So on we go ....

Thursday, 26 August 2010 19:45

Time to move from Newark and explore further up the River Trent

We were accompanied through Newark Town Lock by the barge Shark which we left well behind on our journey towards Hazelford Lock.

In Newark Town Lock

Passing the restored warehouses above the Lock and through Mill Bridge, we left the town behind. Longstone Bridge, where the river flows down to Town Lock weir, is Grade ll listed and replaced an earlier timber frame one.

Newark Egg Packers warehouse

Longstone Bridge

Newark Marina sits at the confluence of the River Trent and the River Devon (pronounced Deevon). The weed in the marina may be testament to the number of boat movements in and out of the moorings!

Entrance to River Devon

Most, if not all, the boats in there were GRP cruisers. I did not did not spot a narrowboat or barge at all!

Newark Marina and cruisers

The next real point of interest is the very large (give it a wide berth) Averham Weir and the huge gas powered Staythorpe Power Station that sits like a modern giant gleaming in the sunshine beyond it.

Averham Weir

Staythorpe Power Station

The power of water, contrasted with the generation of electricity from another finite fuel, begs the question - will we go back to "old fashioned" methods of producing power when all the fuel runs out? Most of our gas is imported - why not use what we have - water and wind?

Here are two more contrasting pictures: a cormorant on a pole and a wading angler in the very wide river.

We gradually ticked off the miles against the flow, passing Farndon Marina, Farndon visitor moorings (shared with moorings for Newark Crusader trip boat owned by St John Ambulance ), Fiskerton and the Bromley Arms (a short visitor mooring here).

Farndon Marina

Farndon visitor moorings

Bromley Arms and visitor mooring

We were glad to see Hazelford Lock ahead - it was ready for us as once again we had rung ahead to warn the Lock Keeper. There are visitor moorings below the lock - the lower part of them are more suitable for narrowboaters who cannot climb ladders or who have a dog aboard!

Hazelford Lock

We filled up with water above the lock, in the lock reach, which has 48H moorings. We decided that the visitor moorings just beyond the lock reach were more pleasant. It was a climb up onto the towpath, so I refrained from exploring!

River Trent, Newark to Hazelford Lock

2 hours 36 minutes, 8.47 miles, 2 locks