Return Journey

Monday 1^st May to Tuesday 2^nd May 2017

Having made the decision to return, we had to journey a ½ mile up to the winding hole where we remarkably found it easier to wind than we had found to cruise; after this it was a slow cruise back.

We broke the trip at Clayworth to use the services – elsan, water and rubbish – and whilst there we spoke to the couple on the boat ahead of us – they were from Thorne on the Stainforth and Keadby Navigation – some good advice about mooring spots was obtained – this will be in a few days time.

Having experienced the Chesterfield once, we thought that a shorter day would be best, so we eventually made it to the moorings at Drakeholes Tunnel and pulled in and tied up.

The Turtle tiller pin has been prominent this last couple
of days - it represents our pace along here

There are beautiful areas and old building along this canal

This is the first place we have seen this sign  - maybe it could/should be
used more often

The sun was out but it was not a warm day with the gusting breeze.

Diane was waiting to catch the snooker final on TV and not wanting to disturb her too much, I set about sanding and preparing the port side gun-whale – so it was now primed and ready for a topcoat.

The following day was again a relatively short trip of just 5 miles and a couple of locks but we were on the go for over 3 hours, before mooring up in much the same spot in Misterton as we had moored up just 4 days earlier.

Approaching the tunnel

and the other end

We had need of some re-stocking of fridge and larder, so off to the co-op and Diane had noted a chip shop a bit further on – so more sampling was required – her verdict was that we would not need to return there again (to the chippy).

So back to the boat and Diane was looking a bit lost with it all – the reason was that she did not have any more snooker to watch.

The weather report suggests a 93% chance of rain - later it was 100% - all of the cows were sitting down

After a bit of work on my part, we then thought that a bit of a walk down to the basin would be wise – to check it all out for the following day – we were booked for a 2:30pm departure out of the lock.

It is about a mile down to there and as with any towpath, it is flat – we spoke to a couple of people along the way; also spoke to the guy on the boat that we came into the lock with who gave some good information about the diesel fellow in the basin and also about the micro-brewery pub a bit further along the riverfront.

Another ½ mile up the way and we found The White Hart and ventured inside – for about 4pm on a Tuesday afternoon, there were quite a few people who had had an early mark from work.

We purchased a couple of halves of two of the recommendations – they were very good indeed, and whilst Diane was slowly finishing hers, somehow or other a pint of Leffe blond found its way into my hand – I have not seen this on tap in the UK before and as its my favourite Belgian beer I could not go without having one.

It was time to think about getting back before it got too cold and as we walked we talked about the Chesterfield Canal and the trip the following day down to Keadby.

10 Miles, 2 Locks, 1 Tunnel

YTD:  314 miles (505 km), 162 Locks, 15 Tunnels, 3 Lift Bridges, 3 Swing Bridges

Total: 4946 Miles (7960 km), 3313 Locks, 139 Tunnels, 69 Lift Bridges, 175 Swing Bridges