Daughter having a dip.

 It was a lovely evening and we had our chairs out just watching the sun go down.

The sun set right in front of the boat, and with the quiet towpath it was a very peaceful end to the day.

Not long after we set off we came across this sign in a garden that obviously belongs to somebody not quite as optimistic as Helen and I. In his garden was a 3 mt high red and white 'rocket' that had the word extinction written on it too.

St. John the Baptist Church stands aloof from the village but it seems it has been here since at least 1258 and there is a yew tree in the grounds that could be over a 1000 years old.

Whitsunday Pie Lock is quite picturesque and perhaps the only lock on the Chesterfield known to many boaters. It seems the story of a local farmers wife baking a pie on that date when the lock was completed is just a story as the name superseded the canal.

We stopped at the Hop Pole pub by Welham Bridge to top up with water. They were getting ready for a very busy day due to the good weather. We then moored outside Aldi in Retford and went into town to do our chores and stock up. We were here to meet No.1 daughter who has come to join us for a week. We soon got her into action as we climbed Town Lock and West Retford Lock. The locks are now narrow so making them quicker as well as easier. The depth of the canal seems better after Whitsunday Pie Lock too, with little weed.

The canal on the other side of Retford is very peaceful and the cemetery seems to run on both sides of the canal. Maybe one is the Crematorium and the other side the graveyard, but the bridge is called Cemetery Bridge and it is a lovely part of the canal.

By the time we got to the foot of Forest Locks we had had enough of the heat and decided to pull over. I feel guilty for mooring on the Lock landing, but apparently it is common practise on the is canal. It was 1800 and we were not expecting any other boats. We will be off in the morning early too. The water was just too tempting to cool of our feet. The fish came to have a look at us too.

Some of us just got carried away and decided that full immersion was the only way. The water was very clear and it was inviting, but I resisted. It was also on her 30 things to do when your 30 bucket list.