:-) The Adventures Of The Pink Maidens :-)

[tree]

:-) after a busy morning with moi touching up the paint on pykebirds boat while she was still at work, I then set to sewing all the pretty flowers on my new straw hat .. while nattering to all the lovely boaters passing by. Moi was in awe at the skills of a couple of narrow boats edging around a right big Beastie of a Dutchbarge. Then after causing chaos in Long Eaton with moi bartering with the chap selling pretty frocks on his stall..we both treated ourselves to one, well with our hats we got to look nice on our river travels, being 1 member short ..huggles deckhand..of our canal world divas band.We did intend to get to Cranfleet to catch up with Dyad,but I blame pykebird for getting carried away in the shops..she even bought a new pair of shoes!!! Anyway before moi gets carried away..literally we set off and what fabulous greetings we got from everyone that we passed. Secret being ahem!!! Pykebirds boat is completely PINK,with a black stripe along the roof, even her Gerry cans and life ring.So there we were the two of us moi in my flowery downtown abbey hat and pykebird in her pink Stetson lol.. Moi was left in charge of the map reading while fan Ann steered, as neither one of us had been this way before..the scenery was so tranquil and surprisingly on the stretch from Trent lock to Bees ton, we only had 4 narrow boats pass us and 6 river cruisers. Moi did the lock work at Cranfleet and it went a dream :-). The river then meanders around gracefully and the atmosphere is one of calmness and beauty. We saw some stunning private moorings just past the bit for Ferry Farm (p.140 waterways guide 6) and a mooring there was going for £90,000, most moorers had summer houses and very nice too. They all waved and smiled even the fishermen, this so far has been a lovely trip, nice weather, boat going like a dream and lots of lovely people.

We decided to stop for the night just after Bees ton Lock, now as we were approaching moi got a bit confuddled..as it was a bit confusing as to where the lock was (yes moi had her specs on lol), but as soon as we passed the pub it became apparent. Pykebird pulled into the nice landing stage while moi toodled off to sort out the lock ( bear in mind folks its quite a sharp turn, but we know now lol). Hmm.. This is interesting as two of the paddles offside are painted RED, and you have to leave them OPEN, when you leave the lock. After what seemed an age we got through them, but I must admit it was OK with the two of us, but if I had been doing this lock solo, it would have taken moi a lot lot longer. Suddenly after being on such an open expanse of water..it was then a surprise to now be on what looked like a canal :-) proudly steered on the river for all of 15 mins ..ERM Pykebird will say ' more like 5 mins you wuss ) well it felt like more..but moi was chatting to and waving to boaters,fishermen,kayakers, dog walkers, joggers...hellfire I was busy..well that is my excuse and time sticking to it :-) after walking the wolves and a freshen up we went to the local pub next to the chandlery..a very nice place, reasonable price for drinks and a welcoming atmosphere, we joined in with a pub qwiz..and then chilled outside. Its lovely and very child friendly as well, as lots of families around like us just enjoying the evening. We are going to check out the cafe there in the morning :-) I will download the piccies of today in the morning. We have decided to spend the next 3 days mooching around Nottingham, visiting places of interest ..and of course lol a list of pubs doing karaoke yippee:-) this is such a lovely area and river to visit that we both said that we feel as if we have been on holiday for a week lol.

So if any of you see us on 50 ft of lovely pinknesss and we will be weari g our hats lol..don't be shy wave and say hello.

Look out Nottingham here we come yippe doodle too :-)

[Guest]

My daughter would just love a pink boat.

 

Enjoy the trip, we went a bit too far to the right last time we approached that lock and it got briefly a bit hairy but we survived...

[tree]

My daughter would just love a pink boat.

Enjoy the trip, we went a bit too far to the right last time we approached that lock and it got briefly a bit hairy but we survived...

:-) she would lovèeeee..pykebirds boat as it is Bright T-Mobile pink and I will put today's piccies on tomorrow. Thing with that lock is your bimbling along and then think OK the flipping lock is here somewhere lol, and I can imagine it could get hairy especially if lots of other boats waiting, as it is deceiving ..with the turning being so tight.

[Chris Pink]

Bimbling Pink maidens?

 

You're talking my kind of language there.

[tree]

Bimbling Pink maidens?

 

You're talking my kind of language there.

[tree]

Alas my dear friends moi has been busy tryin to upload 'yesterdays and todays' piccies of our trip, but with moi being a willywombat with owt to do with computers and a grotty signal here ( had to be restrained by Pykebird ...as I was just gonner chuck her ruddy laptop in the river ) I have given up for tonight as we want to go out on the razzle dazzle in our new frocks lol.. will try again tomorrow

 

edited cos moi forgot todays travel ...

 

awoke early and had a scrummy full English brekkie at the café at Beeston, if you ever get to stop for a cuppa or food then pop inside as it is full of local history and pictures of the area, and the food is really tasty. We then popped into the chandlery for a mini mouch around and Chris the manager is a really nice helpful chap, and the prices seemed very competitive. We moored for the night just passed the lock, on the moorings which are easy accessible. They are right next to a road and houses, but it was quiet and enjoyable and the other moorer,s gave us tips on where to walk the 'wolves'. Just across from the lock is where you can access services. The walk across from the lock is ideal for walkers and dog owners and is very pretty and you can see over in the the distance the majestic Clifton Hall. We then ambled along and had a nice trip all along the way to our stopping point. We decided to stop for the night just before 'Tinkers Lane footbridge', this was ideal as just two minutes away is a path that leads to Sainsburys ..and some other shops, and petrol station and a cash machine point. Although a bit expensive for moi lol ... we did buy a few supplies and enjoyed the 'FREE' yummy chocolate giveaways ( moi being a greedy guts hahaha went back and did an Oliver Twist and asked for more

The mooring was clean and tidy (even though a lack of rubbish bins), be warned this is a VERY busy stretch of the canal ..and the towpath is also enjoyed and used by LOTS of cyclists and Walkers .. which meant that moi got to see so many racing bikes and make notes of which one to buy next Although very busy everyone will smile and reply back to you when you say 'hello' and are very chatty, especially regarding the lovely comments pb gets concerning her boat

Edited July 21, 2013 by tree

[HappyBunny]

This is interesting as two of the paddles offside are painted RED, and you have to leave them OPEN, when you leave the lock.

 

Glad to hear you are having some happy days Tree ..... but RED paddles and a PINK boat .... must have clashed ....

[Capt.Golightly]

Haven't got my boat yet and now live in Whitby but am aiming to cruise around my home turf of Notts when I do, this sounds idyllic. Me and my Dad were both miners in Notts back in the day but he is now gone. Nottinghamshire is more beautiful from above than from below you keep right on enjoying it mi Duck! Andrew.

Edited July 21, 2013 by Capt.Golightly

[tree]

tankies Happy Bunny and Capt

 

Todays adventures began with a late start due to erm... moi and pb not arriving back to the boat till silly o'clock due to... too much dancing and having fun:) we had intended to go to a karoke bar, but after bumping into a group of 'fairys and pirates'( hen party group lol) , we tagged along with them to the Via Bar, which is right next door to the canal and the Fellows, Morton and Clayton warehouse. Oh!! my oh! my... the folk in Nottingham sure know how to party we all had a fabulous night dancing and singing, as they had a DJ and disco making more new friends, Its a nice venue and caters for all ages, it was great to see everyone just having fun and although it was' heaving'... not one bit of bother from anyone all night, and folks so friendly.

After a good brekkie and cuppa we decided to travel on as far as Meadow Lane Lock, and then go out onto the tidal part of the river to turn round and come back. The next lock was Castle Lock which was a lickle interesting due to position of the weir and the ruddy wind picking up, so a well deserved cuppa and a couple of crispy bacon butties ..perfic.. the scenery is a combination of old wharfs and buildings alongside modern structures and some of them seem so out of place ( moi aint a fan of modern architecture , but such is life). Then as you travel along you will be greeted by lots of fishermen , and moi refused to share her bacon butty lol.. the turning at Popl ar Arms Corner is ( with a premier inn on one side) great because the canal suddenly opens up wide enough to turn your boat around if you so wish then you go through two sets of bridges that have two arches. We then arrived at Meadow Lane Lock which is very DEEP, and has such fantastic views of the river and was spotless, with a rubbish point, and elsan thingy me bob. Now this is where it gets INTERESTING!! the lock is really easy to operate , but be Warned!! as it has a very Strong Flow so be careful when using the paddles and the lock bollards are short.

Pykebird the minxy ( aka showoff LOL...shush don't tell her in front of quite a few people around the lock and area, did a Perfect and I mean Perfect 'go out of the lock.. then come back in... all in one manoeuvre ' she said its not quite a 'donut' ...so moi will call it a 'custard cream' lol... and moi has a video of it as well ... be warned folks its a bit scary cos MOI... is humming the documentation of it we then returned back to the Tinker Lane mooring where we stayed last night because moi wanted to visit Nottingham Castle , Museum and Caves, while PB wanted to visit the ' the Oldest Pub in Great Britain... Ye Olde Trip to Jerusalem.

It was absolutely fantastic so much history and we went on a tour of the Caves and then had tea in the pub ( where we stuffed our faces with yummy food. We were going to go out again for the evening...but after a hectic busy day, decided to chill and watch a dvd, we both had aching feet lol from dancing far too much last night ( and NO!! neither one of us drink alcohol )

I have lots of piccies and the 'custard cream' video ... but the internet connection around here is pretty poor and we could not even get a signal for the Sat Dish. Therefore I might wait... either till we get a good signal or upload the piccies when I get back to my moorings.

 

We both have fallen in love with Nottingham and all of its people they are right ruddy stars ..a truly wonderful trip and everyone that we have met has been so welcoming, chatty and friendly

moi.. was even waving to the people on the buses, who all waved and smiled back... ( moi.. ignored PB comments of ... 'its because they think your (&^$$$%$..% LOL... Weather permitting we intend to return again ( hopefully by boat) for the Goose Fair in October.

[tree]

Today's shannigans ...we all had a yummy brekkie and noticed that the Sun had gone walk a bout , but it was dry and very humid, and with thunderstorms reported to be looming on the horizon so to speak, we decided to make our way back towards whence we came. It was sad to be leaving such a happy place ,....so with the 'wolves' and the lickle 'leopard' fed the mooring ropes were uncoiled and off we set. We were amazed not to see many boaters on our way back to Beeston as it was quite good 'boaty' weather.. dry... overcast... and best of all no ruddy wind

The scenery between bridge 16 and 17 is wonderful and bliss.. moi's only gripe is that.. grrr... No!! flipping mooring rings to enable you to spend some peaceful time watching the Herons and cyclists go by. Just a couple of winter mooring ring ones...!!!!! moi made a NOTE !!! the wildlife is amazing and I got some lovely piccies of a cheeky Heron, who bless .. happily posed for me, as well as moorhens and coots and swans with their families..

We have done so much walking and sightseeing that today was earmarked as a 'chill out and relax day' we moored up just a bit further away from the lock as there was plenty of space and mooring rings lol.. We got chatting to a few of the regular boaters and told them all about our wanderings around Nottingham Then we dropped our rubbish in the 'boaters bins' beside the lock and went to get an ice-cream as the weather was hotting up. This is a very busy place with cyclists and walkers .. and then moi realised doh tree!! its only 4 miles back to Nottingham, and you can either walk or cycle .. on a designated route ...just across from the lock. There is also a brill dog walking stretch, my only second gripe on this trip so far has been the Lack of Rubbish Bins and Dog doodly stinky drop- in Bins... from Beeston to Nottingham we just kept all the 'dogpoo' bags on the bow until we found a correct bin .. and the couple of rubbish bags in the front locker. The rest of the afternoon was spent relaxing under the cool shade of the willow trees that are along these moorings ( well ahem!! say relax.. pb managed to sit sunning herself and reading her book, the wolves and leopard were stretched out on the grass snoozing... what about moi you may ask!!... well poor ruddy moi was slowly driving herself more bonkers by trying to upload the mountain of piccies and the 'custard cream' video .. when I spotted 2 Cart employees sitting in their van .. aha!! moi needed a distraction ... so wandered over and politely mentioned my '2 gripes', and asked them who did I need to speak to and, bless they were so sweet and they told me to contact the Newark office for further information and they agreed it seem a bit daft. Moi has written it in her filofaxxy thingyme bob, so I wont forget

While we were moored in Nottingham we had terrible problems in getting a signal for pb satalite dish, a couple of the folk who live in the flats opposite, were giving us advice, but being near the trees we gave up the ghost, then while shopping in the very nearby Sainsburys store, moi who needs a tv arial spotted a bargain ... (One For All ..amplified indoor aerial.. up to 41 db, reception of Freeview, ultra flat ( its amazingly slim ), interference free 4G filter, digital, Free to Air digital and GSM block filter with OMNI directional.. it has a unique 3G/4G block filter to block all 3G and 4G mobile phone signals. and it was half price and moi paided £16.00 we only tried it today and Ureka!! excellent pictures... moi sitting smug lol as pb didn't think it would be much good at that price and being an Indoor arial ... so folks if you need a new arial thingymebob .. its good and a decent price but be quick they wont stay on the shelves for long.. moi has no connection to Sainsburys lol.

I spent the evening watching grand designs,never mind the buzzcocks and rick stein while pb was nattering in the forum chatroom. Mind you cor blimey vicar we had a heck of a thunderstorm earlier on .....now everyone soundly sleeping while MOI hmm... is trying to sort out the piccies.. I have managed to get some downloaded .. not my fault its pb lappy its more bonkers than moi .. so here you go a few to go on with.. while I try and do the video and the rest

http://s1287.photobucket.com/user/treespirit1/library/pink%20ladies%20river%20trip?sort=3&page=1

[tree]

tis no good ime .... and pykebird's laptop is ..... *&*^&%^%&%^$%^%£$%^& ... opps sowwry

 

steady tree ..now! now.!.. ..well it is cos it keeps ruddy 'freezing 'on me..

so moi being persistent ( OI!! who just said Stubborn?????? hahahaha ..will try and download the other 100 piccies and the 'custard cream' not a 'donut' video. so nn good morning and zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz clock

 

erm.. on here the clock says : 01.38 AM .. well it flipping well aint .. ITS ... 02.39 AM here just outside Beeston

 

Lock ime gornnnnnnnnnnnnn

Edited July 23, 2013 by tree

[tree]

tis no good ime .... and pykebird's laptop is ..... *&*^&%^%&%^$%^%£$%^& ... opps sowwry

 

steady tree ..now! now.!.. ..well it is cos it keeps ruddy 'freezing 'on me..

so moi being persistent ( OI!! who just said Stubborn?????? hahahaha ..will try and download the other 100 piccies and the 'custard cream' not a 'donut' video. so nn good morning and zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz clock

 

erm.. on here the clock says : 01.38 AM .. well it flipping well aint .. ITS ... 02.39 AM here just outside Beeston

 

Lock ime gornnnnnnnnnnnnn

at last got some done and video will appear once it has loaded up

tis no good ime .... and pykebird's laptop is ..... *&*^&%^%&%^$%^%£$%^& ... opps sowwry

 

steady tree ..now! now.!.. ..well it is cos it keeps ruddy 'freezing 'on me..

so moi being persistent ( OI!! who just said Stubborn?????? hahahaha ..will try and download the other 100 piccies and the 'custard cream' not a 'donut' video. so nn good morning and zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz clock

 

erm.. on here the clock says : 01.38 AM .. well it flipping well aint .. ITS ... 02.39 AM here just outside Beeston

 

Lock ime gornnnnnnnnnnnnn

http://s1287.photobucket.com/user/treespirit1/library/pink%20ladies%20river%20trip?sort=2&page=1

[Beaker]

Pictures are a bit small, tree?

[Guest]

Pictures are a bit small, tree?

They are OK on a mobile device...

[tree]

doh lol put the piccies on and then got puddled .. here you go a few of them ( moi has over 150 left to do .. but will leave it as these for now .. and yes!! moi did edit the piccies.. I started off with about 250 hahahaha)

 

http://s1287.photobucket.com/user/treespirit1/library/pink%20ladies%20river%20trip?sort=2&page=1ers

 

quite a sad day as tomorrow moi has to return back to my moorings and sort out my work business.. but all is good as I had a couple of people contact me for support while on my mini hols ..so fingers crossed and pykebird also is back at work. But we have had a wonderful time, enjoying beautiful scenery and some scary ones (today lol) , met lots of people and made new friends on out travels and hopefully moi made a lot of people smile with my singing and waving and antics.

 

After a night of hailstones, thunder and lightning ..and the lickle 'leopard' howling her head off, and moi sharing the couch with one of the 'wolves', we all awoke to a grey and overcast day, plus lol the boat had a spattering of grass cuttings ( pb was not amused.. luckily the chaps were no where to be seen LOL. As we approached Beeston lock.. a couple of boats were coming out ..yippee less work for moi to do ... ohh... as we left the lock the weather erm... changed and the sky turned inky black and then the thunder and lightning started.. we only saw 2 other narrowboats going the opposite way, and it was full wetgear deployed . along the way past Bartons Island we passed a mooring which was burnt out ( piccie included) and the main tree was burnt to a cinder in the middle and looked like a 'lightning strike' to me. We couldn't see anyone around and the area was still smouldering but then just a bit further up the road we saw some people heading that way towards it.

The trip back to Cranfleet lock was accompanied by a dark broody sky and smatterings of thunder and lightning, once at Cranfleet Lock it ruddy changed and with is now soaked and looking like a pair of drowned rats lol.. we bumped into a group of canoeists .. and moi being me had a natter ( wish I had my kayak anyway the lock coming down was easy peasy.. but oh eck ... going up it was a minx and was a &ugger to do .. once out we met another boater and they said the same. We stopped for some lunch and then decided to go and have tea and cake at the café which is at the lock junction of the Erwash.. but boo hoo... it was shut ( apparently its shuts Mon &Tues) just when moi was craving some yummy treat. Never mind we stopped and had a drink at the pub as it was now sunny , barmy and humid and the 'wolves' needed a drink too. We then set off for a toodle along the towpath such a nice place... only sad bit was an elderly chap has gone missing and the police and a helicopter were out searching for him, they gave us his description so we could all keep a look out, we also saw police divers and dogs along the edge of the bank hope he gets found safe and well).

The rest of the trip was uneventful and the gloomy weather did not dampen lol ..out spirits..

 

All I can say is that we all had a wonderful lickle break and although some of pykebirds friends could not make the trip due to unexpected work commitments ...we still managed to have a fabulous time ( even if moi had to share the couch with an 8 year old Northern inuit and a 3 year old Bengal cat.. who is a wriggler lol) and it was a tonic for the both of us and personally just what moi needed after a few hectic months. A wonderful beautiful trip

Pictures are a bit small, tree?

yikes lol its a ruddy miracle i got em on in the first place lol.. what you have to do is click on them and then they will get bigger .. i just went back and tried it myself, so hopefully it will be ok for you

[matty40s]

Looks a brill journey and you just got back before the river shot up. Hope you both had a brill time.

Congrats to PB for getting the boat looking like that, regrets at not being able to be involved.

[bizzard]

Lovely pics Tree especially the petrified one.

[nailora]

You have no idea how much you have made me want a sugar-pink boat crewed by wolves and miniature leopards.... sounds like a most excellent fairy tale!

[tree]

r

Lovely pics Tree especially the petrified one.

aww.. tankies Master Bizzard ... moi has about 120 more piccies to download ..but will edit them for here as most are historical features around the canals that moi liked. 'Petrified' ohhhh..err... that so reminded moi of 'Hogworts' lol ( I flipping hate having piccies taken , hence my body language is so apparent but PB the horrid mare was gonner make moi walk back lol,

[bizzard]

I didn't mean yew Tree I meant the lightening struck one.

[tree]

You have no idea how much you have made me want a sugar-pink boat crewed by wolves and miniature leopards.... sounds like a most excellent fairy tale!

as well as.......... 'witchy-druid moi'

nailora ,you would have enjoyed it, as it was a magical journey and a lot of fun

I didn't mean yew Tree I meant the lightening struck one.

 

I didn't mean yew Tree I meant the lightening struck one.

aww.. it was so sad to see and it looked as if 'lightning'..... had struck it right in its heart, as it was still smouldering and was as black as the the darkest night

[tree]

after spending oddles of hours trying and its very trying for not a computer expert... I have managed top get the video downloaded from my camera onto pykebirds lappy... now it wont ruddy ..come onto here or even onto my photobucket place

yikes!! I got to drive back home so will try again later on tonight

[Chris Pink]

Youtube is your friend.

[Guest]

after spending oddles of hours trying and its very trying for not a computer expert... I have managed top get the video downloaded from my camera onto pykebirds lappy... now it wont ruddy ..come onto here or even onto my photobucket place

yikes!! I got to drive back home so will try again later on tonight

Get weaving tree I showed my youngest the pics. of the Pink narrow boat and she loves it (by youngest I mean 26!)

[Woodstock]

Loved reading about your adventures- we used to moor at Shardlow and Nottingham (studied there many years ago) was on my wish-list- but the floods last year meant we didn't do it before moving- but will do

 

I love how you write- it made it sound a lovely adventure and I could picture it- thank you- and I'm quite taken by a pink stetson- must find one

 

We're off on our hols tomorrow night- going down the Coventry and onto the Ashby

Jackie