Cromwell

With only one lock and just over one and a half hours cruising to do we left Newark at midmorning and had a leisurely trip in the gorgeous Autumn sun. There's nothing better than a wide flowing river on a day like this.

Followed closely by Dave and Carmel on their boat Dragon which is also their home.

We were lucky not to get hit by this low flying Swan. Anyway if it had hit us we would never have got it in the oven.

Arriving at Cromwell lock we booked in for our passage which was to be the following morning at 09.00.We need to be there at that time so that when we get down the river to Torksey the incoming tide should be high enough for us to get in to the lock. 

Cromwell is a large navigation lock on the River Trent in Nottinghamshire, England. The first lock to be built on the site was constructed by the Trent Navigation Company, having been authorised by an Act of Parliament obtained in 1906. Construction began in late 1908, as soon as the Company had raised sufficient capital. The lock was extended in 1935, when an extra pair of gates were added downstream of the main lock, effectively forming a second lock.The lock was further improved in 1960, when the two locks were made into one, capable of holding eight standard Trent barges.

The site is defined by the Ordnance Survey as the nearest tidal location to Coton in the Elms in Derbyshire, which is the furthest point from the sea in Great Britain, 72 kilometres (45 mi) away.

To round the day off Me and Dave decided to do a bit of night Barbel fishing . We had watched the guy on the boat next to us catch a 9lb one and thought we would have a go. Unfortunately we didn't catch one although Dave did catch a very good size Bream which wriggled back in to the water before I had time to take a picture ,honestly that's what happened.

                                                                                         Happy Days