As I returned back to Torksey Lock ready to go out onto the tidal River Trent my
timing couldn't have been better, as the tide was high and I drove straight into
the lock.
{Music}
It'd take me around two and a half hours to navigate north to West Stockwith
which is the start of the Chesterfield Canal. At first the flow is just like a
standard canal [or non tidal river] and I needed a normal amount of propulsion to move Alice
through the water. However, over the next half an hour or so, as the tide turns, the
pace picks up considerably. When traveling past Gainsborough I think it was
probably the fastest Alice has ever traveled. West Stockwith is my next lock.
I've been told by the lock-keeper to go past it and then turn and then approach
the lock from a bit downstream because the tide is going out this way, I will be
able to control the boat a bit more. It's very calm today. It's very hot but I've
got Molly on the deck here and she's got a big bowl of water and she's been lying
in the shade most of the time.
Once I reached the lock I turned Alice against the flow of water and tried to aim
up to enter the lock. It was a bit of a challenge as the tidal flow across
the front of the lock, heavily pushed the side of my narrowboat to the right. It's
at times like this that I'm really pleased I opted for a more powerful 42
horsepower engine!
I was able to get the stern out, sort of enough and
get Alice in the lock. Things should be a lot calmer now. I'm pleased I've done that stretch
of river. Didn't meet any other boats, very quiet
but I'm now on the Chesterfield Canal.
{Music}
This is West Stockwith Basin. It was a really nice place to moor up with a full
set of facilities including diesel, pump out and loads of water points. It's often
used as a stopgap for larger cruisers navigating the Trent. YouTuber Robbie
Cumming was just about finishing his trip on the canal as I was starting mine. It
was great catching up with him and watching a number of England World Cup
matches, whilst they were still winning! It's I think number one thing that
anyone will notice straightaway is it's absolutely beautiful. Unfortunately there
are some really challenging aspects to it, such as, in the summer, there's lots of
weeds everywhere that you have to contend with and it's really quite shallow.
All in all a fascinating canal and definitely one of my top ones to visit definitely.
Robbie's been on the canal for a number of months and
has a series of YouTube videos about the Chesterfield. I've included a link to his
channel in the description below. I followed a small cruiser boat along
the canal, towards the first two locks just south of the village of Misterton.
Because Deb and Frank are a little bit faster in their boat than I am in mine,
I'm just pausing here and letting them zoom past off into the distance.
Bye, See ya later.
{Music}
The Chesterfield Canal was one of the last canals designed by James Brindley.
Unfortunately he died before the Canal opened in 1777. It originally ran for 46
miles from West Stockwith to Chesterfield and was mainly built to
export lead, coal and limestone from Derbyshire. Now however, apart from a five
mile stretch between Staveley and Chesterfield, the canal now ends just
before Norwood Tunnel making it 31 and a half miles in length from the River Trent.
I have everything under control!
One of the main reasons I traveled up to the
Chesterfield was because another YouTuber friend Brady Haran wanted to
come and visit and show his Australian friend Tim a traditional English canal.
As well as taking a trip along the Chesterfield we also recorded an episode
for The Unmade Podcast. We talked about all sorts of things in the hour-long
recording including, tattoos, making money on Amazon, Preppers and of course canals
and how I live on a boat. It was a really fun day and I've included links to both
the podcast as well as the discussion on Reddit in the description below.
It's a really pretty canal already. It's quite a slow canal. One of the fishermen
said it's only about three foot deep and you can tell that because if you tried
to go any faster, you just kick up lots of weeds.
{Music}
July saw a record-breaking heat wave sweep across Europe and the inside of
Alice, often became unbearable for both me and Molly. The stifling heat made it
near on impossible to do any work inside, so I took some time out to see friends
and relax.
{Music}
Well this is the sort of mooring I absolutely love. Lovely countryside. No
one around. Houses in the far distance. I've got a telephone transmitter up on
the hill and all I can hear is - Molly running past and a combine harvester
collecting its harvest, absolutely lovely.
It's a really short tunnel this is. It's more like a big long bridge
but there is a house up there, and someone's garden so.
But down here, like all tunnels, it provided a little respite from the sun
and it was lovely and cool inside. With day after day of boiling heat and zero
rain, there was an explosion of weed and algae in the canal.
I made sure Molly went nowhere near the water but just getting through it became
a real chore. The canal is stunning and extremely quiet. I'd see a boat maybe,
every other day pass by. Because there was so little traffic, as I traveled
further south past Wiseton Hall I was spending more time in my weed hatch
removing the endless plants from around the propeller, than driving through the
water. I decided to moor up at Clayworth for a few days, to see if the weed would
dissipate. Unfortunately it got hotter and the weed grew even more so
regrettably, I decided to cut my losses and return to West Stockwith before
there was too much that I'd get stuck. I was really disappointed as the
Chesterfield Canal is absolutely beautiful.
The recent weather has been of an exception though and I'm sure this is a
one-off. So I'll be returning again either in the spring or autumn. If you've
not already subscribed, please do. It doesn't cost you anything and by
clicking the bell icon, you'll be notified about future releases. Until
next time, see you later.
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