Sunday 15th May 2022

Dad & Chantelle left us with big smiles on our faces, a day in our hearts we will always cherish, the weather, the cruise and the pub, played their part but it was the intimacy of the day that made it extra special.😊.

We had moored in Nottingham before but as a supporter of a rival football team, it’s not a place we would naturally be drawn too ☹. Putting this aside we thought we would make the most of our short time here before continuing down the River Trent, and explore 🙄.

Nottingham has more caves than any other city in Britain, they are all man made and in the past they have been used as stables, tanneries, beer storage and even homes.  Steph took the cave tour as part of her visit to Nottingham Castle, which consisted of 3 caves, including a wine cellar and kitchen.

The walls we are walking round here once guarded Nottingham Castle, which was one of the greatest and strongest castles in England.

Steph enjoyed the castle but it wasn’t quite what she expected as it is now all exhibitions inside. 

Dogs are not allowed inside the buildings of the castle but we were in luck as they were holding The Robin Hood Pageant in the grounds. Robin Hood and his Merry Men take on the Sheriff of Nottingham and his evil henchmen. As we strolled around the medieval village, we were entertained by minstrels, street performers and actors demonstrating cooking, needlework and metalworking to name but a few.

We loved seeing King John and all the other characters outside doing the re-enactments, talking to the visitors and the mock battles - all very interesting and bringing the past to life.

All this historical research made us very thirsty, so after the castle we visited Ye Olde Trip to Jerusalem, England’s oldest inn, built into the stone caves beneath the castle.  It is said that Richard the Lionheart and his men may have gathered here before journeying to Jerusalem in 1189AD.  It’s a really unusual little pub, with several little cosy nooks and crannies - and a very good pint to be had.

Our thirst was not fully quenched so we pursued another historic monument, The Canalhouse. Two narrowboats actually inside the pub!  It was originally a warehouse before being damaged by an explosion of gunpowder in 1819!  It was redeveloped in the 1890s and with its own internal canal basin , is one of Nottingham’s best examples of canal architecture 😊.

17th May 2022

Nottingham to Gunthorpe Lock (11 miles 4 Locks and 3.5 hours cruising)

Another sunny day, which makes river cruising so enjoyable, even the locks are manned by lockkeepers and we have both dogs for the cruise today 😊. We stocked up with food and essentials before setting off and soon came across some young people painting and planting flower boxes up. They waved and smiled as we cruised past and seemed to take pride in what they were doing.

How marvellous it is to see youngsters making a difference as sometimes city canals can be a dumping ground for things you would rather not see. Spirits lifted (if they needed to be) we soon approached Poplar Arms Corner, once a junction but today a sharp bend dwarfed by new building developments.

We had to wait for another boat coming through the lock off the river,  interesting experience as the lock landings on both sides were occupied by moored boats. Once through the lock you have a choice of turning left or right, the latter is a short cruise past Trent Bridge cricket ground (a place Paul has spent many a happy day) and under Trent Bridge.

Trent Bridge:- The first bridge is thought to have been constructed on the site in 920, followed by a second bridge which was started in 1156. This had more than 20 stone arches and a chapel dedicated to St. James.  Half the bridge was washed away in 1683 and despite further repairs, the foundations had become unsafe and a project to replace it was started in the 1860s. The modern bridge was designed by Marriott Ogle Tarbotton with construction taking 3 years at a cost of £30k and was completed in 1871 by Derbyshire iron maker, Andrew Handyside.

As we had previously cruised under Trent Bridge, we turned left, downstream and headed towards Gunthorpe Lock passing Grantham Canal Junction (undergoing complete restoration).

The canal soon enters open countryside, leaving behind the city. We soon arrived at Holme Lock, the site of near tragedy for us on a previous visit. August 2021 was the first time we had cruised the Trent past Nottingham and as we approached the lock, we waited for the signal to enter the lock. During which time we got dragged by the current onto the weir and couldn’t get off.  We were there for a little while as they had to slowly turn off the pumps (to avoid a ripple effect down the Trent) before we could break free. (scary) 😳.

This time however we had all the lockkeepers numbers, we phoned ahead to let them know we were coming and everything was ready on our arrival.

Once we passed The National Water Centre, it wasn’t long before we arrived at Stoke Lock, again everything ready on our arrival 😊. It was also about a year ago when we actually got some pictures of a Kingfisher.

We had seen them before but normally by the time you get the camera out they are gone. Burton Joyce was a consideration for Steph to catch the train back home when planning this trip but all was good and we proceeded to our final destination for the night Gunthorpe Visitor Moorings.

The weather was great and Paul got the chance to try out last year’s birthday present which Chantelle had already christened… The Kayak ….. Six to seven miles later Paul returned with a big grin on his face after being escorted at one point by a kingfisher 🤩.. Eye to Eye.

Refreshment was required, so a brief walk of 2 minutes to The Unicorn Hotel. We have visited here before following the relaxation of some of the covid lockdown rules, understandably on our first visit very little was on offer (crisps and a pint), unfortunately things didn’t seem to have improved that much this time either, which is sad really.

As the evening drew in, we were now feeling a little hungry, so we splashed out and had a cheeky Indian at The Bridge & Bayleaf which was amazing. The place does have a restaurant looking out onto the river but we took the option of a takeaway.

Fed & watered it was now time to sleep & dream of more adventures before continuing our journey tomorrow……… can’t wait as it will be new waters for us 😎.