3.75 miles, 3 locks
I seemed to listen to that unmistakable sound of torrential rain hammering down on the metal roof for a lot of the night and it was no better in the morning, so we hibernated and had a slow start. It was pointless getting wet when the forecast was for no improvement until around midday. I made good use of the time and shopped around for car insurance and managed to save us £97 from the quote from our current insurer.
For once the forecast was right and we were able to pull back to the services before heading off along the Erewash Canal - new waters for us and for nb Tentatrice. It is a broad canal in Derbyshire that is nearly 12 miles long and has 14 broad locks. The last lock to enter the basin at Langley Mill is part of the Cromford Canal. Building of the canal was completed in 1779. It had a long and successful commercial history - the last commercial cargo passage was made in 1952. The main cargo was always coal.
The first lock at Long Eaton is far from pretty, but someone has tried to cheer things up with a huge mural.
Looking back from the lock is better with large open parkland
Dockholme and Sandiacre locks came and went. They are all very big and were all against us with no other moving boats to share with. Each one took a long time and was hard work, especially when one of the Sandiacre lock gates would not stay shut!
We moored briefly in Sandiacre, so I could pop to the Co-op to get the paper and have a quick look round. There is also a huge Lidl in the opposite direction to the Co-op, but we were not in need for that sort of shop. Trying to get to the shops was a very lengthy procedure as there were two major roads to cross with very long waits for the 'green man' to appear.
When I eventually made it back to the boat I found that both boats had boat dogs in almost identical positions! We decided to move on as it was so noisy there, but I wish we had asked if this boat was moving tomorrow and if so, at what time! Having someone to share locks with would make life a whole lot easier.
Whilst I was away, Chris went down the weed hatch and came up with a shopping bag full of stuff.
We moored just past the first bridge out of Sandiacre, not pretty on the offside, but it is quiet and
there is a walk through from the towpath to the River Erewash not far from our mooring.
We had a quick look, but tired bones required a cuppa and slice of barra brith. Maybe later or first thing tomorrow.
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