The Beeston & Nottingham Canal

Back on The Duke at lunchtime on Friday 30th April. Vera came back from her sleepover with Annie and Ian and at 3.00pm we were all picked up from Sainsbury’s car park by Keith and Sarah in their campervan, based on a Ford Transit van. They whisked us off for a socially distanced garden party at their house in Compton Acres and Vera made friends with the neighbour's dogs. We had a splendid slow-cooked chicken casserole and buckets of red wine.

Of course, we took a bag of washing with us to use their laundry facilities while we with them!

On Saturday morning, now the 1st of May and with the coldest April for 99 years according to The Telegraph behind us, we walked along the tow path to the junction of the Beeston & Nottingham Canal with the River Trent.

The old canal buildings are now restaurants and bars.

Most people were cycling rather than using the public scooters that were scattered about.

We passed 19 Turneys Quay, Hilary's old house, next to the impressive Trent Bridge and the skyline was dominated by floodlights for the cricket ground, Nottingham Forest and Notts County football stadiums. Tents from the Extinction Rebellion brigade were pitched between the Embankment moorings and County Hall. Extinction Rebellion (abbreviated as XR) is a global environmental movement with the stated aim of using nonviolent civil disobedience to compel government action to avoid tipping points in the climate system, biodiversity loss, and the risk of social and ecological collapse.

The old Broadmarsh shopping area in the centre of Nottingham seems to be in limbo with much of it boarded up and lots of construction going on around the area. It was good to see Weavers Wine Merchant still going strong. In the noughties Steve used to buy Robin Hood mead and Brown Brothers Tarrango Australian red wine (well recommended) from here.

We walked back through the Meadows, passing the new Castle Rock pub The Dispensary, which used to be the Boot’s Social Club on London Road by Trent Bridge.

Back on the canal there were Canadian Geese who seem to breed like wildfire here, swans, ducks, herons and 2 Mandarin ducks (not our photograph below) which we didn't see again during our stay.

From our mooring you can see the disappointing Nottingham Castle, the building on the hill, top left, that looks like a blockhouse or Colditz Castle.

Our mooring here is next to Castle Marina Sainsbury’s and a retail park which has a huge dog friendly “Ultimate Outdoors” superstore, where Vera had to be restrained from eating all of the complementary dog kibble in a bowl next to the water in the entrance. The store staff obviously don't know what Labradors are like!