Southwards for a bit

Friday, 23 July 2010 09:00

Having reached the head of navigation it was time to return to the Pocklington Canal

We turned around immediately south of Stamford Bridge - it was a tight fit and there is not an obvious winding hole. We had checked with Rob the Lockie to see if there was room for us to wind, as we did not want to have to reverse all the way down to Sutton Lock! The wind and current made life difficult, but we made it. It was a glorious day and I was able to take photos with lovely skies!

Railway viaduct - no longer in use as a railway

We were travelling downstream and there was quite a wind, so it was a little harder to negotiate some of the obstacles - I looked back and this is what I saw

Where has he gone?

As I was sitting in the bows I noticed that we had a stowaway. I am not a fan of stowaways (we have a few large pet spiders!) and definitely not ones like this, so I had a scream to myself and warily watched as he crawled around our anchor chain bucket.

He eventually drove me below and I watched him jump out and disappear. John went on a frog hunt later but found no trace. He must have jumped into the river from our bow drains! I had to show John the photos to prove that the frog ever existed!

We arrived at Sutton Lock with time to spare so had lunch before Rob arrived to lock us through.

We left, avoiding the sandbar at the end of the bottom of the lock cut. It was goodbye to Rob, as his colleague Martin would be on duty on Barmby Barrage when we rejoin the tidal Ouse (Oh dear, I had forgotten we had that to come!).

The River Derwent stretched invitingly before us, but we knew that we had more trees and bushes to come.

This time I managed to get a photo of the Ferry Boat Inn - the hidden pub - as we passed by. It looks rather attractive above the river. One of the boaters was on his boat and looked a little worried as John lined up for the final narrow bit before the junction with the Pocklington Canal!

We had rung ahead to warn the dredging team that we were wanting access to the canal. There was a silt barrier in place whilst they were dredging to prevent silt from entering the River Derwent. This had to be lowered so we could pass over it. But first we had to turn to enter from downstream and there was no "official" winding hole.

The dredger was silent and we were awaited by Ian, who had to come and help me pull Epiphany's bow around as John turned her - we might still be there if he had not added his strength! A 57 foot narrowboat is an unusual sight on the River Derwent and certainly on the Pocklington Canal.

It is sad that the waterways in this area of the country are less well used - boaters are missing some really special cruising, despite the cruisers (aka American Flying Boats that really should be at sea and stay moored for most of the year!). Narrowboats like ours - an all year round cruising home - attract some comments and questions!

An almost hidden sign welcomed us to the Pocklington Canal and we began one of the loveliest cruises we have had for ages.

to be continued.......