Cruising a Roman Canal to Lincoln

Since our last post we have come back down the Chesterfield Canal to West Stockwith, had another foray on the tidal River Trent and, turning off at Torksey, have followed the Fossdyke to Lincoln.

On Saturday we came back down the final couple of locks through Misterton to West Stockwith where we had to wait until 17.00 to catch the tide upriver to Torksey.

Here is soft cuddly Leo looking longingly out of the window waiting for the time to depart.

 Here you can see Leo and another boat called Rhoda Ellen waiting in the lock at West Stockwith for the tide to turn (or flood) to push us both to Torksey.

The high piling behind Ian is just upstream of the lock we've just left.  You can just make out another narrowboat waiting below the piling for its turn to come into the lock.  At this point we are travelling about 8 mph with the tide behind us, though we did slow down later.

Here we are coming into Gainsborough which we had earlier visited by bus from West Stockwith.  Rhoda Ellen is ahead of us.

The river flows fast through Gainsborough as it is narrower and especially through the bridge known as 'Gainsborough Arches'.

We passed two power stations coming up the 15 miles of river.  This is West Burton that we had seen from several points on the Chesterfield Canal.

Torksey railway viaduct is disused but acts as a navigation mark so that we knew now that we were getting close to our turn.

This is Torksey Castle a fine Elizabethan building but sadly now a ruin.

Here is the same castle taken later from the landward side.  Unfortunately it is on private land and you can't get close to it.  In fact it is difficult to see from the land at all.

















Below is the view from Torksey Lock looking out towards the River Trent.  Torksey is much easier to navigate than Keadby or West Stockwith as there is a long cut from the river before you get to the lock.  You can make out the floating pontoons either side of the cut below the lock.  We spent the night on Leo on the right hand side, going up and down with the tide.

Having left West Stockwith after five pm, we finished up in the pub in the village of Torksey as it was getting dark - a long but successful day.

On Sunday we came up the lock and cruised just a few miles to Saxilby, an interesting and useful large village with the Fossdyke running through it.  Saxilby reminded us of Upwell and Outwell on the Middle Levels.  There was even the same agricultural feel as huge tractors charged along the road next to the waterway.

Unfortunately as we were coming into the lock the heavens opened.  The lock was originally of a normal size but has been extended to 175 feet long, so plenty of room for little Leo.

We were impressed with the topiary above the lock. This is made of box hedging.

The Fossdyke was originally dug in AD 120 by the Romans to link the River Trent with the River Witham at Lincoln.  It has been improved and straightened since.  At first leaving Torksey there are high flood banks making it difficult to see the view, but the banks get lower further on.






From Saxilby, a land of bungalows but also some interesting older buildings, we have come another six miles this morning to Lincoln.

Look very closely at the greenery along the canal in this picture.  You should be able to see two towers.  These are on Lincoln Cathedral and this was our first sight of the city.

The Fossdyke ends in Lincoln in a substantial lake called Brayford Pool where the River Witham joins it.  Once this was an inland port but today it is a tourist hot spot with boat trips, cafes and pubs.  The pub to the right of the Odeon is the only building by the water which was built before 1945. The Cathedral dominates the city.

This is the view from the East end of Brayford Pool.  We are moored just outside the Pool on some good visitor moorings.

The River Witham is very narrow as it flows out of the Pool and goes through the 'Glory Hole' under the black and white timbered building you can see here.  The medieval bridge has shops and cafes dating back to 1540.

After we'd explored the waterways on foot, we climbed the steep hill to the Cathedral and Castle.  This road is actually called Steep Hill and is very well named.  The narrow streets near the top of the hill are almost empty of cars and are a delight.

I liked this door with the unusual cat hole.  Obviously a very well behaved cat lives here! Or is it a small devil?

We decided to visit the Castle and defer the Cathedral until tomorrow. Inside the curtain wall of the Castle is a Victorian prison and a Georgian Courthouse.  This odd picture is the prison chapel.  Each inmate is separated from his fellow criminals, but can see the preacher on his high pulpit.

We walked round the Castle walls and took this picture of the Cathedral.  The West Front is quite striking.

Coming back down to the water we passed this house.  It really is as wonky as it looks.  I've not edited this picture in any way to exaggerate the way it leans over.











We are very impressed with what we have seen of Lincoln so far.  We plan to spend another day looking round Lincoln together tomorrow.  Ian is then leaving Helen to look after Leo while he disappears to Snowdonia for a challenging and competitive weekend of mountain walking.  However Lucy and Becca are visiting during the weekend to keep Helen company.

Once we have had our fill of Lincoln we will be heading out down the River Witham towards Boston.