right here we are back on the river ready to crank it we're in Newark Newark
on Trent and headed towards Nottingham and we're very very lucky because I've
got a special guest a local guide called Dave action and now Dave what is your
qualification for joining me on this voyage what you've got a special history
with Newark yeah I've lived here all my life so a little bit about it I've had a
few canal biology so I know what I'm doing on the water and I probably the
week Dave isn't just some random blokes just jumped on board he was responsible
for switching over the old hydraulic systems on the locks to new electric
ones back in the 80s and 90s so what he did was he ensured that all the locks
could be used by boaters and not just a lot keeper right then the journey from
Newark to Nottingham is 23 and a half miles by River with five locks in
between so by Road it's about 21 miles yes yes it's not enough for a Newark and
on by train or take you about 40 40 to 45 minutes which in narrow boat terms is
more like three days going against the current so you better crank it
well then so it's 3:00 to 11:00 that's late enough isn't it to look around
the pubs and the reason we are pulling over so early in the journey is because
we're starting in Newark on Trent and Newark is is famous for its brewing
although you can't really buy much beer brewed in Newark at the moment you
could certainly drink there and there's lots of beers to choose from and loads
of different bars and places to visit which makes it quite difficult to choose
pub of the week so let's just go and visit them all and you can decide
right here we go we start on the castle barge and this is it's basically a grain
barge that's been converted back in 1980 and served breakfast and pizza here but
it's much better known for its booze and its decor is also basically you know
you could really feel like you're at the captain's table on a ship so
absolutely ideal if you are a pirate or are having a pirate themed party because
they would definitely cater for that
unlike the coffee here my dad says the beers are consistently excellent now
across the way this is interesting this is a coffee house or was a coffee house
a 'temperance house' because people back in the eighteen hundreds were
apparently drinking away too much so they set this up to sort them out but
we're not ready for a coffee just yet we're gonna try and get all the pubs
first this is Just Beer you might have seen this one before it's been on one of
my vlogs as pub of the week and it's one micro pub awards before as well actual
real awards for its fantastic beer selection it's got so many good ales
ciders you'll always find something you like if you're into that sort of thing
and coming soon this is breaking news they've got a tap wall coming for all
these lovely craft beers now onto the Flying Circus this is a fantastic pub if
you appreciate Monty Python and also if you're a fan of Blues because these guys
are absolutely obsessed
[awful Michael Palin impression] the flyin' circus is a high class no we didn't have none of that — that was
right out — a high-class place [back to normal voice] having great beers but do stuff your wallet because
this is an expensive place as is the Prince Rupert but this is quality not
quantity guys all right! having said that Prince Rupert has got a
large quantity of historical artifacts loads of history here so there's all the
sort of modern vintage and antique stuff that's that Newark is so famous for now
loads of vintage shops around Newark lovely courtyard garden they're a bit
more modern but upstairs you've got these poor animals' heads stuck on the
wall and one in that pie that I've just eaten delicious pies I mean this is
incredible food right here and the beers ain't bad neither so definitely
recommend that one 'now then!' the organ-grinder is certainly Dave's choice
for a pub of the week as it is his local I really like the Blue Monkey beers (the
pub is owned by the brewery) but it's the general relaxed cozy atmosphere here
that sets it apart the Fox and Crown pub and bottle shop owned by Castle Rock
brewery is the place to go for a wide selection of beers particularly my
favorite type which is the unfiltered kind labeled here is vegan mmm! this pub has
just been awarded Newark Town CAMRA pub of the year and it's certainly very very
popular with the locals and also I like to see a good games corner and it's got
one so top points for that another place for fun and games is last but not least
the Clay Tavern now this is run very well by my friends Sean and Melissa so
I'm a tiny bit biased but they are so welcoming as landlords
that literally anyone can come in here and feel at home
midweek it can be very very quiet but on weekends it's absolutely— oh my god what
is this?! Shawn put it away!!
right so those are the pubs what do you reckon let me
know in the comments below which one was your favorite anyway it's time to push
off let's crank it eh?! The night before I went for dinner at the assisted living
place which was interesting subscribers Gordon and Shirley were my hosts
Gordon and Shirley — hello — I'm waving to you right now!
[voice over] well Gordon must have seen us
because here he is he just popped out and he's going to come and help us get
through the next lock this is Newark town lock we're heading to under the
bridge on our left now we've got Newark Castle which is a very very interesting
place it's of national significance because it
was the scene of the English Civil War so this is the Gateway to the
north in Newark so here we'd have the Cavaliers fighting the
Roundheads and as Newark was an incredibly royalist town so they
stayed true to the king right to the end the castle is also infamous for the fact
that the not-so-nice King John
Sheriff of Nottingham: You know who this is don't you? Well today...
Peasant: No
Yes it's that King John from the Robin Hood tales
King John: THEY DIDN'T KNOW WHO I WAS!!
and he actually died in the castle after a huge feast stuffing his face he died
of dysentery which I think that serves him right isn't it
WHERE'S MY SUPPER!!!!
but the castle is just one of the many fascinating buildings in Newark
including this one which houses Britain's only Violin making school
just fascinating all the students here are from all over the
world during the summer Newark is booming with the tourist trade that it
brings in but other times in the year it seems quite sad you've got lots of
closed shops which I guess is the sign of the times but then there's also quite
a few that are doing well for those sort of up upmarket sort of vintage and
antiques trade so definitely a good place to go for that and also I found
this shop here as well which belongs to a guy called
Carl Shipman and that probably won't mean anything to you but when I was a lad
growing up he was in all the magazines, a famous skateboarder so
for me it was just great to talk about the old days and also to meet his
wife and his son who run the shop with him so now back on the boat my mind must
have been too much on skateboarding — grinding the boat across this
ledge here — and before going into the lock and this is being open by myself oh
just pressing the Open button there it's all it's all very simple but Dave was
struggling with the flow of the river which can be really tricky there
it is the weir comes in from the right and then there's
a parallel lock ahead of us and you'd go in into the right hand one
The Canal and River Trust
were on site here fundraising whilst Gordon expertly filled up the lock
while we stopped at that lock this is the rubbish spot you've got and it's right
next to the Canal and River Trust boat yard
you can have your boat blacked here apparently
but here's the rubbish facilities just one bin so all my recycling it's
gone in the same bin so that's really disappointing I know I always go on
about it but Canal and River Trust — please stop painting everything horrible blue
and sort the recycling out!
so we're just leaving Newark now headed towards
Farndon — Farndon is our next stop!
as I touched on before Newarks history of Brewing beers is quite a long and
strong one (a bit like the beer) but Dave — you were just saying about this building up here
what's that? That was the Malt Kiln - the chimneys was for
the ovens when they used to roast the malt
well the boats chugging along I've got to put the tea on haven't I!
always like to look after my guests so today I'm going to be making some
Lidls... actually no, this is Aldi Aldi's 'Specially Selected' medium
roast Colombian! Only the finest coffee — and to go with it I've got some rich tea
biscuits I hope Dave likes peanut butter because
that's what's in the middle!!
this is Staythorpe power station we're just going past and it's really quite
dangerous — you want to get don't get too close to that weir, it runs all the
way along this bit, but yeah it's quite a sight — this power
station is a gas power station according to Dave, that they just
use to flick on when they need the power
So Dave you not having a peanut butter biscuit?!
Dave: Oh no — I don't like peanut butter!
That's funny my dad's exactly the same so they're all mine!!
We're going to moor up here — at Farndon marina — and that boat there
there's a restaurant inside isn't there
well it would be rude not to pop in for a pint
especially when you've got a loyalty card!
it's interesting here Dave was just telling me
about the ferries because if you want to cross the
river there's Newark and Gainsborough and
then Gunn Thorpe bridge about ten miles between them
so what they used to do was take ferries across and there was one over
there that they used to ring the bell and they would come and get you and take you
across it's fantastic well luckily we've got a boat so we can go wherever we want
to go Thanks to Shirley again for these
sandwiches — we've got something to keep us going (and soak up the beer as well)
always crank it responsibly!
that's a joke!!
right Dave where are we now then?
We're at Fiskerton
Is there a pub here ?
Yeah
[voice over] unfortunately we don't have time to stop
at the pub but Dave has smuggled on some beer with him so
this is amazing look at this!
it's a local brewery in Collingham called Cats Asylum
pretty cool
just the job!
now you probably can't tell because I've got this neat little wind thingy on my
microphone but it's pretty windy but yeah we're now coming up to Hazleford lock
And this is probably where we're going to end today's travelling
It's difficult to see because the Sun is reflecting
off the water isn't it you're just coming into the lock we're gonna see if there's
any spaces we're hoping there will be but being that it is still February
its winter, off season, so we should be fine
is it all coming back to you Dave?! All the work used to do here?
Yeah - pushing my tools over on that bridge!
You see these orange barriers here — well they were introduced to stop
people going over the weir
Dave — how many years ago? 30
years ago there was nothing there and a lot of pleasure boaters were going down there
and yeah people drowned but to test it what would they do Dave?
Well these hold 150 tonne of ballast from dredgings
and they would run it at one
of these straight across the river just to check whether it would break and it didn't!!
so its pretty strong rope
so there's that weir over there and there's another one
right here
so essentially for tonight only I have got my own little island — albeit one
I have to share with fishermen who were fishing from across the other side
and there's actually also a lock keepers house that's inhabited as well
On the next video we'll be carrying on our journey to Nottingham hope you join me
thank you so much for watching and subscribing and liking I love you guys.
Good bye.
[singing to myself] I'm on an island YES I'm on a freaking island — having a good time — having a
real good... ahhhh. Well just one more one more YouTube video. Let's click on this one...