Tuesday October 11th
Eastwood Moorings to Ickles Lock
Day 51
The dogs are restless the wind and rain has halted our progress and so they are spending more time guarding the stove. They both like to be up on the side seats watching the world go by as we move along. I must admit that I feel much the same. So rather than hang around waiting for the weekend to arrive we have decided to make the last run for our home mooring and to spend some time getting Rosie ready for the winter.
I have a few jobs like rust spots to treat and to over paint which if left will only get worse. So it looks like the rest of the week will be spent doing some preventative maintenance. So a call to the Tinsley Lock Keepers to book our passage up the flight is on the cards. Now we will be leaving behind the electric locks and having fun with the windlass once more.
It has been nice to have a mains hook-up for the last couple of days and not to have to keep a weather eye on the battery bank. This spurred me into action and so I have purchased a small 3KVA diesel generator as a standby power source for our cruising activities next year. After a surprising length of time I had to change over to the spare gas bottle for the galley. A 13kg Calor gas bottle has lasted us for 11 weeks of daily boating.
This morning I phoned the Tinsley lock keepers and left a message on their phone asking for passage up the flight tomorrow. So the cruise will soon come to an end and the boat maintenance can start.
This afternoon we started a short cruise to overnight at Ickles Lock. We seem to make a bee line for the Ickles lock area as it has an excellent well maintained field where the dogs can be exercised in safety. At one time it was safe to let a dog or cat sit on the tow path by the boat. The high speed cyclists now put not only boaters at risk but also our pets.
An uneventful cruise where a few changes were noted from when we set out. A few canal side trees that have suffered from the effects of recent gales. A disco canal barge that was burned out has disappeared to make it much easier to get onto the lock moorings at Rotherham. The old “North Nottinghamshire Farmers” building that is scaffold covered and being taken down brick by brick. We chanced upon two men who were clearing scrub alongside the canal. They were from Newcastle and had never seen a lock operated before. The travelled from Newcastle every day by van before starting work. After a 4 hour shift they travel home again. This is their 8th week on the job and they hope to be finished early next week. The work being done depending on the weather. Such is the management of the workforce today.
No bats detected tonight as the weather is far to wet for them to emerge.
Daily Total
Distance: 2 Miles.
Locks: 2
Swing / Lift Bridges: 0
Tunnels: 0
Pump Outs: 0
Engine Hours: 1970.1
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