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| A bend in The Trent near Cottam Power Station |
The River Trent is Britain's third longest river - after The Thames and The River Severn. My wife and all of her family grew up on the west bank of the Trent just north of Gainsborough. In fact they had a special verb round there. "To trent" something meant you were chucking it in the river as generations before had done. Mostly we are talking about organic matter - leaves, grass cuttings etcetera.
I drove out to The Trent on Monday - another gorgeous day. Clint deposited me in the village of Dunham-on-Trent, close to the toll bridge on the A57 that eventually takes travellers to the city of Lincoln.
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| A family of swans on Trent Pool near Torksey |
The etymology of the name "trent" suggests that it means something like "strongly flooding" and indeed in past times the river would flood each winter. But large embankments now ensure that flooding in the lower reaches of The Trent has become a fairly rare phenomenon. Foe example, my late father-in-law's farm near Owston Ferry was last flooded in the winter of 1947.
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| Unusual sign at Church Laneham |
Under a blue sky upon which wisps of cotton wool clouds had been painted, I walked to Church Laneham then on to Cottam Power Station with its huge concrete cooling towers that can be seen from miles around. I paused to watch a family of swans in Trent Pool and then carried on down Torksey Ferry Road - all the way to Rampton.
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| Cottages and the church in Rampton |
I sat in the porch of All Saints Church for ten minutes to rest, drink water and devour a banana before carrying on to Laneham and then it was back across the fields to Dunham.
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| Beech Farm, Laneham |
This was another wonderful sunny day on which it simply felt good to be alive and mobile. As usual, I saw many lovely sights - even those monumental cooling towers. Clint was snoring when I got back to the car park opposite what was once a pub but is now the "Maharaj" Indian restaurant and takeaway. As Kurt Vonnegut Jr said in "Slaughter House Five"... "So it goes".
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| The same cooling towers reflected in Trent Pool |
So it goes. Indeed.
ReplyDeleteThere's something quite unsettling to me about the sight of those cooling towers. I do not like them.
Did you know that by law all the swans in Britain belong to the queen? At least, I have that on good authority.
There is no truth in the rumour that I once dispatched a young swan and took it home for dinner...your majesty!
DeleteHow dry the grass verges look! The swan family make a beautiful picture, and the cooling towers have their very own aesthetics. I wonder whether they are the ones that I have seen from the train numerous times.
ReplyDeleteYou are probably more familiar with the cooling towers at Eggborough and Ferrybridge though at the latter site two or three of the towers were recently demolished.
DeleteI trust you had no violent thoughts in Dunham-on-Trent.
ReplyDeleteOne of Liverpool's full backs is called Trent. Trent Alexander-Arnold. So guess what I imagined I would see at Dunham on Trent?
DeleteIt's a wonder they didn't keep you in Rampton.
DeleteI agree that I have the right qualities to make an effective hospital prison guard. Kind but firm.
DeleteAt least you weren't thinking Dunham in Trent.
DeleteI would have chucked you a rubber ring.
DeleteEven those cooling towers look nice on a sunny day.
ReplyDeleteI used to work for the civil engineering company that designed many of the sewerage schemes in Lincolnshire. Each time one was finished the whole staff went on a bus trip to see the result. Happy days. (The 1970's.)
I always think it's a nice day out when you get to see a sewerage facility!
DeleteI like the deaf cat sign! Paul could get one saying "Caution, Deaf Wife!"
ReplyDeleteAs long as it's "Deaf" and not "Daft" Sue!
DeleteYou keep doing this, posting pictures, very nice pictures I may add, of where I have walked before. I walked from Burton upon Trent, along the Trent, to Scunthorpe, 119 miles. It's a long distance walk, The Trent Valley Way.
ReplyDeleteWow! that is a long way MQ! Did you take lodgings along the way?
DeleteYes, I spread it over seven days. It's the only walk I have done where I booked B & B in advance, because I knew I might have difficulty finding a bed on spec. It was fairly easy, and a lovely walk. Had to come off the river a few times to go through villages. Really enjoyed it.
Deletehttps://www.walkingenglishman.com/ldp/trentvalleyway.html
Can I ask what camera you are using, your photo's are perfect. My Canon has a scratch on the lens and I need to get a new one. I don't know if they can repair it, but I suspect it is cheaper to buy a new one.
It's a "Sony" Cybershot bridge camera MQ. Most of the time, I just leave it on the "automatic" setting. It has a nice range on the zoom facility. May I congratulate you on that long distance walk? A great achievement in my view.
DeleteThank you for your reply, I will make a note of that camera. Yes, I leave mine on auto, I don't know enough about cameras to fiddle about with the settings. The Trent walk was one of many. I started when I retired at 60, first one was Blackpool to the Humber Bridge, 137 miles in 7 days. No accommodation booked except the first B & B at Blackpool. Train out, walk back. I've done lots more since. It's a great feeling, rucksack on the back, map in hand, just go. You could do it.
DeleteI am not sure that I could MQ. It's the carrying of the rucksack that puts me off - not the walk itself. Kudos to you young lady!
DeleteAs a last comment, I made the mistake of packing too much on the first walk, I ended up dumping some of my clothes in a phone box hoping someone might find them and take them home. I discovered all you need are the clothes you stand up in, the boots on your feet, minimum washing gear, a drink and snacks. It doesn't matter that your clothes get grubby when travelling alone.
DeleteI have never seen a "deaf cat" sign before. And it looks commercially produced! Who knew there was enough of a market for someone to manufacture them?!
ReplyDeletePerhaps you can get a sign for Olga - "BEWARE of THE SQUIRREL HUNTER!"
DeleteThe name Rampton sounded familiar so I looked it up to see why. Is the village you visited connected in any way to the hospital?
ReplyDeleteYes it is JayCee. The prison hospital is just west of the village.
DeleteYour photos are like DH Lawrence novels scenes. Rural and industrial all blending into one.
ReplyDelete"Wha's tha goin' on abaht duck?"
DeleteThe cooling towers remind me of giant pottery vases and I rather like them.
ReplyDeleteThe baby swans are sweet. Were the parents bothered by your presence? It doesn't seem so.
I had to zoom in with my camera Jenny so the swans weren't quite that close!
DeleteIt could be worse . . . being deaf is one thing (ask Beethoven) being a blind cat chasing a mute mouse is another. Still, I suppose there is always smell to show you the way.
ReplyDeleteYour swans remind me of a nursery rhyme/song which, roughly translated, goes something like "All my little ducklings, all my little ducklings on the lake. Heads in the water, tails up in the air". I'd sing it to you. Then it would sound even worse.
It's a long time ago but I do remember, though not the exact spot, driving up North to see my parents-in-law who had retired to Yorkshire, when we hit that moment on the motorway with towers like the ones you depict. There was something eerie, forlorn about them. Uncomfortable. Some time later? Deepest Yorkshire. Country lanes. I once grabbed the steering wheel (I wasn't driving) and saved a rabbit. No, not Peter or his cousin Benjamin. That was Cumbria. Never ever do that again, my freshly baked husband hissed at me. Well, I thought to myself, what are reflexes for if not to act on them? Whether you want to or not. Not that I blamed the reflex for nearly landing us in a ditch.
U
Sometimes we do things instinctively - without forethought. It cannot be helped. I am glad that your grabbing of the steering wheel did not end in tragedy.
DeleteI love the swans. The parents look quite busy finding food for that big family!
ReplyDeleteYes. They kept reaching down to the pond weeds below.
DeleteLove the pictures tonight; especially the family of swans. The water is perfect with ripples and diamonds.
ReplyDeleteThank you Joanne. They were on a peaceful pool in the bend of the river. A good place to raise young.
DeleteBeautiful photos, and the swans and their babes sweet. I always remember ducks on the river at Chelmsford, the little ones bobbing away and then one disappeared, a pike I thing lurking underneath in the water.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was a boy we thought of pike as scary inland sharks. There were tales of monster pike that could eat small boys whole.
DeleteTotally off topic, YP, so I hope you'll forgive me but had to offload this here since I can't leave any comment on that "gentle" blog where you deposited yours (Desert Island Discs). It [your comment] made me laugh, you know, ol. Over the time I have got to "know" you I can pronounce you a master of the subtle, almost imperceptible, backhander. It's an art.
ReplyDeleteFull of admiration, not least when I find myself at the receiving end,
U
That's a nice comment Ursula. Thank you. I like to make humorous remarks without malice - just in the name of fun - but sometimes they are not well-received. "Knowing" people through blogging is not the same as "knowing" them in real life. You don't get the same cues and the influence of old social mores is reduced.
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