appeared and the breeze increased. It was still warm but the breeze meant that it felt distinctly cooler. By mid afternoon, sunshine returned, the breeze dropped and temperatures rose significantly.

Our original plan was to go the small church in Southrey for their service at 9:30 but we had not been able to secure a mooring on that side. We arose with limited hopes that one of the boats would leave early but no such luck! One of them looked as if it had taken up long term residence. As a result, Plan B was implemented: we turned around and headed back to Bardney where there was a joint service with the Methodists at 10:15 and we knew that it was not much of a walk from the moorings.

Alas, Plan B failed when the moorings came into view with six cruisers lined up nose to tail! Hence we formed Plan C as we were reasonably certain that we would find room on the longer term moorings just above Stamp End Lock. There is quite  long stretch and, as they are not especially scenic they are not in such high demand from passing tourists.

The sun was in the right direction for this view of the Corn Sculpture.

Five years ago we took a good view of the Cows Sculpture but this year the vegetation seems to have grown up and it is east to miss. Even so, you need to be told what it is of as it is now less than obvious.

It was just after mid-day when we arrived at Stamp End - a boat was just coming down, with nb Judy just going on ahead. There was indeed ample room where we hoped to find it and we ended up in the same spot as when we stopped for lunch on the last time down and our neighbour was the same as then. He had just been over to the boat show at Crick - he was somewhat disappointed as the focus seems  no longer to be on boats but a family festival. He particularly wanted a chandler but there were no such stalls.

After  a long lunch break we were ready to complete Plan C - walking up to the cathedral for Choral Evensong.

We took a side road most of the way up, only merging onto Steep Hill just before the castle square. It was a visiting choir from Louth singing the liturgy today. It was a mixed choir but obviously well-trained and they tackled some excellent music including an Anthem by Matthias with typically eccentric rhythms.

After the service finished we walked back down the hill, keeping to the famous route to the bottom. This gave us a chance to take in some of the historic buildings which now mingle with modern infill and updated shop fronts.

Still, it is sometimes worth looking at the information boards - this is Jews' Court, dating back to the days when only Jews were permitted to be moneylenders.

And some of the buildings keep their best parts to the upper floors.

The streets down at river level were still busy (the market was just closing outside the castle as we came out of the cathedral) Many of the eating and drinking places were well patronised in the early evening warm sunshine. We returned to the boat to set about preparing our conventional Sunday roast dinner.

11.8 Miles - 2 Locks

Southrey

Today's Navigation - River Witham

As the sun was just rising, around five o'clock, there was quite a mist blowing over the river. However, by the time we awoke properly it had disappeared and very hot sunshine prevailed.

Several of the cruisers on the moorings left quite quickly but Mike took the opportunity also to walk along the River Rail Way, for a short distance to the viaduct over the river, just below Bardney Lock.

When we ourselves set off, another narrowboat was already in the lock and kindly waited for us. As we went down and quite a flow of water came through the lock, it occurred that some would immediately blame this on a lack of maintenance. However, the gates looked reasonably good and, more often than not, such leakage is as a result of rubbish collecting on the cill so that the gates do not close properly. Of course, it could be said that when labour was cheap, regular, even daily, raking out would keep the cill clear - but the weed is growing rapidly and it would be a hard task to keep on top of it completely.

We only went just around the corner to Bardney Village moorings where there was plenty of room to tie up so that we could walk into the village. Some of the first splashes of wild roses greeted as we stepped ashore. It was around 15 minutes walk to the centre where there are several shops - alas neither the Co-Op nor the Post Office had our newspaper in stock but we did buy a couple of small cakes - from the butcher!

There is a memorial to one of the squadrons that was based at Bardney airfield during WW2. It is, unusually, made from a propeller.

On then to the village church. A long time back there was an Abbey which served the local population but it seems that the Abbey residents preferred peace and quiet so built a church in the village itself! Sadly, the Abbey long since became no more that a few humps in a field whilst the church lives on.

At the start of the 20C, the local vicar undertook an excavation of the Abbey site and some of the stones are on display, although later ideas on archaeology led to most being re-buried on the original site and grassed over once again.

A statue of St Lawrence dates back to the 8C but the paintings of saints on the walls are from 1934.

From there we walked back towards the river and called at the Heritage Centre. This was a little disappointing as it is really now just a tea room, catering for the cyclists and walkers on the riverside path.

At one time the station was a junction where a branch line left to go up to Louth, some 30 kilometres north east, whilst the main line continued to Boston.

Back at the boat we set off downstream quite quickly as we hoped for a mooring at Southrey, so that we can go to church there in the morning. It was a very pleasant run for just over an hour - we could see just how things have developed in the past week. Even three days ago there were only the odd one or two water lily flowers but now many more have emerged.

When we arrived at the moorings - there is a pontoon on either side - the only space was on the one opposite the village! We moored up for the rest of the day, as was our plan, but we hoed in vain for one of the two boats on the other side to move away, but alas no. The church is only a couple of hundred metres away but, with the river in between, it might just as well have been a hundred kilometres! Surprisingly, after we arrived there was only perhaps one other boat that came by.

3.8 Miles - 1 Lock

Shopping and Bardney

Today's Navigation - River Witham

With the Bank Holiday weekend fast approaching we needed to re-stock today and so we spent the morning shopping in the centre of Lincoln. In fact, Mike had to return to the boat twice with part loads! We went to one of the small butchers as well as a fruit and veg stall alongside the canal outside the market hall. We also bought some fish for tonight from inside the market itself.

Supermarket shopping is, as we mentioned last week, a bit restricted in the city centre so we were limited to the rather small range offered by Tesco Express. In the end we found most of what we wanted.

Christine wanted to look in M&S for some new bed sheets - she thinks that a larger size may be easier to handle - but this store does not extend to that range of goods (only fashion and food) and Mike had found earlier that the memory card in his camera had failed so walked to Maplins. He also picked up a USB external disc - he has been promising for some time to institute a better system especially in case we have another theft of our laptop. In the past it has been the loss of photos that has been the special aggravation rather than the loss of the item itself.

Just after mid day we unhooked ourselves from the electricity supply and left the mooring pontoon. First, we had to go upstream a short distance to the service block on the long Lincoln Moorings (mostly long term - even those labelled Visitor Moorings!).

After completing a 'full service' we tentatively set to turning the boat in the opposite direction. We just made it (anything much longer would not have succeeded) which saved us a further trip up to a winding space)

We were now ready to cruise back down the River Witham (which actually enters Brayford Pool at the lower end). Brayford Belle trip boat seemed to be doing reasonable business - the right sort of weather anyhow.

The channel under the Glory Hole has never been wide. When the rest of the improvement works were done, engineers tried to get permission to demolish this bridge and replace it with something much wider. In the end the chief citizens of thew city did not approve and so we have this narrow part still with us today. Whilst it looks picturesque, the problem is when the river is in flood and the water, which elsewhere flows smoothly, is compressed into a tight corner and becomes especially dangerous for navigation. Hence the need for warning lights at the exit from the pool (there are matching lights at Stamp End)

We moored at the 14 day stretch just before the lock in order to have lunch. Just as we were setting off again, a cruiser came down ahead of us to the lock and soon after we set out another came along as well.

Coming up was a boater we had met a few days ago who greeted us warmly. This helped as he offered to open the gates for us - there is not really enough room below to pickup crew when a boat is already on the landing. (We do not manoeuvre within  100 m of anything plastic!) \what he did tell us was that the next two visitor moorings (the second, Fiskerton Fen, was where we had hoped to stay tonight) were already full. We left, therefore, more than ,musing about what we might do if no spaces turned up anywhere!)

Between Five Mile Footbridge and Fiskerton Fen is one of the sculptures along the Water Rail Way. We don't really know what they are called but our names is Corn Sculpture - really imaginative, isn't it!) A particular feature of this one is how it changes its shape depending which direction you view it. From upstream, it seem,s as if the two parts form an arch whilst from the other they seem to be bending away from the centre line. (It never seems possible to get a really good picture from both sides at once - especially today given that we had very sunny weather)

Sadly the information about the moorings proved correct and so we set sail for the unknown. In fact we were very pleasantly surprised to find just the right space free on the Visitor Moorings above Bardney Lock - when we passed before they were full, mostly with boats that seem to be here permanently - plugged into the mains as well) It was here that we found a very late evening haven on our first visit here in 2012.

In the wonderful evening sunshine, Christine explored along the Water Rail Way that is just above the level of the boat.

She was particularly trying to find a sculpture that we glimpsed just as we were coming in to moor but which we had not spotted before.

9.5 Miles - 1 Lock

London and Car Shuffle

Not a day cruising as Christine had a meeting in London. (That was why we booked into Brayford Pool - Lincoln station is only 10 minutes walk and the train is typically only about two hours into Kings Cross.

We both walked to the station - Christine's train was just before 8. There was plenty of extra security around but, as one admitted, it is more for re-assurance than doing anything significant!

Mike opted to do the car shuffle today and had already worked out quite a complex itinerary to achieve this. He caught his train just half an hour later, changing at Beeston (was going to be Nottingham but the ticket inspector was telling people that it is easier to wait until Beeston. Same train hut avoids having to change platforms. The second train was to Derby which was followed by a 12 minute walk to the bus station. A bus then dropped him right outside Mercia Marina where a quarter hour hike around the marina brought him to the long term car park.

Before leaving, he handed back the gate fob and also picked up some elsan blue from Midland Chandlers.

It was about one hour 20 minutes via the A38 and M1 to reach Clayworth where will have booked our next mooring, just few about 10 days whilst we return home for the Royal Cornwall Show. From there a bus took him into Gainsborough but was running just a few minutes late so there were a few anxious moments since the schedule only allowed 10 minutes to catch the next bus. However, it was several minutes late arriving in from Scunthorpe.

Apart from the fuel in the car and just under £10 for the train ticket, the rest was on bus pass!

As this blog is posted, Christine is on her way back from London and ordering her late meal!

Christine returned with a number of pictures taken on her new smartphone.She had some spare time after getting back to Kings Cross, following the end of her meeting. She wandered across to the canal where she saw some of the new redeveloped areas proving popular in today's very warm weather. Some time ago we moored here - a rather run-down section of the canal at that time - but it ios now very different.

Brayford Pool

Today's Navigation - River Witham

We spoke (wrote) too soon last night. As dusk gathered the intensity of jet fighters taking off increased and went on until well after the start of the Ten O'clock News

There was also a brilliant red sky, presaging the hot sunny day that followed.

Amongst the modern day aircraft, what looked like one of the Battle of Britain Flight also flew overhead.

We could also see the landing lights of the airfield in the distance.

And so to today. We planned an early start so that we could expect to reach Brayford Pool mid afternoon. We had already booked two night's mooring here whilst we are both on trips tomorrow. At £15 a night it is a tad expensive (especially compared with 'free' mooring elsewhere!) but we wanted to be sure that we could moor as close to the station as possible for an early start on Thursday.

We awoke to the anticipated glorious morning with the water so very calm under the old Tattershall Bridge. Mike walked up to bridge and discovered that it is not only no long the road route through but the far end has been completely walled off so it cannot act as a bridge for anything! \still it looks 'heritage'.

This mixed gaggle of birds on the bank outside the boat caught Christine's attention.

We were off not long after eight and made smooth progress back upstream.

It is five years since our first and only visit to this river and we both have felt that it seems so much more scenic and attractive than we recalled. Of course, the lack of pouring rain helps!

Most of the drains that join the river make a stark and brash appearance but one or two creep in rather shyly midst a rare bundle of trees and shrubs.

See what I mean?

The clear sky and presumed lack of high altitude wind meant that there were numerous aircraft trails criss crossing the sky in front of us. Not easy to capture but perhaps this gives a flavour.

A house-proud couple no doubt eagerly awaiting a 'happy'event - but will they be able to keep up with the mortgage if he stays at home and does not go out to work?

Here is the sugar factory again - from this direction the new factory still being built is much more obvious.

Back at Bardney Lock and we again made good use of the facilities. The work boat has moved from below to above the lock, No-one was working

We stopped for lunch at Washingborough Moorings  before cruising the last four kilometres into Lincoln.

Stamp End Lock gave us no special problems this time, even though it is rather slow to operate. This gave us time to notice - as we did not on the way down - that the old factory behind is only part of its former self - originally Clayton and Shuttleworth. (see) It had a long history of heavy engineering, steam engines, traction engines and other agricultural equipment. It finally closed in 2010.

Back through the Glory Hole and out into the expanse of Brayford Pool. We eventually, with the help of two of the volunteers at Brayford Trust, we found our correct mooring and hooked up to the electricity bollard.

20.2 Miles - 2 Locks