Return trip to Ely but back in my element

Today – Ely to Reach Lode – Gt Ouse, Cam and Reach Lode, 6.5 miles 1 lock
Sun 5th June – Waterbeach to Ely, Cam and Gt Ouse, 10.75 miles 1 lock
Sat 4th June – Moored Waterbeach, River Cam

We couldn’t continue on the roof on Saturday, it was raining on and off all day… the evening was better, and I decided that a walk across the fens was much better that getting sore knees on the roof!

Big plans were made on Sunday morning… decided to go back to Ely to empty the loos, top up with diesel and water and get enough stores to last us for three weeks, so that we could ‘hide’ ourselves up one of the lovely lodes in the area, earmarking Reach Lode for a wonderfully quiet way of spending June.

Blimey, June, I am wondering if we will actually get to Bedford at this rate before the summer is over!

We arrived back at Ely on Sunday in the late afternoon.  I didn’t want to get there much earlier, thinking that maybe it would be busy with boats out of marinas taking all the moorings – rightly as we went through not a lot of space left! … and while filling up with water I spied a place we might be able to fit in… NP is just 24 strides long.. its handy to know how many strides length your boat is you know!.. Anyway the space was 26 strides, and a quick reverse upstream, poking the bow into the vacant space, NP slid in neatly.

I couldn’t resist the call of the fens in the late evening, and Lucy and I took to the paths and tracks to the northwest of the town for a couple of hours across some spectacular fenland countryside… no hills round here.. magic

We spent most of the morning in Ely, it really is a delightful town, and we have grown fond of it after only a couple of visits.. Lunched out today, collected from the butcher to fill the freezer compartment of the fridge, and left late afternoon for Reach Lode collecting diesel on the way to last us a good month and half..

Ha, yes got my camera data lead back from Wendie, so back to normal on the blogs now…. two pumps here, one for diesel and one for unleaded petrol for those speedy, expensive to run tupperware tart carts!

It’s really lovely to be back in Reach Lode, and we are moored in exactly the same spot as we did on our fleeting visit a couple of weeks ago, right by ‘Cock Up Bridge’… the left turn into Wicken Lode…. I love the name.. it is a bit rickety that bridge, but its OK!

Tomorrow we will venture a little further to try find somewhere to finish off the roof.  I don’t really want to start using power tools, ie the grinder in this nice visitor mooring here disturbing others… its very remote around here, but I love that… no roads, no railways, no nothing…