West Stockwith Again

After an absence of two years from visiting this lovely village we were there again in quick succession to our last visit, last month, over the weekend. This time we had the pleasure of taking a couple of new narrowboating friends with us to show them what our boats can do.

We set off under blue skies and on a mild November morning set off down the Trent with the canopies off, a real pleasure for the time of year. We had a lovely run down the river with our friends driving the boat all the way from Torksey to Gainsborough, where, Liam took over to do the fast driving through the many bends between Gainsborough road-bridge and the lock. Needless to say our friends were suitably impressed with a 30 knot run down the river, much faster than they are used to on their narrowboats, and with huge grins on their faces we got them safely into the basin without hitting the lock walls. Not bad given our past experiences with this lock. After a spot of lunch we said our goodbyes and we went our separate ways. We had a great afternoon and evening in the White Hart with a fantastic meal and enjoyed the disco, raising funds for the Help the Heroes campaign. A really good evening in good company s hard to beat at the best of times, Saturday evening will be a hard one to follow up.

Early on Sunday morning we woke to a dull, damp and drizzly scene. We were all slightly worse for wear and none of us were looking forward to the journey home. But with a lively 5 knot spring tide pushing us along we were easily making 10 knots, and at times more without pushing the boats hard, a lovely jaunt back despite the weather and our hangovers. Before long Torksey loomed into sight and we were quickly back on the calm waters of the Fossdyke. After a pit stop for breakfast and more coffee we set off for Saxilby to do some shopping, before settling in with the crossword and Sudoku and a few beers for the early part of the afternoon. On the way back to the marina we made a slight detour to the Pyewipe for a quick pint, or two, before heading back for our berth, another fantastic weekend under our belts and finished off with a lovely hot homemade pasta dish .

Next weekend the boat needs a proper clean up. Cruising at this time of year is great with the autumnal scenery and the quiet waters but it doesn’t half make a mess of the boats with mud, cut grass and general dirt accumulation. Not helped along by the next phase of piling and construction works at the marina of course. But we should complain, at least they are going to be finishing the place off and this is the last phase of construction works.