While moored at Willington we conducted a test run of the train journey into Derby, the nearest big city. The journey time was around six minutes and there is only a short walk from Derby station to the big shopping mall. We left Duffy on Adagio to reintroduce her to spending time on her own again. The cooler weather encouraged us to buy some new warm clothes, which was the main reason for the trip. We ate lunch at the Book Cafe which did not disappoint and helped us recuperate for the second half of our retail session. But, we learned that our tolerance to noisy cities and busy shopping malls had lowered yet further since we adopted this quieter lifestyle of ours. Five hours later we returned to Adagio, dropped off the shopping, collected Duffy and immediately adjourned to the recently refurbished Dragon pub, canalside Willington, for a much needed refresher enjoyed in the late afternoon sunshine. Nonetheless, it was a good test of the journey in preparation for our winter stay near to Willington.
We left Willington the next morning after watching Wales lose to France in the Rugby World Cup semifinals despite putting in a magnificent performance. Even with Wales one man down through a debatable referee decision France had to fight hard to the bitter end to maintain their one point lead to win the game. On the up side today was a brilliant October Saturday with sunshine and blue sky; one of those special Autumn days that make you glad be alive and cruising the cut.
Our short journey did not take too long and for the most part was very chilled. Chilled that is until an unladen old working boat (well, an ex working boat now owned by an 'enthusiast', rather than a true working boat) appeared behind us apparently going like the clappers. He kept on gaining on us especially when we slowed down to pass moored craft as he seemed to maintain constant speed as he passed them. At some points he was only a few yards behind our stern and I have to admit succumbing to the pressure to open up and accelerate as much as I could. Eventually I found myself creating a breaking wash and Adagio's engine began to get hot. Not overheating by a long way but the temperature guage was creeping up as she was working hard in the available water. (Many folk do not realise a narrowboat will only go as fast as the depth of water will allow due to the drag forces. There is no keel so a narrowboat is somewhat of a blunt instrument in marine terms. So thrashing your engine when in shallow water does not add to your vessel's speed but the energy has to go somewhere. Therefore, things get warm!) Enough is enough I thought and eased right back on the throttle until we reached Dallow Lane lock. The working boat didn't take the hint and kept coming up close to our stern until he had to slow down to join the queue for the lock. He then stayed back while everyone else worked the lock, not assisting in any way. Judging by his appearance I would hazard a guess he and his lady crew member were 'shiny boaters' who were wannabe working boat people. I hasten to add we have never experienced this type of behaviour from real working boats and their crews.
We moored at Shobnall Fields visitor moorings in the brewing town of Burton on Trent which turned out to be a reasonably peaceful spot. Unfortunately in this part of England you are never very far from the major trunk route that is the A38, so there is a continuous background of traffic noise. The town is dominated by the massive Molson Coors brewery that produces popular beers (Coors, Caffrey's to name but two) on an industrial scale. Towards the other end of town stands the Marstons brewery, still large but brewing cask ales such as Pedigree. We ventured into the town centre a couple of times the one and a quarter mile walk taking us through some of the old narrow streets now taken up with rented homes in various states of repair. Suffice to say Burton is not exactly a prime destination but it possess all the facilities the casual visitor requires. Shobnall Fields, however, is a gem of a green space covered in football and rugby pitches, a fine looking running track and sports complex. Moreover, unlike some towns we have visited on our cruise the good people appear to respect this space with litter being minimal and graffiti absent from structures and sculptures. The only litter we did see was the detritus left behind by some of the football teams and their supporters after a game.
To the West of Shobnall Fields, a footbridge crosses the A38 and a footpath takes you into Oaks Woods where a beautiful woodland walk awaits exploration. We took Duffy up there for a long walk where she enjoyed hunting through the undergrowth and galloping around the oak and beech trees. It was such a comforting feeling strolling past those archetypal English deciduous trees on a crisp, Autumn day.
Today the time came to move on and we moved down to Shobnall Basin where there is a winding hole and Shobnall Boat Services. It was rather gusty so I had to be sharpish with letting go the ropes and getting on board before Adagio drifted all the way across the canal at the mercy of the wind. We turned at the basin and moored up at the yard to buy some propane. A note to our fellow boaters who might cruise this way. Shobnall is one of those rare yards that does not charge for the use of Elsan disposal, nor did they charge us for drinking water although I believe there is usually a nominal charge of 50p. After doing the loos and taking on water we meandered down to Bridge 25 where we had noticed a reasonable looking mooring space along the towpath when we passed on the way to Burton. A little bit noisy from that blasted A38 but it will do for a couple of nights.
And so we are all chilled out around the saloon: Sue knitting, me writing this and Duffy snoozing after some serious running and hunting along the towpath. The forecast is for ground and air frosts but the stove is lit and we shall be toasty.
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