Bit of a late start but as we approached the lock we met Rob from Watt Now' and said good by as they weren't ready to leave. We arrived just as a boat was leaving so we slid in and were off onto the Trent again.
Helen trying to look taller at Trent Lock at the bottom of the Erewash Canal.
It wasn't long before we had navigated the wide river and approached the Sawley Locks. The gates were open on the st'bd side so in we went. Helen climbed up the ladder and tried to close the gate. She couldn't shift it so I climbed up and started to heave when we both looked up and saw the control box just behind us! It was an automatic lock! I'm glad that there wasn't anybody watching.
Sawley Locks.
There is a short cut with a flood lock at the end that is filled with permanent moorings and marinas. Just the other side of the flood lock is the M1 Motorway. How many times have we driven up and down the motorway and seen the weir on the Trent and never seen the canal? Today it was pretty tame but occasionally it is roaring and has mountains of foam at the foot of it.
The Sawley Weir where the Trent goes round the cut. The orange buoys are to prevent incidents.
Just a little further on is the end of our time on the River Trent as we have arrived at Derwent Mouth. This is the official start of the Trent and Mersey Canal, although it doesn't look much like a canal for a time.
The River Derwent joins the Trent from the right and has travelled from the Ladybower Reservoir. The Trent goes off to the left and straight ahead is the entrance to the Trent and Mersey.
The first lock on the Trent and Mersey.
This is also the first bridge on the Trent and Mersey and it is called Porter's Bridge. Of course it is No.1 lock!
The next point of interest is Shardlow and this was a very big inland port at the start of the 1900's. It has been called a 'Rural Rotterdam'! We tagged on to the visitor moorings and had lunch before going for a walk around the village. There are loads of warehouses that have been converted to flats, houses and pubs. There are four of five pubs in the immediate area and another couple in the village area a little further away. There are loads of pubs but no shop?
Steven's Corn Mill.
The Clock Warehouse which was built in 1780 as a mill. The canal was completed in 1777 so it can be seen that the place started to get busy very quickly. The boats could be unloaded inside the mill.
After lunch we were just about to get going when a boat passed us so we got to share a couple of locks. Unfortuanetly I can't remember the name of the boat but we did have a good natter. They stopped just after Aston Lock and we continued on to Weston Lock. We had caught a couple of boats up as they had lost one of the boats across the cut when the force of emptying the was underestimated in strength. The guy who was telling us looked and sounded just like Philip Serrel fro Bargin Hunt etc. I don't think it was him though.
Weston Lock emptying but not quite as powerful for us as we are moored a long way from the lock.
We have stopped not far the lock in a rural stretch where we hope to stop for a couple of night to get some jobs done before heading to Burton on Trent for Friday.
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