A Silver Propellor Point and another excursion on the Fast Flowing Trent

We've now been all the way up the Erewash to Langley Mill to claim our silver propellor point and are making our way west on the Trent and Mersey.  To bring you up to date we need to go back to Sandiacre where we were waiting for our friend Steve last Thursday.

Here we can see two lockies sitting down on the job! Left is Steve helping us up 6 of the heavy and stiff locks on the Erewash. On the right is Helen. This is at Hallam Fields Lock. We had lunch after 3 locks and then carried on to moor close to the centre of Ilkeston. Steve brought scones, jam and clotted cream and Helen had also bought jam and clotted cream made scones onboard that morning. So we have been over-indulging on scones for the last few days.

Having stuffed ourselves on scones, cream and jam we thought we ought to walk some of it off and so went for a walk up the other side of the Erewash valley where we came across the disused Nottingham Canal shown here. The Erewash and the Nottingham Canals ran on either side of the valley and met at Langley Mill.

Having said goodbye to Steve on Thursday evening we thought on Friday we ought to have a look at Ilkeston before setting off to the end of the canal. Much of the centre is pedestrianised and we admired the town hall which sits in a square opposite the church. Crowds filled the square (socially distanced) and we were told that a well loved 49 year old lady was being buried that day.

Without anyone to help we pressed on up the last 5 locks to Langley Mill. The little brick building in the centre of the picture is the toll house for the Nottingham Canal and the cruiser on the right is at the entrance to it where there is a short arm now used for moorings. Getting here gives us another Silver Propellor point. The Inland Waterways Association (IWA) introduced this scheme to encourage boaters to visit waterways that see few visitors. Score 20 points and you gain an award. We are now up to 16.

Beyond our mooring at Langley Mill there is a large basin full of private moorings and beyond that the Cromford Canal used to go to Cromford in the Derbyshire Peaks. The picture shows the first section and there are proposals to take the canal on from here, including the crossing of the major road - the A610.

We had a good walk following the remains of the Cromford Canal and on up the valley of the Erewash. A nature reserve had hosts of cowslips shown here.

From Langley Mill, which is close to several shops including Lidl and Asda, the only way was back the way we'd come. So on Saturday we set off down 8 locks to moor on playing fields to the south of Ilkeston. These lovely tree roots had crept out well into the canal.

There are often bridges below the locks on the Erewash. This picture is taken as we came out of Stanton Lock. For reasons that we don't understand if you come out of the right hand lock gate the boat will not clear the arch of the bridge on the side away from the towpath so we opened the other gate. In times gone by a motor and butty would commonly drive into a lock side by side. That manoeuvre wouldn't work here.  Very strange. Yes, you can get two narrowboats into the locks but they have to enter one by one.

Coming through Sandiacre the canal passes two old lace mills which still have their chimneys.

We moored on Sunday back above Trent Lock at the southern end of the Erewash Canal. Rather late in the afternoon we decided to go for a walk and followed the towpath along the River Trent to Sawley and then took a footpath across farmland to come back. Dark grey clouds had been threatening for some time and, as we left Sawley, the rain started. After sheltering for a while under a railway bridge it slacked off and we carried on a short way to a farm where the heavens really opened. A handy group of barns gave us shelter for nearly half an hour while the rain drummed down as shown in this picture taken from the doorway.

We sheltered in the left hand barn. You can see the rain pouring off the roof. Fortunately the rain stopped and we managed to get back to Leo relatively dry.

On Monday 17 May we set off down Trent Lock and onto to the River Trent. Ratcliffe Power Station seen ahead is on the River Soar which joins the Trent just downstream. With the heavy rain showers that we've had lately we were concerned that the river might be flowing rather fast. The water level marker here was only just on green but meant we were safe to proceed.

Turning right onto the Trent against the flow, Leo managed quite well and we pressed on upstream. The noise of wing beats behind us made us turn round to watch these three swans fly close overhead.

After a mile pushing against the current the railway bridge at Sawley came into view and just beyond on the left side are Sawley Locks. The right hand lock was in use and Helen worked us through. Not too hard this one: it is electric. Above the lock is a long cut with plenty of moored boats and Sawley Marina.

At the end of Sawley Cut is a flood lock. Normally this is wide open and you just cruise through. It had been open the previous evening when we walked to Sawley but today (probably because the river is higher after the previous evenings deluge) it was closed and we had to operate it like an ordinary lock. Above the flood lock is another level marker shown in the photo. As you can see the level was now orange which means 'proceed with caution'. Red would have meant 'stay where you are'. So we carried on up the river.

After keeping left to avoid the top of Sawley Weir we went under the M1 bridge.

This gives a good idea of the size of the Trent here. It is wide and fast flowing. Soon after this pipe bridge there is a cross roads of waterways with the Trent coming in from the left, the River Derwent from the right and straight on is the safe refuge of the Trent and Mersey Canal.

As we headed for the canal, the strong flows from the Trent and Derwent pushed the boat first right and then left but soon we were off the fast flowing river onto a short cut leading to the canal and its first lock.

Having come up Derwent Mouth Lock we soon came into the village of Shardlow. Another really heavy shower caught us here so we moored for a coffee break. When the sky cleared a bit, we went up Shardlow lock with the wisteria on the pretty lock cottage in full bloom and carried on to moor above the next lock at Aston on Trent.

A short and unusually dry walk led us into Aston village which we have not visited before. It has some fine old buildings and a wonderful village shop which sells everything you might need including plants.

We walked a more circuitous route back to Leo passing Weston Grange shown here. We've often seen this from the canal but being on foot, we had more time to stand and compose the photo properly.

Today we've come up another 3 of the very large Trent and Mersey Locks and are now moored above Stenson Lock which is twelve foot four inches deep and the last of the wide (14 foot) locks on this canal. From here on we are in the realm only of narrowboats. But more about that next time.