Safely in Shardlow.

Nice quiet night and with the fire in overnight we didn't feel the -1.7 deg temperature of outside.

When I got up to make the tea the frost was still heavy and the mist just dissipating. When Helen got up and stood on the carpet it was soaking wet! Always bad news on a boat. We stripped out everything from the wardrobe where the pump lives and dried up as best we could. We automatically thought that it was caused but over filling, but in the back of my mind I was cautious as we didn't fill up yesterday.

We moved off and remoored at the water point just before the junction. Right by the water are a warehouse, and what looks like a toll house. It would have been a busy spot with the Derby Canal and the link to the Trent.

There is a crane outside the warehouse too. When we filled up we observed no leak. The water pressure is not nearly as strong as at the last tap we filled from, so I wondered if it could be water pressure in the filling pipe. We left all the coverings off etc to let it dry out and to see if anything transpired.

Once down Swarkestone Lock we soon passed The Stand came into view. This is apparently a grand stand or pavilion built in the 17th Century for watching some sport or other, bull baiting, jousting or bowls! It was part of the Tudor Mansion that was the home of the Harpur family. This summer house over looks the square field of play called the Cuttle. The rest of the mansion was knocked down after the Civil War and the family moved to Calke.

As we approached Weston Lock we knew that there would be voluntary lock keepers on duty but as I dropped Helen off the engine cut out with an obstruction in the propeller. I tried to restart a couple of times but nothing doing. We drifted into the lock and I was quickly down the weed hatch expecting to get very cold hands trying to clear a log. However there was nothing there, and when I tried the engine again it fired up first time. That was a stroke of luck, and we sfely got on our way again.

Next came Aston Lock that has had new gates over the winter stoppages.

I think this is my first new plaque!

This is the Old Salt Warehouse and was built in the 1770's so is the oldest warehouse in the port of Shardlow. It was refurbished by Mansfield Brewery and opened as a Heritage Centre but never seems to be open when we pass.

The Clock Warehouse was built in 1780 for the Cavendish Bridge Boat Co. and was later called B warehouse. F.E. Stevens, corn miller and trader bought it and it became known as No.2 Mill in 1940. The finished in 1975 and it was derelict then until 1980 when it became a museum and tearoom. In 1995 it became a pub and the original sign at the apex was restored.

A little further down the cut there is No.1 and No.2 Stores with a little arm between the two. This is the No.1 store built in the early 19th Century and was once a corn mill too. No.2 was built in 1780 and was also a salt warehouse. It seems that salt was a big commodity through the port of Shardlow.

We are moored close by another, and the last of the 'official' mile posts and you can see we are in Shardlow as there is no number there. The concrete short post to the left has the figure 1 on it. Could this be a sop to the fact that the actual end of the canal is a bit over another mile further on at Derwent Mouth Lock.

Right, not that done I will have to go and find a leak. Wish me luck.