On to Fiskerton.

Travelled 10.21 miles worked 2 locks in a time of 4 hours 10 minutes.

Awake early this was the sight that greeted me as I put the kettle on for an early morning cuppa. Sunrise over The Devils Cauldron.

We left the Cromwell Lock mooring at 8.35 am having chatted to the lady on Hermia the little mast boat which moored up behind us over night. Her husband built the boat himself and it is a real credit to him.

On to Muskham, where there are pontoon moorings outside The Muskham Ferry Inn. The pontoons are only short and you need to moor stern in, so not ideal for a 70 ft boat.

A1 road bridge.

We were then on to the Newark Dyke.

The Railway ahead is the East Coast Main line, before Newark Nether Lock.

We were called into the lock.

Keith on the stern rope and me on the bow

Having left the lock the railway passes overhead.

We were then back in Newark and the sight of the castle to greet us once more.

As we waited for the lock to fill, we said “Goodbye” to Newark, but we will be back.

Out of Newark and past Newark Marina with it large expensive boats moored up.

I can only imagine how much it was to buy any one of those boats.

This fisherman was keeping his feet cool in the heat.

Averham Weir and the end of the Newark Dyke. We had hoped to moor up at Farndon, but the pontoon already had one boat on it and the other main mooring was for the trip boat. We dare not try and moor on the inside of the pontoon because it looked way to shallow, so Farndon would have to wait for another day and we went on our way.

Scorpio a Fairline cruiser came up on our tail and soon over took us with a wave. A stunning looking boat.

Heading back to its base in Farndon was the trip boat.

After what was a superb cruising morning we spotted a pontoon mooring at Fiskerton and so decided it was going to be ours. In the Nickolson Guide book it says there are moorings, but there is only one mooring outside the pub, the others are private moorings. having moored up Keith went and spoke to someone in the Bromley Arms about us mooring there and he was told it was alright for us to stay one night, so we have booked a table for a meal. So although the guide say’s moorings for boaters, it is at the pubs discretion. Having a meal and a pint or two may allow you one nights stay.  Lunch was eaten and enjoyed and then we took a walk into the village. Fiskerton has some fine houses along the waterfront. Many, many years ago there used to be a ferry from the Bromley Arms across the river to East Stoke which believed to be on the site of the Roman Fort, Ad Pontem. On that side of the river can be seen the site of the battle of Stoke Fields in 1487, the last battle of the war of the Roses. The battle saw the defeat of the Yorkist’s by the army of Henry VII with 7000 deaths.

Having walked out of the pub car park we turned left and found a short distance away the village Post Office, Shop and Hairdressers, all very handy. I needed a loaf of bread so I added a small amount of money to the village shop till. The village is small with a lot of new build houses it seems. We counted at least seven houses up for sale. During the Second World War, an airfield was built on agricultural land to the north of the village. RAF Fiskerton opened in January 1943 as part of 5 Group, RAF Bomber Command as 52 Sub-Base Station controlled by RAF Scampton. It closed at the end of the war in September 1945 and the land returned to agricultural use. Very little can be seen of the old airfield now, but a memorial to No. 49 Squadron RAF and 576 Squadron, who were stationed at the airfield during the war, can be found by the side of the road between Fiskerton and Reepham, a village 1.5 miles (2.4 km) to the north.

Fiskerton was fairly industrialized in the mid-19th century with a lace factory and a firm making stove blackening and polish. The only evidence of any industry now are the house names such as The Maltings. After our stroll in the midday heat, it was back to the boat passing the Bromley Arms. The heat is really up, so Keith sat inside resting his back, whilst I sat out for a while. We will stay over night then head off in the morning to find a weekend mooring.