Keeping on to Keadby.

The sun was out when we got up after a bit of a lie in. After breakfast we set forth in to Thorn, Yorkshire, on Yorkshire Day. We graced the local Sainsbury's with our custom and also the local pie shop. It is a tiny place but I could have eaten everything, to be honest, but we just got a pastie and their specialty, a pork pie. Looking forward to trying that later.

We set off and the Princess Anne footbridge behaved itself. Just as well really as Helen had an audience. The next obstacle was the Winkwell automatic lift bridge. Just push button operation but the first of six swing bridges boater operated. There are so many as when built the water way was used by Humber sloops and keels and they did not want to lower their masts as they could use them to sail up to Thorne atleast.

We passed through Moore's Swing Bridge and then had luck with us as there was a cruiser waiting who opened the bridge for another cruiser heading up towards Thorne and us. When we thanked them they explained it gave the two lads something to do!

After Medge Hall swing bridge the weed started to get worse. Mainly duck weed but not being able to see below it there must have been patches of filament weed as we got taffled up a couple of times. This photo is between Godnow swing bridge and and Crowle Station, that is actually at Ealand. In the distance where the canal bends to port the bend marks the boundary between Yorkshire and Lincolnshire, at least it was at one time. There is no obvious reason why the canal was built straight here, but maybe it is some geological reason.

We got through Vazon swing bridge and straight away the sliding railway bridge right next door started the alarm so there would be no waiting for trains, we would be straight through. The concept of the bridge still amazes me, that it swings on a crank to open is a very clever idea and has been going since 1926.

This is the latest version of Keadby power station. The original power plant was coal fired and opened in 1952 and was closed in 1984. Then a new gas fired station opened in 1996 but was mothballed in 2013 as the trading conditions were adverse! They are now getting on with the third stage which is going to be a combined cycle gas turbine plant costing upwards of £350 million. These are supposed to be the best form of reducing carbon emissions as air is compressed and then mixed with natural gas and ignited. The hot gases are then used to drive turbines. Half this rotational power is used to compress the gases and half to generate electricity. The hot exhaust gases are then used to create steam which is used to generate further electricity! It will supply enough power for 800,000 when it is completed in 2022'ish! These stations will be able to give a base load to augment the fluctuating solar and wind power. It is designed that at a later date it can utilise carbon capture technology and use hydrogen as a fuel.

Here we are moored up at the eastern end of the Stainforth and Keadby canal and will be here for a couple of days.