Langley Mill to Gallows Inn, Ilkeston
5.25 miles, 7 locks
So a Bank Holiday weekend, but thankfully not Bank Holiday weather - the day dawned bright, sunny and hot. We were due a late start as our next set of guests were due to arrive around 11:30, so first we were treated to a guided tour around the basin at Langley Mill by Ian and Irene. First to the furthest part of the Cromford Canal which does not stretch far before you meet
this - plans are afoot to restore it, but I doubt it will be in our boating life time.
Next stop was the Toll House
This window is where the boatmen would arrive, ring the bell and someone would come for them to pay their tolls
There is a selection of toll tickets on display
This clay pipe was found in the chimney flue in the loft when the society were renovating the toll house in 2008.
Next we went round into the office side of the toll house - the window behind Chris below is the one seen from the other side above. Chris is holding up the gauging rod - full details to be found below
A quick examination of the almost completely painted work boat which is due to be put in the water next week. It has to be craned over some very tall trees - I am looking forward to Irene's photos on the big day.
The final stop was The Pump House
Chris, Evelyn and I really enjoyed the tour with Irene and Ian and we are so thankful that we chose a time to visit this canal when they were at home. Their love and dedication to this canal was obvious from everything they said and also for the amount of time and labour they devote to it. They are preparing for a big rally over the next Bank Holiday - we all hope it is a resounding success and that the weather behaves for them all.
Next preparations were made to set sail once our visitors had arrived - we pushed back across the canal and Evelyn was in charge of filling the water tank.
Irene and Ian were heading down the lock to do some more preparation for the impending festival, so we were able to share the lock with them.
Then we were on our own with the visitors - Evelyn had another charge - Dash who is Monty's sister. It was the first time they had seen each other for a few years. What was amazing is how many little 'ways' they share. Their breeder has always said she thinks they recognise family and they certainly settled in with one another very quickly and had a great day together. Dash has been on a narrow boat holiday, so it was not a completely unknown quantity to her.
Evelyn took a few turns at the helm - and a very competent job she made of it.
She also helped with winding paddles as well as opening and closing gates. For the most part the paddles were far too hard for her to wind up, but she was able to close them.
She was rewarded some downtime for all her hard work in what she called 'the VIP area'!
Chris is used to one dog behind his legs, but today it was two. Dash adopted the same stance that Monty does with her head peering round the side of the stern - just to be sure she did not miss anything that was going on!
Evelyn's next lesson was how to bash in a mooring pin once we had arrived at Gallows Inn
Time to relax and give Dash some love - something you can never have enough of
Whilst Bridget and Phil set about retrieving their car from Langley Mill Evelyn and I made an apple and walnut cake ready for our Sunday visitors.
And the dogs - well they were looking out for the return of Bridget and Phil
The Pimms was at the ready when they did return - the weather did make it a necessity! Then Bridget, Evelyn and I walked up to the fish shop and returned fully laden with a feast fit for a king. The shop (I think it was called Johnny's fish bar) has to be the cleanest chippy I have ever been into. It looks as though it was refurbished a few days ago, when in fact the last make over was around 10 years ago. The food is cooked fresh and it was the best fish and chips I have had in many a year. Vastly superior to the meal we had in the pub in Barton under Needwood and at a fraction of the price. Definitely worth a trip there if you moor at Gallows Inn. Talk went on with the odd glass or two to help it along until around 10pm, so a late night for Evelyn, but I have to say that she was excellent company and sat and joined in the adult conversation like a pro. No signs of boredom - a real credit to her parents. Mind you I am glad to say that all of our grandchildren have been brought up to mind their P's and Q's. We had a great time with Bridget, Phil and Dash and hope we can arrange another trip one day.
Sunday 6th May
Gallows Inn to Trent Lock
6.5 miles, 7 locks
Another day of visitors for us and yet more wall to wall sunshine. Our son dropped his wife and Noah (10) off at Gallows Inn whilst he drove to Trent Lock. He then walked back towards us with his eldest daughter, Molly (14) and their black Lab, Vespa. Molly is in training for her DoE Bronze award expedition, so good practice for her. Vespa did succumb to the temptation to swim, but just the once. To be honest I don't blame her as it was very hot.
Molly, Jo and Evelyn were put to work and between us all we made good progress and had travelled 2.5 miles and 4 locks to Sandiacre which is where we met Mark, Molly and Vespa.
Taking a breather whilst on 'dog duty'
Mark's question when he arrived was 'why have you stopped' - the answer - 'because we have no power'. Yet another trip was needed to the weed hatch to clear large amounts of black plastic from the propeller. While Chris and Mark dealt with that Evelyn and I went to the shops, but failed despite trying Lidl, the CoOp and a newsagent to get a Sunday Times.
I tried to get a good shot of this church on the way up, but failed - I had better luck coming down
Noah also had a go at steering and like, Evelyn, acquitted himself very well.
Molly was happy to sit and relax after her very hot and strenuous walk
Mark's muscle power was appreciated at the remaining locks - as you can see below we actually managed to share the last three locks with another boat! Not the happiest of partnerships - they live in Sawley Marina and we rather think they rarely move. Their rules are to leave lock gates open (we got bounced in to doing so at the first lock with them, but we made sure the next two were shut) and they also drive slowly as possible. Thankfully we were only behind them once in transit between locks. They were so slow, even idle was too fast and reverse was required every now and then to keep a decent distance between us.
And Vespa - well she is just a lovely Labrador who is happy wherever she is - well as long as someone remembers to bring her dinner.
I think this is a first for us - a terrapin soaking up the sun.
We secured a mooring above the lock. The family headed off to take Vespa home and let their other dog (older and she suffers from arthritis, so was happier left at home) out and give them dinner and they were then coming back as we had a table booked at the Trent Lock Inn. As the family walked past they noticed the queue at the bar was around 40 people long, so they called us and suggested a BBQ at their house to which we readily agreed. We cancelled the table and they did a dirty dive into Asda for supplies and then came and collected us. We had a veritable feast - a great family day with a perfect end. We got a taxi back and I suspect we both went out like a light when our heads hit the pillows!
So a summary of the Erewash. Well we are glad we have done it, but even more so that we came when we did and not only enjoyed our time with Irene and Ian, but were also able to see so much more than we would have done had they not been in residence. One lady from the Lichfield Canal Society said it was the prettiest canal she had ever been on. I am afraid that I cannot agree with her and can only assume that she mostly confines herself to the T&M, she certainly cannot have done much of the Worcester/Birmingham, Stratford, Shroppie, Staffs & Worcester or the Llangollen to name just a few. I also don't envy Irene and Ian the transit up and down every time they want to go anywhere - give me the 45 locks we have to do from Droitwich to the top of Tardebigge any day of the week! Having said that they do have a fantastic mooring for live-aboards, so I am sure the journey is worth it.
I am afraid this typifies this canal (along with many others) and is a sad reflection on society of today with so little thought or care given to the world around them. We lost count of the trips down the weed hatch - certainly more than Chris has ever had to do before. Travelling with another boat would have made it much easier. Having said all that I really don't want to put anyone off making the trip.
And finally - we have a new plaque!
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