Food on the menu for birds and St Ives

Today – Aldreth to St Ives, River Gt Ouse, 11 miles, 3 locks
Yesterday – Moored Aldreth Bridge, Old West River

Yesterday for the most part for me was taken up walking.  It was my last opportunity for a while to roam across the wide open expanse of the fens proper.. now we are moving into places with humps in them called hills!

I had only been out about 15 minutes on a walk late in the day when the heavens opened,  but decided to continue all the same.  Anyway I wasn’t really that cold.  But by the time I returned an hour and a half later I was absolutely soaked to the skin even through my normally trusted waterproof coat.. it was well worth it though, the smell of the vegetables growing in the fields was fantastic.. and so was this..

Through the spots of rain, this chef scarecrow inviting the birds to a feast!  

This field of very young sweet corn will not happen again.  I was talking to the farmer earlier in the day, and he tells me that sweet corn is set to be imported, and even the huge sugar beet factory British Sugar that we saw on the River Wissey will be closing… I don’t know if this is true or not.. just he said that.  If that is the case, then I wonder what the future is for fenland farmers.

We pulled the pins this morning after the heavy rain had passed, but still got caught in a couple of hefty showers as we made our way upstream.  The wind was high, I hate that.. and NP was doing a good impression of a crab, travelling upstream pointing 45 degrees into the wind.  There was trouble ahead for some boats being blown aground at the side of the river.  One chap even going into the river waist high to try to push his bow out… he had no chance.  He had come up behind me while I was waiting for a boat to come downstream from Brownshill Staunch Lock… there wasn’t much room on the landing stage, and I think he tried to slow too soon to try come in behind me.. There was no point me going back with NP to pull him off, I would have ended up in much the same position such was the force of the wind.

I didn’t take many pics today, all my concentration was on trying to keep NP in deep water, but there are some lovely wateringholes along this part of the river.. here the aptly named Pike and Eel Inn..

We battled on to St Ives, and moored just through the town on some very nice GOBA moorings… We gave up trying to get water the wind just taking complete control of any sort of steering on my behalf. 

Its absolutely tipping down here at the moment and blowing hard still.  The weather forecast is much the same for this area tomorrow, might not pull the pins at all if it keeps up… The heating has been switch on tonight.. depressing stuff..