Sharing the Nene at Perio and sharing the field at Elton

Today – Fotheringhay to Elton, River Nene, 2.75 miles 1 lock
Yesterday - Ashton to Fotheringhay, 4.5 miles 3 locks

I was sorry to leave Ashton yesterday, I love that mooring there along the bywater near to the lock, it is always so peaceful, it is easy to get on and off the boat and the path outside is wide and green, ideal for sitting out and, of course, bbq’s

Here is blog reader Julia’s narrowboat Bumble B leaving their mooring at Ashton, look closely, tons and tons of bubbles emerging from the cratch I think…

a very novel way of leaving a mooring I must say.. almost like when the big cruise liners used to leave port with streamers flowing!

We left soon afterwards and headed off towards Fotheringhay..

Here at Cotterstock waiting for the lock to be filled, then past one of the very many churches along the banks of the Nene.. this one just after the lock at Cotterstock on the west bank..

There were plenty of rowing crews out between Cotterstock and Perio Lock.  There is a huge boathouse at Tansor, and the eights and fours practice from there to the lock itself.

It wasn’t very helpful to any of us yesterday as the wind was blowing quiet fiercely across the Nene, trying to push me into the rowers who were themselves, trying to keep off the northern bank.

Once through Perio Lock it wasn’t long until the magnificent church at Fotheringhay came into view..

Here we filled up with water and moored in the haunted area on the other side of the road bridge outside what is left of the castle where Mary Queen of Scots was said to have been beheaded.  All that is there now is a huge mound and I wonder why these two have so much interest in it?

Well, I guess with all the holes in it there must be hundreds and hundreds of rabbits, and loads of them were running all over this mound up and down the rabbit holes!

This then, was our mooring last night.. once again a lovely grassy area.. but no bbq last night, it turned quite cold and windy..

On to Elton today, a very enjoyable cruise done at tick-over pace enjoying the river as ever I was. I did do a bbq tonight.. oh I got a new one by the way, at Oundle, and it is great.  It is a barrel type one on legs, so I can ‘close’ the top if I want, or if we have the family then it will act as two bbq’s.. Yummy spicey chicken, a bit of steak and a boar and mustard sausage each tonight!

Took the girls out this evening across the meadows and realised that there is a bull in the field that No Problem is moored in.. Good job he didn’t come over when I was cooking the steak, he might have been a tad upset!!