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The Tuesday Night Club on Tour
The 1993 Cruises
The Summer Tour - Leeds and Liverpool Canal, Llangollen Canal Plus.
1 - Harefield Marina to Marsworth, Grand Union Canal. Marsworth to Norton Junction, Grand Union Canal. Norton Junction to Cromwell Lock, Grand Union Leicester Section, River Soar and River Trent.
Saturday 26th June – First boat moving weekend. Left Harefield Marina at 12.45 and got to Kings Langley at 19.10. Stayed on boat, Linda went to get fish and chips and get a few forgotten provisions from the Spar.
Sunday 27th June – Left Kings Langley at 9.25 and came out of Cowroast Lock and onto Tring Summit at 14.45. The summit took three quarters of an hour. Started going down the Marsworth Flight. Got to the 14 day Visitor Moorings at Marsworth at 16.45. This was opposite Derek Pearson, the mobile fenderman mooring warden. We had a word with him and he said he would keep an eye on Beatty for us. (These 14 day Visitor Moorings are no more, there are just a few, far up near the BW office at the junction with the Aylesbury Arm.) Good old John Fleming picked us up at around 18.00 and we all went out for an Indian meal on the way home.
Friday 2nd July – Second boat moving weekend. John F dropped us off at 19.00 and after a quick get away we carried on down the northern side of Tring summit, stopping at Slapton, below the Lock at 22.10.
Saturday 3rd July – Reasonably early start at 8.15. The Soulbury Three Locks took between 11.06 and 11.22 and we carried on non-stop to Bridge No56, just before the Stoke Flight, where we stopped between 18.15 and 19.10, for dinner. After this we carried on into dusk, as it was a lovely evening and we wanted a clear run up the Stoke Bruerne Flight. We had the flight to our selves. There were no moorings at the Tunnel end of the Stoke Bruerne Visitor Moorings, so we went through the Tunnel, taking between 20.45 and 21.15. Another clear run. We stopped at Blisworth, opposite Blisworth Tunnel Boats, at 21.30.
Sunday 4th July – We had arranged to meet John F at the Norton Junction Visitor Moorings, around 17.00, so were not in that much of a hurry. We left at 10.10. Passed Waterways Services at Nether Heyford – Beatty’s fit out home – at 12.25. There was as usual a fair amount of traffic on the Buckby Flight. We eventually moored up (15.50), round the corner at Norton Junction. This was a less than ideal mooring as it was off the end of the 14 Visitor Moorings, as these were all taken. We put all the mooring pins in that we had and added a couple of spring lines to hopefully keep Beatty secure. John F arrived early at 16.30 and after a lot of ferrying of stuff back to the New Inn pub car park we were taken straight home. That night John F came round for a Chinese takeaway.
Friday 9th July – The start of the lads TNC weeks of the holiday. Linda dropped the crew up along with a LOT of provisions and stuff. The crew consisted of Neil, Colin, Julian E and John F. After an exhausting load up we all retreated to the New Inn for a pint and a meal.
Saturday 10th July – Fairly Keen, so we started after the wake up call of Julian E’s ablutions. It was on this holiday, that we discovered that his ablution routine (including a quick shower) was 20 minutes plus or minus a few minutes, this continues to this day! Another nice day, little traffic, solid run through to the top of Foxton Locks. Came out of the top of Watford Locks at 9.15. Crick Tunnel took between 9.42 and 9.57. Husbands Bosworth Tunnel took between 14.35 and 14.47. We arrived at the top of Foxton at 16.15, with one other boat in front of us. That night we repaired to the Bridge 61 pub at the bottom of the flight, which was OK, but not brilliant.
Sunday 11th July – The Foxton lockys were about early, so we started in front of the other boat at 7.32. He followed us down as he was not that quick off the mark. Even at this time in the morning there were a lot of gongoozlers about. We came out of the bottom at 8.30. We started the Kibworth Locks at 10.10. There were a lot of overnight closures of the Leicester Section locks at the time due to water shortages, so part of our planning was to clear all these in this second day. Came out of Kibworth Bottom Lock at 10.52 and passed Blaby at 14.15. No yobs about through Wigston, even though Sunday afternoon. Reached the River Soar (Belgrave Lock out) at 17.15. We tried to stop at the not very nice White Horse “Big Steak” pub at Thurmaston Lock (18.15) but being a Sunday, they did not do food in the evenings. We carried on until 19.53, when we moored above Mountsorrel Lock. Here the Waterside Inn was doing food, an altogether better establishment than the one we nearly went to.
Monday 12th July – Started off from Mountsorrel Lock at 8.00, destination – Nottingham. Stopped for quick diesel top up at Kegworth Marine. Got to Trent Lock Junction and turned left off the River Soar, onto the River Trent. We stopped at the Nottingham Sainsbury’s, in The Nottingham Canal / Beeston Canal by-pass of the Trent. This was for a provisioning stop, between 15.23 and 16.20. After this we carried on, out through Meadow Lane Lock and back on the Trent. We then went upstream and moored by the pedestrian suspension bridge, at 17.45. After a relaxing drink on the steps we moored the boat by means of a long loose padlocked chain (mooring rings) After one of Julian E’s blow out meals we went into town and ended up in a few pubs – on of which was the Trip to Jerusalem (carved out of the rock below the castle) and the FMC pub on the canal.
Tuesday 13th July – Started off from our River Trent moorings, above Trent Bridge at 9.00. Hot and sultry day. Stopped at Hazelford Wharf between 12.24 and 13.42, to go for a quick meal and pint at the Hazelford ferry Hotel (sadly all the river moorings on trips past here after this, showed the moorings all taken by long term moored boats!). The River Trent was fast and locks efficiently manned. We shared the first few with the St John’s Ambulance Brigade trip boat. We moored up below Newark Town Lock, in the Newark Dyke / River Devon by-pass on the river, below Averham Weir (16.05). We did a spot of shopping and went to a pub for a meal and a drink. We got back to the boat and then carried on (20.30) as we were booked out of the tidal Cromwell Lock at 6.00 in the morning. Having negotiated the bucket dredger moored centre channel, we stopped at Crmwell Lock - 21.45 and went straight to bed.
 Waiting at the bottom of Watford Locks. Grand Union Canal, Leicester Section. |
 Watford Locks. Grand Union Canal, Leicester Section. |
 Watford Locks staircase. Grand Union Canal, Leicester Section. |
 Watford Locks. Grand Union Canal, Leicester Section. |
 John F helps some people down Watford Locks staircase. Grand Union Canal, Leicester Section. |
 Morning start above Foxton Locks. Grand Union Canal, Leicester Section. |
 Foxton Staircase Locks. Grand Union Canal, Leicester Section. |
 Foxton Staircase Locks. Grand Union Canal, Leicester Section. |
 Foxton Staircase Locks. Grand Union Canal, Leicester Section. |
 Foxton Staircase Locks. Grand Union Canal, Leicester Section. |
 Foxton Staircase Locks. Grand Union Canal, Leicester Section. |
 Foxton Staircase Locks. Grand Union Canal, Leicester Section. |
 Foxton Staircase Locks. Grand Union Canal, Leicester Section. |
 Foxton Staircase Locks. Grand Union Canal, Leicester Section. |
 Just round the corner from the junction is the entrance to the cut up to the disused inclined plane. Grand Union Canal, Leicester Section. |
 Bottom of Foxton Locks. Market Harborough to left. White building is Foxton Boat Services and the Bridge 61 pub. Grand Union Canal, Leicester Section. |
 Saddington Tunnel. Grand Union Canal, Leicester Section. |
 The disused Ratcliffe Lock, replaced when river levels were altered. For some reason BW are still repainting it! Ratcliffe on Soar power station behind. Grand Union Canal, River Soar. |
 Beeston Lock. Coming of the River Trent, into Beeston Cut. John F caught in mid jump. |
 Castle Lock, Nottingham. Nottingham Canal. (Click on image for large version.) |
 Meadow Lane Lock. Nottingham Canal. |
 Meadow Lane Lock. Nottingham Canal. |
 Upstream view of River Trent from Meadow Lane Lock. Trent Bridge. |
 Downstream view of River Trent from Meadow Lane Lock. |
 Colin, John F and Neil relax on the banks of the River Trent, in Nottingham. |
 Our Nottingham River Trent mooring by the foot suspension bridge. |
 Looking down to Trent Bridge. River Trent. |
 Stoke Bardolph Lock. We are following in the St John's Ambulance Brigade community boat. River Trent. |
 Newark Lock. River Trent Navigation, River Devon section through Newark. |
 Going down in Newark Lock. Ian S has a cuppa and Neil looks happy as usual! River Trent Navigation, River Devon section through Newark. |
 River Trent Navigation, River Devon section through Newark. Newark Castle to the right and Newark Bridge ahead. We are stopped below the cruiser for the late afternoon. We went down to Cromwell Lock at dusk. |
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