However we are now two days further on!

So I have to catch up with ourselves -

We were woken very early (6.50am) by the tanker Humber Pride. I could feel it coming from a long way away as Epiphany reacted to the water movement it was creating. Fortunately the tanker was going very slowly as the lift bridge was ahead.

We still took our time setting off and, despite the forecast, the weather stayed dry for the whole day. Our first destination was Doncaster, as I had a prescription to pick up and we wanted to have a look at the city. We only had one lock to do: Long Sandhill Lock.

We passed Strawberry Island Boat Club and all it's moorings. There was a real mixture of boats - cruisers, dutch barges, narrowboats and everything in between!

Doncaster College and the Minster were soon ahead.

The Minster overlooks the "waterfront". This consists of permanent pontoon moorings and a very small section of 72H visitor moorings (the sign warns boaters they should be prepared to breast up, and if anyone uses one of the permit moorings' pontoons without BW permission, there will be a charge of £10 per night). We only just squeezed in across the corner.

The Minster dominated the skyline above the mooring pontoons

We left Epiphany after lunch and walked into the city centre. Apart from the Minster (dedicated to St George) there are a few old building remaining, but I was not overly impressed with the centre.

A couple of malls and an extensive market would perhaps satisfy the shopaholic but Ray and I ended up in M and S for a coffee and cake. John joined us after having his hair cut for £3 (beat that!). So now you will not recognise him .....

We  had a wander around Doncaster Minster. This, originally the Parish Church of St George, is built where a church has stood for over 8 centuries; it was granted Minster status as recently as 2004. The Medieval Church was destroyed by fire in 1853; it was rebuilt by the Victorian architect Gilbert Scott. Although it is undergoing extensive renovation, it was still worth a visit.

There are some glorious windows, a Cornish serpentine stone font, one of the largest pulpits I have ever seen and a tower of 169 feet. There are more photos of the Minster and Doncaster in our album - clickety click

Returning to Epiphany, we decided to move on to, Sprotbrough as the moorings there are much nicer and we had heard that there was a good pub there too! We went through Doncaster Town Lock with a very small cruiser. There are so many bridges across the River at Doncaster, it is hard to say which was which!

Sprotbrough Lock leads to a lovely section of the river and also a really nice mooring. We found room at the end opposite The Boat pub. We had a very good meal at The Boat and polished off a large jug of Pimms between the three of us!

What should be moored opposite us when we came out, but Humber Pride, due to leave and go down the lock at 5.30am the following morning. Hmm.... would we be rocked awake again?

South Yorkshire Navigations, Dun Navigation and River Don, Barnby Dun to Sprotbrough

2 hours 43 minutes, 8.21 miles, 3 locks 

New Junction Canal is wide and straight

It could be boring, but we were on and off Epiphany to do bridges and lock. It's five and a half miles cuts through countryside with little habitation within reach. Built in 1905, at a cost of £300,000, it is the newest commercial canal on the system.

Our first encounter went without a hitch - sorry, that was a bad pun! We crossed the River Went on an aqueduct.

Our first "obstacle" was Sykehouse Road Lift Bridge. I went to open it - as two narrowboats approached from the other side.

Cheekily, they came thorough first, once the bridge was open enough, so we and the cruiser behind us had to wait.

Then it was Kirk Lane Swing Bridge, followed by Sykehouse Lock. This lock has a swing bridge over it which has to be opened before working the lock. John and Ray did Kirk Lane and then walked on to the lock. I was in charge of Epiphany - the first time for what seems ages!

The large barge Sobriety (last encountered at Naburn Locks) was in the lock ahead of us. Once they were clear, John took over - and I eventually arrived in the lock.

Another lift bridge was next - Kirkhouse Green  - and by this time I was training Ray how to use the electric controls.

We could see our destination ahead - in fact, we could see it from the Went Aqueduct. The "pots" of Barnby Dun are no longer in use - Thorpe Marsh Power Station was closed in the mid 1990s.

Top Lane Lift Bridge and Low Lane Swing Bridge are followed by an impressive aqueduct with guillotine gates. This carries the New Junction Canal over the River Don and the gates are to prevent the flooding River Don overflowing into the canal, thus flooding the land either side.

We passed the junction with the South Yorkshire Navigations - to Keadby and thence to the River Trent - a trip for us in a few weeks time. So now we were on our third navigation of the day! This is the Don Navigation, part of the Sheffield and South Yorkshire Navigation.

We moored at Barnby Dun, just before the lift bridge, and after a cuppa we wandered into the village to the post office, finding the excellent farm shop on the way. 

Southfield Junction, New Junction Canal to Barnby Dun, River Dun Navigation

2 hr 19 mins, 6.36 miles, 1 lock

The last bit of the Knottingley and Goole Navigation for us

We decided not to go down to Goole (next time!) and eventually set off from Whitley Lock after 11am. We wanted to fill up with water first and had to wait for another narrowboat to finish.

It was sunny and warm, but the sun soon disappeared and rain threatened.

Barge passing our mooring

Pollington Lock is an interesting lock. It is one of the largest locks on the system and the original lock was built in 1825. It has been extended a number of times and had four sets of lock gates. These can be used in varying combinations to accommodate vessels of varying lengths. Come with us through the lock ....

Beyond Pollington Lock there is an old swing bridge - it is left open

This swan likes the remains of Old Yankee Tip Bridge

Approaching Southfield Junction, a couple of narrowboats came out from the New Junction Canal. This is where we turned off the Aire and Calder Navigation (Knottingley and Goole Navigation)  and cruised the very straight canal.

To be continued ... 

Whitley Lock Moorings to Southfield Junction

1hr 18 mins, 5.72 miles, 1 lock