Odd Weekend, and Oundle..

Today – Wadenhoe to Oundle, River Nene, 4 miles 4 locks
Sat and Sun – Moored Wadenhoe

Friday evening in the Kings Head was great, it’s a really smashing place… wooden floors and stone walls.  Large wooden kitchen tables and chairs all round. Met some nice people too, everyone was very friendly for such a local.

Saturday was a bit of a disastrous day.  We were going to move, but suddenly Vic started to cough some blood, and we decided not to take any chances, and by noon we were some 12 miles away at Kettering Hospital.  He didn’t feel ill or anything, but it was better to get everything checked out.  He has a chest infection that has also got into his blood.  They did an x-ray of his chest, and that was fine, but gave him some antibiotics which should do the trick in a few days time once they have started to work.

Gawd it took ages too.  Well it was Saturday afternoon, the walking wounded were all in from the various sports halls and footie pitches, plus the kids out in the garden enjoying the sunshine falling from swings, trees and the like filling the A&E department all afternoon.  We didn’t leave there until gone 7pm, so 7 hours we were there.  Trying to get a taxi back to Wadenhoe was almost impossible because it was now Saturday night!  We ended up back at the boat just before 9pm!  

So I was exhausted, and decided that I didn’t want to move the following day Sunday, I needed some time just to relax…. It was glorious too on Sunday.  Had Sunday lunch at the pub before taking Lucy across to the other side of Wadenhoe to the west…

Today we continued down the Nene.  Having passed through Wadenhoe lock, another DIY one, we were pleased that Lilford lock, the next in line, was mechanised.  This is in a lovely setting in Lilford Park….

A huge house here. Lilford Hall, set in wonderful parkland on the right going downstream.  It’s unfortunately not open to the public any more.. pity.

The wind got up not long after passing the park.

The entrance to Oundle Marina is almost impossible from upstream let along in this broadside wind.  I tried and tried to turn, but the wind was sweeping NP downstream…. missed it!   So had to try and reverse back to have another go… made it in the end after a lot of pushing and shoving.  Still more trouble as I tried to moor by the diesel pump, same thing I just couldn’t get into the side, couldn’t get the front in, nor the back…. NP actually swung right round in a circle at one point, much to the amusement of the workforce out for a lunch break in one of the paint shop sheds there.  No-one came to help or grab a rope either!! .

Eventually… Diesel was 35 and half pence much to my surprise!  I was expecting anything up to 50p here on the Nene.  But what surprised me even more was that since our last fill at Wyvern Shipping at Linslade, our consumption was just a smidge over 1ltr per engine hour!

We had to keep on the move today through all that wind because I am picking up son Tony tomorrow from Peterborough, catching the bus from here in Oundle to meet him off the train…. can’t wait!