Hilgay and the River Wissey

Whittington to Wissey Bridge, River Wissey, 11 miles 0 locks

I mentioned GOBA yesterday, but didn’t explain what that meant.  Well GOBA is the Great Ouse Boaters Association, they have a brilliant website, I am wondering if the webmaster is actually a member, if so I must track him down for some tips for my own site

Leaving a donation in an envelope on the jetty to the nice guy who gave us a mooring at the bottom of his garden last night, we let the ropes go to travel back down this lovely river.  Here Wends, the sugar beet factory where your beet for the ponies comes from British Sugar!

This is the view of the huge factory on the river bank…. at this time we are travelling through that lake I was talking about yesterday… looking again today, it is well over 100 yards wide at this point, and tons of wild birds with their offspring all over the place at this point.

We stopped at Hilgay to pick up some milk and bread.  Here also is a very nice looking pub with food called the Rose & Crown, a butchers and a good general store.  No Post Office though.  Also not shown in the Imray guide for this river is an elsan tip-out, which I found in the park in the same building as the loos just out of site but behind the mooring.  AND!….  Hooray, a biffa bin for the rubbish.  However this was full to overflowing!!  Ah well, at least there was a bin there!

I was looking forward to reaching the GOBA  mooring just before the railway bridge, and was hoping and praying that beings it was a Friday it wouldn’t be full… I wasn’t to be disappointed, it was empty and very quiet, the birds being the only sound to be heard … It reminds me of Gateforth Landing on the Selby Canal, I really enjoyed our stays there… so here then my backyard today pic for you…

Lucy and I explored late this afternoon…. for two hours we wandered the lovely paths in the area…We are going to stay here the weekend, and I have mapped out 8 miles of tracks and paths for us to explore tomorrow… I love it.