Doncaster central moorings

Nabbed the last of 5 spots along the floating pier for visitors (max 3 days). A locked gate led into a fenced utility area then another locked gate onto a road 3 minutes walk away from the centre of Doncaster and the markets.

Weds:
Visited The Wool Market; a glass roofed indoor area with shared tables to be used by customers of the eatery stalls- Mediterranean, pizza, burgers, peruvian, cocktails, Don Valley Brewery etc. Not all open on Weds. Enjoyed falafels from Zaytuna and Atomic Blonde from the Don Brewery Tap.

Thu:
Explored more of the centre, outdoor market stalls for fruit and veg, the fish market (Goose Market) and Frenchgate indoor shopping centre. Bought fresh mussels (W) and a mushroom mix (V) for tea. Vicky's old laptop broke but Currys was only just over a mile away so got an all in one with 23inch screen for photo editing. Will popped out for a few pints at Doncaster Brewery Tap in the eve.

Fri:
Visited Doncaster Minster whose bells frequently punctuated the moorings' soundscape. Unfortunately its tower that we'd hoped to climb was closed awaiting repair, but stewards gave us warm welcome, offering tea, coffee and biscuits. A choir sang and more volunteers attended the raffle, cake & souvenir stalls etc. We had a quick look around, taking in the beautiful stained glass windows.

The small marina we were at also had leisure moorings, including a widebeam belonging to Greg and Melissa who were doing it up. In the afternoon Vicky heard a big splash and saw ripples when she looked out. Legging it onto the jetty she saw Gregg clinging to the edge calling for Melissa. Together we started hauling him out of the water and got him onto the side with Will's help. He'd just lost concentration and overbalanced but was pretty shaken up. Luckily they lived just 5 min away.

Sat:
A quick trip into the centre to visit the Saturday market which was buzzing with people and to pick up some sewing supplies for Vicky to make the roman blinds with. Vanessa, Dave and lovely Tia the Malamute from Ellwood ii let us use their water point to fill up instead of trailing the hosepipe all the way to the leaky visitor tap. We'd met them previously at Thorne. Vanessa is really chatty and not backward about saying what she thinks. She gave us a pineapple mint plant. It was a pleasure to get to know her a little more. Unfortunately the marina didn't have any elsan facilities.

We enjoyed Doncaster, especially the markets, but it was a real shame that the canal was so cut off from the city, despite its proximity. Apart from the waterfront college, the banks were lined with tall spiked metal fencing and razor wire protecting unused car parks and abandoned industrial buildings. There was no real towpath and so the dogs and Abby had a hard time during our stay.Read more