Freedom of the Cut 2019 - 17.

Onwards to Shardlow

Wednesday 14^th August

The rain just got more intense as the morning wore on, so it looked like a ‘stay where you are’ kind if day. Reckon the short River Trent section will be in flood today with all this rain anyway, even if I did want to return to Fradley.

The dirty clothes were piling up again, so time to do some more washing which will keep me occupied for a couple of hours. I am not bothered about drying it outside, because of limited space, so it stays on hangers inside for usually two days in the bathroom out of the way.

I had decided to eat out for a change tonight and walked to The Dragon. Surprise – there was only one large table free, because I had not booked. Although booking is advised, I though it unnecessary on a Wednesday as there were so many tables, but they were all full, which is of course a very good advert for any restaurant. So, there I was, feeling somewhat guilty at having so large a table to myself, that another guy with a pint of Coke was looking around for somewhere to sit and I asked him if he wanted to share the space, which he did. Not so surprisingly, he was also a boater and came from Lancashire, but trying to make conversation was like getting blood out of a stone – he was so dour, although I did get a laugh out of him before he left.

I am very prone to mussels when they are on the menu and they were too, in a Massaman curry sauce with folded light pancakes on the side. It was a large portion and enjoyable to the last, before I chose a white chocolate cheesecake with mango and passion fruit – pure indulgence to say the least and I was bloated. It is a long time since I have eaten so well. The full menu is worth drooling over and is here.

Thursday 15^th August

The day was chilly off to a start, but the rain had cleared at last, so time to move on. As usual, I did an engine check, only to discover that the header tank was almost empty, which after having new core plugs fitted and the system sealed, was most unusual. Searching further, I discovered a split Bowman rubber connection at the stern end of the engine, where it connected with the skin tank – not good news, as this is a restored 1970’s BMC engine of the type fitted to London Black Cabs and I could foresee it being difficult to source a replacement part.

Mercia Marina was about half a mile further on, so with the tank topped up, that was the next port of call. When I was through the entrance, there was no indication where anything was, so I moored up on a wooden jetty close to the shops and found the reception office. They advised me to try Midland Swindlers or the workshops of Streethay Wharf, which has a yard on site here as well as the one at Streethay. I found Midland and asked for a spare part, not expecting them to have any at all in stock, but to my surprise they did stock several different sizes, which I never realised how many there were. After returning to Stronghold and measuring and getting the serial number of the split one, I returned to find that they actually had one on the shelf, so I took it back and fitted it within the hour - job done. Sometimes things just fall into place, but this surpassed my dreams of almost instant success.

Well perished after 18 yrs!

The new Bowman connection in place.

To celebrate, I had a pint in the marina bar, but what shops were here on site were either cafes or gift related, which is not my scene at all. As there was a tap close to the mooring, I took advantage and filled the tank. I would not be at all surprised if I could have moored here for the night and no one would have commented.

Mercia Marina - more shops than boat services.

I exited the marina and cruised as far as the top of Stenson Lock, which is double width to take the barges originally to and from Burton from the River Trent. It is also very deep at 12’6”. If I am going to tackle that, it will be with another boat or volunteer only. There was one mooring space left here, so I got in quickly before someone else took it.

Friday 16^th August

Yet another wet day! This must be one of the worst summers for some years. I can probably count the really hot sunny days on fingers of one hand this year. Looking at the forecast however, the next week or two appear to be sunny spells every day in this area.

After a leisurely breakfast, it was time to write up this blog and I had a few days to catch up on. I also had considerable e-mails to read and reply to as well, which all consumed most of my day. While the rain continued to pelt down non-stop. I think there were only four or five boats that went through Stenson Lock all day, so the volunteer must have had a boring time of it.

12ft 6ins to the bottom.

A pint in The Bubble Inn was enjoyed later before the meal on board.

Saturday 17^th August

Another chilly start to the day, but it gradually warmed up as the morning progressed. I had a chat with a new boater behind me to see if he was going through Stenson Lock, but not so. I had been waiting around for another boat to either come down or up for forty minutes by now and decided that I was going to have to do it on my own. However, there was a bridge below the tail of the lock and although I could pull the boat through on a line as far as that and then let go, there was the bywash outlet to contend with at the bottom on the towpath side which would push the boat away from me and into the trees. I could not win without some help, so walked back to ask help from the previous guy on the moored boat. We walked back to the lock and then lo and behold another two boats appeared behind me and one at the bottom waiting to come up - just like London buses, nothing for hours then they all turn up at once!

Not the sort of cill to catch the boat on!

I was now on my way with nb Lock and Roll and we did the next three locks together. They were on their way back to Nottingham, so had to go on The Trent after Shardlow, but the river was in flood and Cranfield Stop Lock was closed, which meant that Shardlow moorings would be solid with boats waiting to go on the river. They decided to stop above Aston Lock until it was clear, so I followed suit and moored up astern of them and had a chat later, before walking down to the lock. I had been on the lookout since the beginning of the month for ripe blackberries and here they were, not very big but back along the towpath there were a few really large ones that I ate there and then. These I will cook up with the Granny Smith apples that have been waiting for a few days on the galley shelf.

Sunday 18^th August

Another dry day with sunny spells and another rest day. No news on the River Trent in flood, so Lock and Roll is staying put, but may have to move tomorrow as they, like me are running out of food. It would seem that there are no food shops in Shardlow. I decided that I would try out The Malt Inn at Aston, which was ¾ mile from the lock and I was surprised how busy it was, but then a several pubs are on Sundays. Tribute was on, which is one of my favourites. An interesting feature of this pub is that they have a Barter Board, with a few fruits and veg on and if you donate any of these to the kitchen, then they are worth a pudding or a free pint in exchange – unique I would think, but an excellent idea as growers often have a surplus at this time of year.

Terry, from Lock and Roll came up later to explain that they were not going to move tomorrow, as the Trent was still in flood.

I had a BBQ this evening, as I was well away from any other boat and the present charcoal smokes considerably on starting up. That is the last of my food stock, so it maybe a case of dining out later.

Monday 19^th August

Terry was kind enough to see me through Aston Lock and it was only my a short distance to Shardlow, where I expected difficulty finding a mooring, but that was not the case and I got one just below the lock and opposite a boatyard. There were several boats tied up here waiting for the river to subside. I had only been here an hour and heard a shout outside – it was Mark and Maggie Young on nb Forever Young. I grabbed a windlass and walked up to help them through the lock, catching up on their travels in the meantime.

On getting back to Stronghold it was time to do an oil and filter change, which was a few hours overdue – a messy business as the plastic milk bottle I used on the end of the oil pipe to catch any residue had split and was leaking oil. Lesson learned - not to use those in future. 

This barge can only go as far as Burton.

Being out of food now, I had to eat out somewhere, but finding a suitable place was not easy as most of them had inconsistent reviews on TripAdvisor. There was supposed to be a Thai Kitchen at 3 Wilne Lane, but when I got there it was a boarded up old house, so I went in The Navigation to see if they did food, as there was nothing published recently, although they did have a working kitchen some time ago, but the answer was no. I asked a couple in the garden and he recommended Smithys Marina Bar at Shardlow Marina, where he knew they did food, so I chanced it. It would not be a place I would naturally have gone for food, but they did a reasonable blackboard menu and I chose deep fried squid with a chilli and garlic salad, which was very tasty and served within a few minutes. The beers were Smithys Pale Ale and Doombar, which were priced at £2.70 as it was Happy Hour, so I did well in the end.

Just done a bit of shopping!

Shardlow is a very well preserved inland port, used for transhipping freight from the widebeam barges that came up The Trent from the docks, to narrowboats and onward to the rest of the country. The town has about 50 buildings dating from 1770 when Brindley developed the area, similar to his only other inland port at Stourport-on-Severn. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shardlow#Transport_hub

Restored crane for loading at the brewery bottling warehouse.

The warehouse behind the crane.