A chilly trip to Newark

Having spent a week in Lincoln it was time to face the cold winter weather for the 20 mile leg of the tidal Trent up to Newark.  While tidal rivers are useful for covering a long distance quickly due to the lack of locks they also have a disadvantage in that one can't really stop once en route as you need to reach the detonation before the tide turns.  On the canals it's easy to pull over almost anywhere for a quick brew and a warm by the stove.

So yesterday I left Lincoln in the mid morning sunshine, once the frost had cleared, for the 10 mile cruise back up the Fossdyke Navigation to it's junction with the Trent at Torksey. Having already checked by phone I knew I could stop overnight by the lock ready for an early start at first light this morning.  Thankfully there was not a frost but was still only 4c as I entered the lock at 7:30 under an impressive sunrise.    

Despite early promise offering some good photo opportunities the sun didn't choose to put in much of an appearance during the 20 mile slog up to Cromwell Lock which marks the end of the tidal section.

Despite wrapping up well it was still a very long cold 4 hours on the tiller and I was very relieved to reach Cromwell Lock and take the opportunity to tie up for an hour while I warmed up.

I was tempted to stay overnight at Cromwell but decided to carry on the last 5 miles and one more lock to Newark.  Unfortunately the floating visitor mooring, in the background below, were full so I had to moor on the wall instead.  The moorings pontoon opposite has the advantage of floating as river levels change and also has electricity points which are a rare but welcome treat on the waterways. Hopefully one of them will move off and I can scoot across.   Sadly, two days on the tiller has not helped my cold so I now, if I can find a space on the pontoon, I'll stay here for a while and keep warm and dry till I'm feeling better.