To the Trent

After a good night at Branston water park we pulled pins at 08.10 and soon got to the first lock of the day and were surprised to see so many boats waiting to come up . It worked out very well for us as there were so many boaters on the lock helping out that Carolyn was told to jump aboard Inca and they would lock us through.

Now this is a rare sight in this country although we do have some in Devon at a town called Dawlish . I think the black Swans are mainly found in Australia so I don't know what this one was doing here in the middle of Burton on Trent.It seemed to be all by itself without a mate .

With me taking a stroll along the towpath Carolyn takes over the helm on Inca.

We are still looking for a possible Winter mooring and decided to stop outside Mercia marina at Willington and go in and have a look around . We went in to the office and were told that they only gave accompanied tours of the marina and if we could wait ten minutes they would organise someone to show us around.The guy that showed us around lived at the marina and was very good and he went in to great detail about the way the marina operated . This now is number 1 on Carolyn's list and we have put our name down for a mooring, but we have to wait until September to see if they can fit us in. Although we still do have a couple of marinas to visit on our way down the river Trent this one looks to be favourite.

After a night outside Mercia marina we pulled pins at 07.40 and started our cruise towards Shardlow and The river Trent . Nearly at Shardlow and we were lucky to bump in to friends Stewart and Fran on NB The Boat . It’s been nearly 18 months since we last saw them so we had a bit of catching up to do . This is also the first time we have seen their new Dog which is called Guy and what a great looking Dog he is. We thought it was a brilliant name as Stewart and Frans surname is Martin.

Eventually we reached the top lock at Shardlow and after passing through the village we would be on the river Trent.

After an enjoyable cruise through the village we arrived at Derwent Mouth Lock . This is the beginning and the end of The Trent and Mersey canal depending on which way you are heading and is where we will drop down onto The river Trent. As we were about to drop down the lock Carolyn spotted some more ripe Damsons so we ended up picking enough for a couple of more jars of jam before we dropped down the lock.

Here we go again and I am in my element back on a river and this time the river Trent.

Unfortunately it was only a short cruise on the river to our mooring at Sawley with the massive power station in front of us . There is another marina here which we want to have a look around but  that will have to wait until tomorrow as the Sun is now well over the Yardarm and you know what that means … Cheers !
                                                                                                        Happy Days