Hiking up a Hill.

 

Just outside of Retford is the Old Grove Mill that bends along with the canal. It was built in the early 19th Century. It was used as a flour mill and maltings and now flats and a snooker club.

As we passed the house of the doom and gloom people I managed to get a picture of the rocket to extinction.

Amy liked the willow trees that lent in over the canal. Luckily they had been cropped back to give room.

This is the picture of the 'Man' or 'Lady' face bridge by Wiseton. It look s like a man from this picture I think.

It is a different shot of Drakeholes Tunnel. I'm not sure what the hut may have been. Maybe a stable for horses, but as the tunnel was so short it wouldn't have been much of a wait!

We passed through Gringly and Shaw Locks and tied up on the remote moorings. There was a West Stockwith Hire Boat there all ready and we were joined by another boat later. We went for a walk up to the local village. This is the view of the boat from Beacon Hill.

Gringley is named after the village of Gringley on the Hill and this is the same view with 'Holderness' right in the middle of the picture. There has been men here since the Bronze age, and folk are not certain when, if any, a fortification was built here. The beacon is natural but has signs of been made steeper and does have a defensive ditch.

This is the mound from the road and it certainly looks like a motte of a Norman fort, but is thought to have featured in the Roman Britain as it was close to the road from Lincoln to Doncaster, and is the highest point in this part of North Nottinghamshire.

The village has some lovely houses and the Blue Bell pub looked very inviting. But I didn't see a shop. The remains of the village cross is still evident. The village was granted a market in 1252! I'm not sure when the cross dates from though!

It was been much cooler today with the sun struggling to come out, but has been very pleasant. We have heard that Meadow Lane Lock where you leave the River Trent for the Nottinghgam and Beeston canal has had major problems, so we are waiting with baited breath to see what happens about it.