To the navigable end of the Chesterfield Canal

We have now been to the very end and as far as Leo can travel on this canal.  A little beyond that point there is a tunnel which is presently closed as it collapsed in 1907.  So here is the story of how we reached the end:

At the last update we had reached the Forest Locks and on Wednesday (5th June) we set off towards Worksop.  This picture shows us going past the Chequers Inn at Ranby.  We met another boater the day before who, when asked where he was going, replied "I'm just off to the Ranby Bends".  And bends there were in plenty.  Most were no problem but a moment's lack of concentration and shallow water took us into the reeds just beyond this pub.

We managed to extricate Leo from the reeds and soon crossed under the A1

We moored near Osberton and Ian dived down the weed hatch and brought up this little lot.  There is a lot of weed on the Chesterfield Canal.

We had a walk and took this photo across the field of Osberton Hall which is right by the canal but not that easy to get close to.  We think the octagonal building to the right is or was a dovecot.

The church at Osberton has an odd claim to possible fame.  Either side of the arch over the doorway is an owl (right) and a pussy cat (left).  There is some evidence that Edward Lear had friends in common with the owners of Osberton Hall and may have visited.  Perhaps this led to the "The Owl and the Pussy Cat went to sea in a beautiful pea green boat ......"

There is an attractive bridge and ford at Osberton over the River Ryton.

Coming into Worksop we passed a building which used to house a pumping engine to pump away the town's sewage.  It is no longer used but it is an attractive Victorian building.

Here is Leo coming into Worksop and passing the huge Albion Flour Mill.

And we passed under the Straddle Warehouse.  You can just make out Worksop Town Lock the other side.

More locks followed as we came out of the town and this is taken just at the bottom of the Shireoaks three locks which took us up to Shireoaks where we moored for the night. 

At Shireoaks there is a marina and moored there is this boat - Dawn Rose.  She is a new timber narrowboat replica of a 'Cuckoo Boat' and was entirely hand built over a period of four years by members of the Chesterfield Canal Trust. They were working boats which used to shift goods, mainly coal and stone, on this canal and out onto the River Trent.  She has no engine as these boats were either hauled by horse or men and on the Trent sailed - hence the mast.

After cleaning off the last of the glue from the old solar panel, we went for a walk passing Shireoaks Hall seen here.  It clearly needs some TLC.

It is not recommended to moor overnight in Worksop so we visited the town by train - only one stop from Shireoaks.  We visited Mr Straw's House now owned by the National Trust and seen above. It is the right hand half of the semi but the NT also have the left hand house to use as a visitor reception and to display more information. The house dates from 1905 but was bought by local grocers, the Straws, in 1923 and thoroughly redecorated then.  Since 1923 virtually nothing was done to the house so it remains as a property effectively frozen at that moment in time and is fascinating.

Here the guest bedroom was decorated with the latest wallpaper and even starry ceiling paper but later on provided space to store some of the family's many documents.

And this was described as the Lumber Room featuring the tin hat used by one of the Straw brothers for fire warden duties in the Second World War.  Also here were jars of preserved fruit from their garden dating from the 1930s.

Though it did come on to rain, we managed a look round the town and an all-day breakfast in a cafe.  We also visited the Priory Church which has this fine Norman doorway and door.

Returning to Shireoaks on the train we did a bit of exploring on foot over the land here that used to be a coal mine and is now being taken over by nature after some restoration.  Walking along a main road past a new housing development we came across this bee orchid in the rough land by the road.

On Saturday we decided to go up the final 23 locks from Shireoaks to the summit level of this canal.  Here we are passing through Shireoaks in the half mile up to the first lock.

There are a lot of locks but they are narrow and relatively easy with the rise in each being modest (perhaps averaging 5 feet).  There are two double staircases and two treble staircases so endless amusement!  In this photo we are coming to Cinderhill Lock.

And here we are coming past some attractive cottages at Turnerwood before going into the first of the double staircases.

Here Leo is in the bottom lock of the pair.

We stopped in Brown's Lock for a well earned cuppa.  The weather was not kind to us, indeed we had stopped earlier in a lock and retreated indoors while the rain came down in torrents.  All this sitting in locks for a break is no problem on this little frequented canal.

The lock flight finishes with a flourish.  The final three locks form a staircase.  For those less knowledgeable about canals this is where the top gate of one lock is the bottom gate of the next one.  So a treble staircase has not 6 gates but only 4.  Helen is standing by the top lock of the three.  By the time we arrived at the top it was raining pretty hard so we decided to call it a day and moored for the night just above the top lock.

On Sunday morning we carried on for the last couple of miles to the end of the current navigation.  It is very leafy and sometimes too shallow.  We had trouble getting round one bend and had to resort to the pole to push the bow round.

This is the last bridge, called Dog Kennel Bridge.  The canal is very narrow here but the chances of meeting someone coming the other way are pretty small.

Here we are turning in the last winding hole.  It is called the Cascade Winding Hole for a reason.  This location scores us another Silver Propellor point and points mean prizes but only when we have scored 20 of them.  Our tally at the moment is 7.

And here we are moored facing back down the canal on a visitor mooring close to the winding hole.  Beyond the winding hole there are a few hundred yards of canal before the bricked up portal of the Norwood Tunnel which remains collapsed and not navigable.

As I type this we have in fact come back down the 23 locks, but on Sunday we cycled the remainder of the canal to Chesterfield which used to be the terminus.  But more about this in our next update which might be quite soon if the present heavy rain does not ease off.  Our way onward lies back down the Chesterfield Canal to West Stockwith and then out on the mighty Trent once more.  If the rain swells the Trent we might wait a few days for the flood water to subside first.