Richard T

If you choose to go to Hawne basin beware that Ghosty Hill tunnel gets very low in the middle with no warning signs at the entrance and the bridge into the basin is even lower!! On the North Stratford it is well worth stopping at Wedgies Bakery at Hockley Heath. They do an excellent range of bread, pies, cakes etc. There is also Jaspers at Penkridge - cream cakes to die for If you are on the Staffs and Worcs stop at Wightwick Manor - it is a glorious Arts and crafts house withe original decor etc. It is only 5mins walk from the canal. I think that the S&W is a lovely canal and well worth dawdling on. We spent a night at the top of Wolverhampton flight in October and had no problems, also one at Tividale on the old main line where the basin with no boats in it is.

We were a few earlier than you - we were moored at Trent Lock and saw you turn out of the Erewash onto the Trent. We counted twice at sawley yesterday as we went to the marina to get a pump out and then returned to Trent Lock. The lady on duty at Sawley is a very experienced boater - we have known her for many years.

There is a quiet spot to moor just south of Middlewich - the canal ducks under the main road in a small cutting next to a farm. We used to moor there on our last night when hiring from Midlewich narrowboats.

Watermead Country Park on the Soar. Kingsbury water park is only a couple of miles from Fazeley junction. The ponds at Fradley. Just keep your eyes open when boating and you will see all manner of birds.

Calibrating monitors and printers is a black art!! Sometimes its almost impossible to acheive. I tried on several occasions to calibrate HP laser printers and failed miserably - all prints had a slight tendency to green, the alternative was a pink tendency and horrible greens!!! Asfor monitors my employers would not pay for top end ones which could be properly calibrated.

I suggest that you appoint a third party to act on your behalf. They will take posession of the boat, to collect the bill of sale and keys from the broker and get them delivered to you. You should insure and licence the boat from the day you buy it. The CRT licence is not transferable. You will also need to get agreement from the marina it is moored in to keep the boat there although I think I would want it moving to another place. Matty40s under his business name may be willing to do this on your behalf

At some point in its life our boat has had extra gaps cut at the low point of the roof. The only problem is that they are over openable windows. Needless to say in a downpour the rain found its way into the boat and soaked the bed under them. For a longwhile we simply kept the windows tightly closed but it restricted ventilation to the bed area. So I have now closed the gaps off again and will live with some ponding on the roof.

There is a boat similar in construction to this one moored at Redhill marina on the Soar. When we next go past it I'll take some photos.

Beeston nr Nottingham is canal side at the lock

There are a couple of floating pontoon based house boats at Redhill Marina at the junction of the Soar and Trent. There are some elegant ones on the bottom of the Erewash - a couple of them are two storey.There are also two at East Midlands Boat Services on the Soar at Kegworth. All have long established use - getting planning consent for further ones might be very tricky.

The Soar is falling now and the flow has significantly decreased. However the Trent is still very high at Shardlow - it is about 800mm above the bottom of the red at Derwent Mouth, the flow is still very high. https://www.gaugemap.co.uk/#!Map/Summary/121/123

Another thing to check if replacing with a larger engine is the size of the skin tank. A rule of thumb is 1 sq ft of area for each 4hp of engine. So a 35hp engine requires 9sq ft and a 42hp one 10,5sq ft.

You will get anti-freeze in the chandelry at Sileby Mill. They are also good for diesel - even in winter they have a high turnover. Say hello to our boat when you stop!!

The Trent at Derwent Mouth will currently be about 400mm into the red. My experience is that the bottom of the red is at about 1.30m and Gauge Map shows it at 1.78m https://www.gaugemap.co.uk/#!Map/Summary/121/123 The Soar at Pillings lock is definitely in flood at 1.15m The flow is also high but falling. https://www.gaugemap.co.uk/#!Map/Summary/166/180 We boat regularly on the Soar and Trent - I would be staying put with levels as they are. If in Loughborough do not leave heading north as Zouch flood gates will be shut. If at Barrow on Soar heading north do not leave as getting lined up for the road bridge below the lock is difficult when there is a heavy flow on the river. Remember that at Barrow above the lock that you are still on the river and moor accordingly. A boat sank there last winter because of tight mooring lines.

Loughborough, Leicester, Market Harborough