Well, despite our best efforts to eat and drink ourselves into oblivion we have survived Christmas! This year’s turkey was vastly superior to last year’s (and still is at the moment!) and the M and S stollen was to die for.
So with the sherry, port, most of the wine and Glayva (we are saving all else for New Year’s Eve) and a whole jar of pickled beetroot (to myself) gone our thoughts turned to resuming our travels.
Our plans have unfortunately been thwarted by two things. Firstly someone has managed to drive their car into Kegworth Shallow Lock! This would seriously hamper progress to Leicester, where we had planned to go next. And now the Rivers Trent and Soar have gone into flood and are unavigable at the moment.
The timing of the car being removed from the lock is unsure as CRT aren’t even looking at it again until tomorrow. Also the rivers coming out of flood could be any time.
There is a stoppage due on Limekiln Lock in Leicester on Jan 5th which means the later we leave here the less time we will have to get through that lock before it is closed. All a bit of a nuisance. We may have to revert to plan B.
During our time here we have been for a couple of nice walks. Christmas Day we walked to Trent Lock and went in The Steamboat Inn for one and then walked back to Sawley to The Harrington. When we got there it was rammed and we couldn’t get in the door so we went to The White Lion instead.
Yesterday we walked to Shardlow and back. On the way back we found a nice leather dog lead that someone had dropped. We saw some people ahead with a couple of dogs and nearly gave ourselves heart attacks walking fast to catch up with them! Fortunately when we did it was their lead!
Talking of heart attacks I nearly had another one this morning when I slipped on the ice getting on the boat and fell down the side. Luckily Ken grabbed me and I only got a wet foot and some spectacular bruises!
These bruises have joined the others I had already got falling down the back steps the other day and falling into the gas locker after I opened it to get our big fenders out when we arrived here!
Today we got the Skylink to Nottingham and watched football in the Company Inn (Wetherspoon) by the canal. Unfortunately Forest lost 3-1 to Birmingham.
Not sure how long we are going to have to stay here, it depends on the river levels.
