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Going South for the Summer
Day 13, Friday 29th July 2011 - (loose bit of boat) John Leaves.
Swarkstone Junction as seen Autumn 2010
Swarkestone Toll House to Shardlow - (loose bit of boat) John Leaves.
Getting up today, we know that we are going to hit Shardlow before this evening, which means we will be able to stay with Ivis and Henry tonight and have hot showers and some good food.
Just before Swarkestone lock is where the now disused Derby Canal used to joint the Trent and Mersey Canal. The junction is now used to moor boats.
We are moored about half a mile from Swarkstone lock, so we slowly move up to the lock and moor. (It feels funny not to be in a queue of boats for the locks any more!) John goes and sets the lock and I go to move the boat into the lock and there is a terrible sound of metal against metal crunching noise!!! We pull the boat back to the side and have a look. The steel reinforcement along the side of the canal had caught the rubbing stake on the side of the boat, and torn nearly 9 inches backwards so it was now sticking out at right angles to the boat? Help!
After some head scratching, and realising that it would never be possible to re-bend it back in to place, we started looking for something to cut it away from the side. We then remembered that some where in the boules of the boat was a angle grinder (from when we were cutting slate tiles to size to go round the fire.) Burrowing to the bottom of a locker it was retrieved, the inverter fired up, extension lead plugged in and in no time the offending item was removed.
Two pictures of Swarkstone Select a picture to see it full size.
So we set of again, a another lock, and we where approaching the last lock that would let us down in to Shardlow. The only question was, would there be any space for us to moor in Shardlow?
Lock down in to Shardlow - View of Shardlow Select a picture to see it full size
Fortunately there was a pleasant space just before the pub, so we quietly pulled into it and moored up. Made the boat ship shape and called Ivis and Henry, so we could make our selves clean, and bundled all our dirty laundry into bags, to take advantage of there washing machine.
John will be staying with Ivis and Henry for the next few days, before getting the train back to Yorkshire.
Notes on progress. Structures gone through Locks: 4 - Swarkstone, Weston, Aston, Shardlow (all broad locks)
Places we go by Swarkstone Junction - ex canal to Derby
the continuing story.
to day 14
to Shardlow