Osberton

The day has been generally dry with occasional damp patches and a couple of brief showers in the afternoon. The sun, however, rarely made an appearance.

Before setting off, Mike did his usual checks and also opted to clear the prop so that we at least started with no weed. Not that we expected that to last very long. As he did so he realised that the bilge pump was running and sucking in air. Could this have been the cause of the flattened batteries? Alas, we will never know for sure but some kind of explanation is useful.

Christine also realised that Mike had left his fleece in the pub dining room last night. As the pub as not due to open until 12 and no cleaners could be seen, Christine decided to use the phone - and luckily the on-site manager brought it out to us!

He was pleased that we had used their dining facilities last night and even more so when we commented very favourably on both the food and the service. It turned out that he had taken over running this pub only 10 weeks ago. It had been a a bit run down and he had been building up both the quality and service. So far it has been showing very positive results.

Whitsunday Pie Lock

We set off not expecting great speeds. The canal is not only shallow with a limited profile of depth but also full of weed. With the lack of depth, the propeller catches weed all the more readily and we have had to make at least 5 trips down the weed hatch during the day. At best our speed reached 2 miles per hour but often slowed to less than half of that. However, after our limited experience of the canal at the end of the last trip we had already re-planned on this basis.

We soon met a couple of places where the weeds were right across the navigation and, even after we had pushed through only left a small gap at the shallow side!

The first lock was Whitsunday Pie Lock. Although there are plenty of stories about how the came about, current studies suggest they are all untrue as they relate to the canal and there is now evidence that the name was in use well before it was built and possibly refers to a particular field nearby.

Rain was falling gently as we arrived at the outskirts of Retford with several former warehouses converted to various uses. But the rain soon stopped and it was dry as we continued into the town centre.

Packet Inn

Canalside villages and towns have many pubs alongside recalling the days when the water was the major form of transport and employed many people, especially those who lived on boats. The Packet Inn was named after a packet boat service that ran from Clayworth into Retford, allowing villagers to bring their produce into town to sell. (A packet boat was one that ran a regular service at top speed, often by changing horses very frequently)

Retford Town Lock

The first lock in the town is a narrow lock - so far from the Trent they have been wide beam. Some distance before the lock a couple with a young boy - perhaps about 2 - asked if we were going to go through the lock so that they could show their son how it works. The little one was highly delighted to be able to help Mike with the paddles and gates (his dad lent an occasional hand!) whilst Christine popped to the adjacent Asda supermarket. By the time the boat was through the lock she returned.

An interpretive board by the lock helps to unravel the story of Whitsunday Pie.

River Idle

The next quarter of a mile, which crosses three small aqueducts including one over the River Idle, was exceedingly slow. A group of over thirty walkers on an organised outing passed by and were a distant memory well before we crossed the third aqueduct!

Narrow Aqueducts

Even when close to houses, this canal remains very attractive and rural in style.

Perhaps because there are few boats - we passed three all day - the locks are very easy to use. Sometimes the hardest bit is unlocking the security mechanism - different in design from any others we have seen elsewhere.

Weed Harvester in Action

A weed harvester was in operation, Hopefully it is making some difference although it did not seem to be collecting very much as we passed it. Although it only takes one person to operate it had a crew of two - no doubt as the result of a risk assessment!

Lock Cottage under Restoration

At Forest Mid Top Lock Mike took advantage of the sani station as the lock was filling. (The name of the lock recalls the time when this area was part of Sherwood Forest). Meanwhile, Christine chatted to a man working on the almost derelict lock cottage. He had only just started work on it - it has been unoccupied for over a decade - and was delighted to be able to show Christine around inside to see what he had already done and what possibilities it has!

Modern Milestone

There are regular milestones - put up Chesterfield Canal Trust - and are unusual in being made from sandstone. Unfortunately they reminded Mike of the standard war grave headstones!

After Osberton Lock pulled in we started to look for somewhere to moor. Time was getting on and, in any case, too far and we would be in Worksop. However, just as we thought it was time the good piling that had lined the towpath edge almost all the way since Retford, suddenly ran out. However, Mike suddenly spotted a short stretch and pulled in quickly. Amazingly there was plenty of depth of water to come alongside and there were two convenient breaks in the thick nettles to jump ashore.

(It turned out to be a place with very poor mobile signals - lasted just long enough at one moment to upload draft text but not to add pictures or to correct spellings! That had to wait until the next day)

10.2 miles - 8 locks