Saturday 7 July 2012

Soaking in Saxilby

After watching the rain fall down in torrents all day yesterday at Saxilby I should have been less surprised than I was to wake this morning and find the towpath flooded. The level had come up by at least a foot in the night and the first job was to slacken the mooring lines to correct the list that was developing!
Flooded towpath at Saxilby


Second job was to get the gangplank off the roof and position in at the counter so that I could at least get off the boat without getting my feet wet. As you can see from the photo though, my plank isn't really long enough and getting off and, particularly, back on required some feats of daring!  After a while the white cruiser behind me moved off and I was able to pull back to where the water wasn't so deep and the angle of the plank less severe.
The extra water also brought with it the weed. Last night there wasn't any to be seen but this morning the canal was covered in it.  Despite a dry day, with only a couple of short showers, neither the water level nor the weed show any sign of receding, but I don't mind. Saxilby has everything a boater wants - water, toilets, shops, pubs, take-aways, buses and even a railway station. The village's main street runs along the canal bank so I can keep on eye on the buses and the railway line is on the other side so there's plenty to keep me amused for the rest of the day.

3 comments:

Christine at www.richlow.co.uk said...

Hello Jim, the River Till flows into the Fossdyke so that's responsible for the high levels. Have you found Tongs DIY cum engineering works? They have Calor Gas, solid fuel, and diesel in 20-litre drums (and the loan of a barrow to move it). Tong's is on the bankside road.
When you get to Lincoln, the River Witham flows into the far side of Brayford Pool - in these conditions the flow through the Glory Hole bridge can be excessive - be careful.

Roland said...

We were looking at the narrow boats moored up yesterday wondering how people got on and off the boats when te tow path flooded. I never considered a gang plank but that is the perfect solution. I assumed you justrolled up your trousers and jumped in.

Jim said...

Christine, Thanks for your advice. I wish I'd known about your guide before I set off.