St Neots to Great Barford... we try to stay cool

St Neots to ‘R Island’, Gt Barford, River Gt Ouse, 8 miles 3 locks

It’s called ‘R Island’ and it has signs up all round it.  Signs on red card with yellow writing.  This island here has paths, all of which have names like Log Way, Washington Way (Because I hung my washing up in the way so she said!  ), then there is Wood Way.. young Kiera, who is on her once a year weekly visit, is aboard and we are moored at my favourite island, a bywater on the River Little Ouse.

Vic’s appointment with the specialist went well last Thursday, he had a scan on a problematic leg, and the news was quite good, least better than we expected anyway.. but no doubt we will have to visit that place again..

We left St Neots on the Friday just as they were thumping in signs by the boat saying “The Council have allowed St Neots Rowing Club to have these moorings this weekend, if you are moored here please vacate the moorings by 7.30am on Saturday and Sunday”… err what is 7.30am?  The only 7.30 I know is 7.30PM!! .. Nice spot this though….

It sure was hot though, and even the local young cormorant was feeling the heat…

But we pulled the pins on Friday and made our way upstream to Great Barford hoping that the GOBA moorings above the lock would be free.  As we made our way upstream we met up with the Great River Ouse ‘weed cutters’ and here they are sharing a lock with No Problem and Moore2Life..

Arriving at Great Barford, we were well pleased that just the one boat was moored on the GOBA moorings.  So we pulled into the side and Chas and Ann with Moore2Life rafted up beside us for the weekend… Daughter Wendy and family arrived for the weekend, and Kiera is still on board.   More in the morning… too hot and too late to write any more!

Phew... bit hot today as we reach St Neots

Godmanchester to St Neots, River Gt Ouse, 9 miles 3 locks

Four and half hours.. phew was it hot or what!!

I am not complaining really though, each time I felt like moaning about it I remembered the ice and snow on the Ashby not many months ago, and how out walking my feet got soaking wet and froze.  Coming back to the boat like a drowned rat shivering with the cold.. ha not today though!!

My planters on the roof are just about putting up with it, I caught Chas and Ann on NB Moore2Life arriving at Brampton Lock looking over the top of NP..

Just a quick blog tonight, we have been sitting outside trying to keep cool.  NP is still very hot inside, I think I will have a nightcap and try to get some sleep.  It was 97 degrees today by the way..

We are moving fast down the River Gt Ouse...

Sat 15th to Tues 18th July – Wicken to Godmanchester, Rivers Cam and Gt Ouse, 30.5 miles 6 locks

We stayed another day at Wicken, and on Saturday evening I found out that St Neots is having their rowing regatta next weekend.  We need to get through St Neots on Friday before the racing starts or we will have to wait until Monday, therefore spoiling our plans for the family to visit.  We have an added commitment on top of that in that Vic has to visit the specialist again in Oxford next Thursday.. there is a bus straight to Oxford from St Neots.

So with all that we pulled the pins on Sunday morning and traveled slowly back along the beautiful Wicken Fen and out into Burwell Lode.  I was amazed at the amount of people at Burwell Lode Lock as we left…

Well I suppose it was a Sunday.. we turned onto the River Cam, then left turn at Popes Corner to join the Old West River passing Stretham Steam Engine House and the Lazy Otter pub before reaching the delightful moorings at Aldreth where we moored for the night on Sunday.

On the move again on Monday.. it was getting hotter, so No Problem was decked out in white sheeting over the top of her pram canopy to try reflect the heat, and so keep us a bit cooler..

Here at Hermitage Lock there is a bit of a wait while divers were checking out the lock.. It did make me smile because I had got up early to try do the trip to St Ives before the sun got too hot, and blow me, we had to wait an hour to get through this lock!!.. And so onward with No Problem AKA African Queen  and along the tidal bit.  It doesn’t rise much, the tide, and you wouldn’t notice anyway, makes no difference.  There were no seals to see on this bit, sometimes if you are lucky you might see a couple, but there was so many different types of birds, here an oyster catcher..

I like St Ives, and even moreso this time because there was no wind like there was when we arrived last year.  It is so much easier ‘doing the river’ when you have done it before.. You know which arch to go under, you know where NOT to attempt to moor so that you don’t crush tupperware tart carts AKA plastic white cruisers.. nearly did last year..

Anybody going to St Ives with a narrowboat must be very careful indeed when mooring at the EA town moorings that go off on a bit of a spur to the right just after town bridge….

It can be full of little plastic boats with men standing on the bank with a can of beer in their hand, the other hand in their pocket staring and daring you to go past them down the narrow channel to moor at the end.. they seem to keep that mooring free tempting a narrowboat!!  If there is any wind, the shouting starts as first the front, then the back of the narrowboat flirts with plastic!!.. I tried last year… funny innit, you never get caught twice doing something like that!!  So we moored at the GOBA moorings a bit further up

Today we pulled the pins at 6.30….

No, no don’t think for one moment that I would even think of setting off at 6.30AM, it was 6.30PM!

We enjoyed the day in St Ives, popping into the town late morning, and calling in for a cool beer on the way back to the boat.  It sure was hot today, that is why we decided to travel the two and half hours to Godmanchester this evening.  It sure was much cooler, and a bit of a breeze got up too making a very pleasant evening cruise..

No Problem and Moore2Life can both fit into the locks along this stretch.  They have a sort of ‘layby’ in them, here you can see NP fitting into the cut out at the lock side while M2L is in the centre. 

At Godmanchester Lock, a new craze that the kids have taken up.  On the Leeds and Liverpool canal, the wigan flight of locks is causing a huge problem with gangs of youths ‘surfing’ the water as a lock is emptied.  Trouble is on that canal they are letting the water out themselves and emptying pounds (stretches of water between locks).. a type of vandalism.. but here Vic let the water out of the lock gently while the lads held onto the chains…

They were a good group of lads, no ‘bandits’ here.  In fact they helped us through this lock after they had their ride on the wave!

Tomorrow it is going to be 95 degrees.. we have to be in St Neots tomorrow evening.  I think we will break the day up into three or even four.  It will take almost 5 hours, but there are plenty of places to stop on this stretch.

Relaxing at Wicken..

Moored Wicken Fen

There is plenty to do and see, and today we relaxed and enjoyed our surroundings.  Most of the morning spent sat out by the side of the river, and this afternoon a cup of tea and scone at the National Trust Centre about half a mile away.  Then it was a walk on the boardwalk that makes it’s way round the boggy fen.  Not that it is boggy at the moment, the land is very dry, in fact some of the lakes that we saw last year here are bone dry.

The boardwalk itself is made of recycled tyres would you believe… so should last a lifetime me thinks.  There is a windmill on this part of the fen which was reconstructed after being taken down from nearer Burwell Lode.. Apparently there were a lot of windmills on the fens all used for pumping water up from the fen ditches to the land.  Here is Vic and Chas from NB Moore2Life discussing and working out how they actually worked!..

We have decided to stay another day.. well this is a wonderful area.  There is room for a couple of boats at the moment, just No Problem and Moore2Life are moored here, it is Saturday tomorrow so I expect a few will be up.  Anyway, I didn’t see the barn owl that I saw last year yet!

Wicken Fen, there really is no place like it..

Today – Ely to Wicken Fen, Rivers Gt Ouse, Cam, Burwell Lode and Wicken Lode
Last couple of days – Moored Ely, River Gt Ouse

Well Orange.net seem to have their act back together again, the last couple of days have been impossible trying to get data off them!  Some pages would load, some wouldn’t, and I couldn’t get pictures or a blog post on to my server.  Anyway, seems to be OK now.

I enjoyed a couple of days in Ely.  Wilkinsons have just about everything, and I managed to top up on some bits and bobs that I never seem to be able to find elsewhere.. such as a sellotape dispenser, a small one I wanted, and I been looking for a couple of months.. but Wilkinson had one!  I also got a couple of white shirts in a sale, which should help on the hot days when I am walking.. bit cooler for me hopefully.

Went to the market this morning just to browse before pulling the pins and filling with diesel at Ely Marina at a respectable 53p ltr.  I was cross with Oundle Marina when we called in there last month.. they charged me £20 for a bottle of gas.. at Ely it was £17.50.  I always thought that the bottled gas was a regulated price, and that you paid the same wherever you bought it from.. obviously not the case.

We passed the Fish and Duck at Popes corner.. the junction where the River Cam goes off the Gt Ouse to make it’s way to Cambridge…

Really overgrown it is and almost derelict.  I was warned by Gail who moors her Narrowboat just round the corner..

“Sue, The Fish and Duck pub is closed at the moment. They are going to knock it down and build a new one as far as I know.”

I loved that place last year.. a very laid back pub it was.. hope they don’t make it a plastic food establishment when they rebuild it.

And so on to Burwell Lode.. the lock there must be the slowest lock in the whole country.. with a guillotine at both ends.. but once through that we tied up for water and to wait for Mr Tesco to deliver some groceries..

This afternoon it was left turn about half a mile from Burwell Lock into Wicken Lode and Wicken Fen.. this is National Trust property, and is more like a drain than a waterway!  Here NB Moore2Life in front of No Problem inching along this shallow channel. 

For me Wicken Fen is my most favourite place to be on all of the waterways.  I definitely have a love affair with it.  There is just something about it that is different to anywhere else that No Problem has been.  The tranquility, the narrowness of the channel, the wildlife and the fen itself.  I very much doubt I will ever find anything to beat it in my mind.

It took an hour to do the one and half mile trip, but oh so well worth it.. woodpeckers, marsh harriers and the ponies greeted us today, and appropriately the sun came out after an overcast morning. 

It is always a bit of a lottery, we have found, to guess whether the GOBA moorings at the end have enough room for us to moor.. and of course this year there are two narrowboats to accommodate.  We were delighted to see just the one narrowboat moored which meant that we would both fit in easily.

Plenty of walking to do here.. barn owls to see this evening I hope across the fen.  I will take Lucy with me, there are no stiles, and tomorrow I will explore another part of the fen around here that I have not seen before.

A day in Ely.. a warm one at that

Moored Ely, River Great Ouse

A very quick blog tonight just to say what a brilliant day we have had here in Ely..

The reason I do not have time to blog tonight is because that Les on NB Valerie has been chatting and chatting to me on MSN for the last hour!!.. Only came in after 10pm this evening, it sure is lovely here on the riverside..

Sunday Roast at The Ship before we arrive in Ely

Today – EA Moorings nr The Ship to Ely, Gt Ouse, 9 miles 0 locks
Weekend – Norfolk Fen to EA Moorings near The Ship, Brandon Creek and Gt Ouse, 8 miles 0 locks

Saturday was ‘feet up’ day, and I caught up on some computer stuff that has needed sorting.. but I really fancied a roast on Sunday, so we pulled the pins on the lovely moorings at Norfolk Fen and made our way to the end of the River Little Ouse to the Ship which is right on the junction with the Gt Ouse.  There is a lot of wildlife on this river, something different round every corner.. here a grebe taxi!

Look closely, the kids getting a ride down the river!

I really thought the moorings outside the Ship would be full.. but when we arrived such a shock.. not a soul about at all!!

Sunday roast was fantastic, one of the best roasts I have had for ages too, so do go in there for sure if you pass on a weekend… It was too noisy to stay there for the evening though as there is a busy road crossing the river at this point, so Vic and Ann on Moore2\Life untied the ropes…

And we turned left onto the main river to settle for the night at the moorings some half mile further upstream.  The road does run alongside at this point, but the banks are so high that the traffic can hardly be heard. We were a bit greedy.. No Problem and Moore2Life filled the whole mooring.

Well to be honest there are loads of EA moorings along this part of the river.. amazing really because it is very open and desolate.. very very rural indeed.

Today we made our way 9 miles upstream to Ely.  The banks are high and the river runs dead straight.. nothing to see or do.. I got the gps out and it said 4.6mph.. which meant just a two hour trip…

Here you can see how desolate this is.. some find it OK, but I just like to get this bit over with, too boring for me.  I couldn't wait to get into Ely, I really like the town and the cathedral is magnificent.  From the river it looks good too..

It is very busy here on the waterfront, there are a lot of boats about.  In contrast to the weekend on the Little Ouse where just a couple of boats came by the whole time.  But we have a space right in the middle and I think we might stay for a couple of days.. Vic and I went out for lunch before having a browse around the shops.  I notice that white shirts with the word England on them are being sold for next to nothing, and St George flags are selling for just 25p.  I hear too that Maplins are actually giving them away free!!.. Ah we will have something else to wave the flag about soon!

Brandon, the end of the line on the Little Ouse

GOBA Moorings at Norfolk Fen to Brandon and back, 13 miles 0 locks

This river is different from the Wissey, you can get lost in thoughts on it, very tranquil indeed.  As we cruised this morning to Brandon the high flood banks receded back to show huge flood plains, and later no banks at all, and the river became narrow and deep.  Today weed was a bit of a problem, but not as bad as our trip along Burwell Lode last year.. well to be honest I don’t think anything would ever be as bad as that!..

No chance on going through the lock at the end..

This is only 40ft long.  There was a campaign to make it longer and to extend the navigation of this river further towards it’s source, but it has never happened although it is on some future ‘might do’ plan of the Environment Agency.  A refurbished lock too, and just round the corner upstream beyond that prominent tree are some new EA Moorings..

But not for our use this time, mind you it was dreadfully weedy from  the lock to the head of the navigation at Brandon Bridge.. I very much doubt that any craft would venture through the lock anyway!

Walking into Brandon I was surprised how busy it was.  A main road through the high street carrying huge lorries and tons on traffic.  Here the pedestrian lights were well needed to get across the road.  Nice shops though, a post office, butchers, bakers and a really smashing green grocer.  I managed to get some peas, broad beans and runner beans here, all local produce and all sold to me in brown paper bags, very traditional.  I didn’t get anything from the butcher, I wanted to, because the produce looked good, but I really must defrost my freezer compartment in the next couple of days.. just a bit of pork in there left to eat..

There were quite a few pubs and hotels too, well all round this area are country parks and places of interest.  This is Breckland after all.. from my Imray Guide book..

“Breckland is a primeval region where among sandy and flinty heaths, warrens and woodlands, primitive Mesolithic and Neolithic man once lived and worked, mining the black flint which he ‘knapped’ (split and shaped) to make his tools and weapons.  Over 300 mines have been traced, one of which, Grimes Graves, is open to the public.  Knapping has continued here for thousands of years and not only for peaceful purposes; millions of flints were produced for Wellington’s Peninsular War..”

In fact one of the pubs in the town is called The Flintknapper’s Arms!

There is a lot in the book about Brandon.. The moorings just downstream from the lock were nice on the parkland…

But the book failed to mention the gathering of youngsters in the evening, some carrying packs of 24 beers all making their way to the parkland.. more and more of them were arriving, most under aged for drinking, but obviously out for a good night of binge drinking.. 7.30pm it was.. and by 7.35pm we had pulled the pins on Brandon and this lovely mooring leaving it to the partying kids.. Oh well..

By 9.30pm we were once again tied up at the GOBA moorings at Norfolk Fen.  It was well worth the trip, the sun was setting beautifully giving some lovely colours across the countryside, and a pair of barn owls were spotted hunting across the flood plain.. see it was well worth moving anyway!

I remember this day last year, I wasn’t too far away from here.  I was in St Ives just along the River Great Ouse, in the fishing shop buying some floats and bait when I was told of the bombings in London.  I think most people remember where they were that day..

River Little Ouse is just so laid back...

Ten Mile Bank to Norfolk Fen, River Little Ouse, 10 miles 0 locks

No locks again.  The last lock we actually did ourselves was on the River Nene!  It is going to be quite a while till we do another one.  Well I did a rough itinerary for the rest of the summer today.. we have family visiting a couple of times this year, and I need to know where I am going to be when they come.. so the next lock for Vic to do will be Brownshill Staunch Lock in a couple of weeks time, which is past Earith on the Gt Ouse.  The next lock that we will be at though is the one before that, Hermitage Lock but it is manned..

Anyway, pulling the pins this morning it was a good 3 miles upstream on the Gt Ouse before the turn off to the left for our visit to the Little Ouse or Brandon Creek as it is often known.  There is a fine pub on the junction, The Ship,  with some great moorings..

Tempted to stop there on Sunday on our way back,  I must phone them to see if they do a Sunday Roast!

The source of the River Little Ouse is interesting.  It rises near Redgrave in Suffolk.  Only a few metres away another river, The Waveney has it’s source too.  The Waveney flows west while the Little Ouse flows east.  These rivers form the border for much of their length of Norfolk and Suffolk, and but for those few metres separating the two springs, Norfolk would be an island!

I loved the remoteness of this river.. total isolation and quiet.  Small pockets of farming communities with such names as Burnt Fen, Brandon Bank and Botany Bay.. Some odd looking stuff on this river too!!.. 

And this one.. errrrrrr I think it was a boat, although we had a good discussion as to whether it was an old lorry.. maybe someone reading this has the answer?

Kingfishers, oyster catchers, grebe.. oh and a black swan..

All enjoying the peace and quiet.  We moored at the GOBA moorings at Norfolk Fen this afternoon.  Time for the plank as we could not get into the side here, but that is no worry, we are used to using the plank.  It did mean that Lucy could go swimming once again too.. One thing I mustn't let her do is jump in and out of the water.. as long as she can ‘walk in’ then she is allowed in!  The rest of the afternoon was spent between doing the rough itinerary and fishing… oh and keeping an eye on the herd of cows that came down to the moorings for a drink.. Ha they were most put out that we had moored in ‘their’ spot too!!

A couple of narrowboats came by heading back to the main river, they warned of weed further on nearer Brandon.  It is so quiet here that we could hear their boats for some 15 minutes after they had gone by and out of sight.

I hope the weed isn’t too bad tomorrow as we make our way to the end of the river navigation at Brandon..

Back on the Gt Ouse in the rain

Nr Fordham, River Wissey to Hilgay Bridge, River Gt Ouse – 4 miles 0 locks

A muggy day with drizzle saw us pull the pins this morning for the short trip back to the Gt Ouse  to make our way upstream to Hilgay Bridge. Here there are good moorings and a waterpoint, a very much needed waterpoint.

Here the rain on the lens as a faster boat passes and there is one in front too.  It is very wide this part of the river, and is home to many grebe and herons, perhaps moreso than any other river in East Anglia.

It wasn’t far to our planned moorings at Hilgay Bridge.  Well it says Hilgay Bridge in the guide book, but there is a seat here at the moorings which is dedicated to a “John Martin, Bridge Engineer”, and a look on Google tonight revealed that in fact, this is Ten Mile Bank Bridge now..

It was soooo hot on No Problem this afternoon, although I hate thunderstorms, I did wish one would have started just to clear the air.. I was too hot, so although it was raining I walked across country with Lucy to the village of Southery.  I had some things to post, and there was a post office there.  It was a long walk for her, but I wanted to see how she would cope.  (Lucy’s accident was 6 weeks ago today) I knew there would be no stiles or gates, and the ground would be level across the droves. She did just fine, wanting to take other footpaths on the way back to make her walk longer!

We are going to have a look at the Little Ouse tomorrow.. we did not cruise that river last year.  I am looking forward to that

A day on the delightful River Wissey

Today – The whole of the Wissey and back, 20 miles
Yesterday – Moored Nr Fordham, River Wissey

It was slightly more weedy than last year, but just as delightful.  This river is perhaps my most favourite of all the tributaries of the Gt Ouse, although I have yet to see the Little Ouse.. believe it or not, we did not have enough time last year to go look at that!

The river meanders firstly between meadows with lines of poplar trees in the distance.  The land on both sides of the river is much lower, and so the banks are high in places blocking the view..

We stopped at Hilgay, there is a loo cassette tip out there as well as rubbish and water.. we did the first two as there were boats moored at the water tap.. it’s on a 48 hour mooring you see, not a dedicated “Do not moor on the waterpoint” as you see on the canal system, so it is a bit hit and miss to get in for water.. we would try later on the way back.  I nipped to the only shop in the village.. basically a butcher, but he sells bread and milk too.  He will also make pies if you phone a couple of days before.. meat and fruit pies too!..

Leaving Hilgay for now we continued, and once past the British Sugar factory it was out into the wides..

The Wissey becomes extremely wide in places, much wider than Tixall Wide on the Staffs and Worc Canal.. then passing some lakes full of birds of all sorts, and I spied plovers, oyster catchers and various geese as we passed.

We arrived at Stoke Ferry by late lunchtime.  Just the one mooring available at the end of the river.. how stupid is that!!.. but we took the very kind offer of the owner of the big caravan park to moor for an hour for free.. after that it was £3 a day.. huh, I couldn’t even get No Problem into the side, having to use the long plank to get myself off.  I needed to go to the Post Office today to post some urgent stuff..

There really does need to be some moorings at the end of the Wissey.. there used to be GOBA moorings by the bridge, but the caravan park stopped them.. On down to the turn next.. the end of the line for the Wissey is at a ‘Y’ junction with the Stringside Drain..

Returning back then..

It is very narrow at the end.. We were a bit bothered by this time.. the sun had gone behind some menacing clouds.. I had a threatening headache.. enough to grab some paracetamol.. we wondered if we would be getting a storm before we got back to Hilgay..  The British Sugar factory on the south bank of the Wissey is very prominent..

Here you can see how grey the sky has become too.  They own most of the land around this place, and there are many “No Mooring” signs.. pity.. it’s a lovely area and somewhere nice to stop would be very welcoming.. Mind you the smell coming from the factory was not very good.. so maybe moorings in this area would not be used anyway!!

We thought we would stop at Hilgay to get water and maybe moor the night tonight.. but as is everywhere at the moment, the kids had taken over the area, swimming in the river cooling off, and making a lot of noise doing that.. plus some of the lads showing off to the girls on the river bank were jumping off the top of Hilgay bridge.. two of them making a point of jumping right in front of No Problem.. but I knew they were going to do that.. so I headed for the left of the bridge on the approach, which gave me tons of room to pull over to the right as they landed in the water close to the bows.. well you get to learn about how to deal with bridge jumpers!!

So we continued on to the GOBA moorings to the south of Fordham were we had left this morning at just after 10am, and settle for this evening.. oh and no thunderstorm………………. YET!

I never thought of myself as a stuck in the mud.. but at Salters Lock today I was!!

Salters Lock, Middle Levels to Fordham, River Wissey, 2 miles 2 locks

There were a lot of boats to try get to Denver today.. well 6 in total, and all various lengths.  If Paul the lock keeper could get No Problem to sit in the sand and Moore2Life to do the same on the tidal side of Salters Lock, then everyone would make the trip on a “Lazy tide” as the Lock Keeper put it.

As the tide was coming in we were sent into the lock followed by Chas and Ann with NB Moore2Life… both the upstream and downstream gates were open.. the tide evened it out… I tried and tried to push NP out as far as I could .. but she stuck fast, and we sat on the sand….

Again far too much silt around this place.. Although we cleared the lock, we did not get out far enough, and Moore2Life was left in the lock.  Paul had no choice but to shut the gates behind Moore2life or too much salt water would have entered into the Middle Levels as the tide rose.  This left NP and Moore2Life to wait for the incoming tide to float us so we could continue on our way to the Denver Lock complex. He was hoping to get another narrowboat out to sit on the sand so that he could get all 6 narrowboats to Denver today.. NB Solace would have to stay behind and lock through tomorrow..

It took a while for the tide to come in enough to float us, it really was a funny feeling just sitting on the sand, something that has never happened to us before.. Vic was so laid back about it, he decided to make tea and toast.. well we hadn’t had our breakfast yet!!

After waiting about 20 minutes for the tide to rise we soon zoomed to Denver on that incoming tide,  passing boats that had left at the same time as us at the other end of the half mile..

 It wasn’t long till we were through Denver Lock, and here I looked back to see Moore2Life following us out and towards the lovely visitor moorings…

Goodness it was so very hot today.. We stayed at Denver until 4pm, trying to keep cool, then moved on up the river and turned left to join the River Wissey before mooring this evening on the lovely GOBA moorings just south of Fordham.

Did the girls pull the plug on The Old Bedford River??

Moored Salters Lock, Middle Levels

It was an important day here at Salters Lode.. Mrs Parker was to take her boat through the Old Bedford Sluice and enjoy a journey down the Old Bedford River to Welches Dam and beyond..  Here she is waiting for the lock to empty to drop down..

Mrs Parker had been given permission from the Environment Agency to pass through this complex today.. The last boat to pass through was back in 2004.  Narrowboats can pass through this, but the tide has to be ‘just so’ .. the tidal river has to be exactly the same state of tide as the Bedford River for it to happen, and according the Jim Shead, who was there today to record this historical occasion, that is not very often.

Once through the sluice it was full speed ahead down the extremely straight river…

Errrrrr yes but going nowhere!!  Full throttle into the sand.. They shoved, they pushed, they turned round to try make a path through the silted river.. nope! So there must have been a reason why this little boat could not go down this waterway.. after all it is a statutory navigable right of way, so it must be open to navigation!….

So Paul the lock keeper sent his children in to see what the problem was…. hey hey hey.. did the kids pulled the plug out??..

This boat is going nowhere down this river.. it is so silted there is just 4 inches of water across the width of it.. such is the amount of silt.  Apparently, once under the bridge there is a couple of metres of draft, but here there is between 3 and 4 inches!!.. Not navigable.. EA need to dredge it, after all it is a navigable waterway, or EA would not have given permission for Mrs Parker to travel.. tut tut..

There was nothing left to do but to go back through Bedford Sluice, out into the tidal River Gt Ouse and back through Salters Lock to save an evening on the mud..

Pity.. but “use it or lose it” comes to mind… there are many, many stretches of navigable waterways in this country that are threatened with closure because of lack of use.. we must all try do our bit to use navigable waterways.. it was important that Mrs Parker tried today.. the Environment Agency must act.. after all they gave her authority to use a waterway that is impossible to pass..

We arrive at Salters Lock after a pleasant day in the fens

Upwell to Salters Lock, Middle Levels, 6 miles 0 locks

We pulled the pins this morning at Upwell after collecting local vegetables and fruit from the shop opposite the moorings.. broad beans for tea tonight.. and also available gooseberries, raspberries and strawberries.. in fact an awful lot of local produce.  Thats the nice thing about being on the fens, stuff is grown and sold here..

So onward along what is known as Well Creek, I just love the name.. there is a road to each side, and some importance at going down the ‘drain’ between them, here the approach to Outwell..

This area has fond memories for me and my family, it is here that we competed a lot in show jumping with our ponies.. Mill Lodge hosted the ‘home internationals’ and it was the best of england against wales, scotland and ireland.. our pony was on the team.. but no show jumping any more, Mill Lodge as we knew has now been turned into a trendy housing estate.. sad really.. but the fish and chip shop is still there…

And although it was just after 11am when we passed the smell was unmistakable.. this chip shop smells like no other!  I phoned my family this morning as we passed so they could all have a sniff!!   They remembered this place although they had not reached their teen aged years when the fish and chips were purchased 

Gawd, it was hot today.. but I am not complaining.. the ‘fen wind’ kept us on the cool side of burning to death across an area so unbelievable open..

The camera failed to see the view I did of the pylons stretching as far as the eye could see across the fenland.  I started to count them… I got to 40, and still I could see more, but on the horizan they were too close together to get an accurate count, so flat was the land…

And so to Nordelph, I hope I have spelt that right.. I love the name, and I love the place too.. but here we pass the last of the low bridges as we make our way over the Middle Levels..

The chimney just about makes it this time less its rain hat.. but the pots of flowers get a wee bit squashed, no problem though.. .. The Middle Levels are unique in many ways, here a long forgotten water point…

Well it’s still standing, us boaters could do with some facilities over this stretch, I wondered if the Environment Agancy could connect this up again!! …

I did phone the Lock Keeper here at Salters Lock a few days ago to book our passage through the lock and along the tidal bit of the River Great Ouse to Denver.. and that is 10.30 tomorrow morning..

Tonight was lovely here.. a bit cooler thank goodness.. I walked over to the river.. the tide was out and I caught a glimpse of an oyster catcher on the far bank..

And looking the other way at low tide towards the wash..

Tomorrow the river will be full of water, we will ride on the tide and will be in East Anglia officially!!