Monday 20th July - Peartree Farm Moorings to Fotheringhay
A beautiful start to the day, as we prepare to leave our overnight mooring. A stunning spot, quiet, peaceful and safe!
We stopped at Achurch to put on water, quite a feat in itself as there was a boat moored at the water tap, with nobody on board! However we managed it, but it was entertaining to watch these swimmers entering the water behind us and setting off up stream. They insisted that it was really lovely!
A little further on there were a herd of cows standing in the water, not swimming but certainly very happy to be in the water.
This Elton Bridge, very picturesque, part of the estate that belongs to Elton Hall.
Elton Hall has been in the Proby Family for 400 years and was given to Katherine Parr by Henry VIII soon after their marriage.
On this stretch of the river there were a lot of Red Kites flying quite low over the boat, pleased to catch this one soaring over us.
At the same time we had a white egret flying beside the boat, hopping along the river and keeping us company.
We have made it to Fotheringhay, with this amazing church, our back garden for the night! Further along are the ruins of Fotheringhay Castle, Richard III was born here on 2 October 1452, and though tradition says he was baptised at Fotheringhay church, he might equally well have been baptised at the castle chapel. Richard only lived here for six years until he was moved for safety to Ludlow Castle.
After Richard lost his life at the Battle of Bosworth in 1485 the castle was allowed to decay. Henry VIII granted Fotheringhay to Catherine of Aragon, and Catherine lavished money returning the castle to its former glory.
In 1586 Mary, Queen of Scots was brought to Fotheringhay from Chartley in Staffordshire to stand trial for treason. Mary was tried at the castle on 14 and 15 October 1587 in a show trial and predictably found guilty on 25 October - a foregone conclusion and on 8 February 1588 Mary was executed in the great hall. She was laid to rest in Peterborough Cathedral and eventually moved to her final resting place in Westminster Abbey.
We went for a lovely walk from Fotheringhay to Elton and back, we used to live in these parts before we had children and Elton was a favourite place to visit. Two of our three children were born in Peterborough.
12.5 miles, 7 locks, 5 hrs 54 mins.
Tuesday 21st July Fotheringhay to Peterborough
This morning we made an early start as we wanted to get to Peterborough ready to start the Middle Levels the following day. A good start as we cruised through Fotheringhay Bridge under brilliant blue skies and sunshine!
One of our locks was at Water Newton, a very pretty village with a picturesque church and a white car all decked out as a wedding car, very lovely. The Water Newton Treasure was found in 1975 by a metal detectorist, 7 silver vessels and several plaques, before they were damaged further by a plough!
Ella moored in Ferry Meadows, we used to live in Peterborough and had our first two girls there. Many happy hours were spent walking our girls around the lakes in their pram. Especially remember a fireworks evening with a bonfire and fireworks over the lake, except that it was a foggy night and no-one could see anything!
15.5 miles, 6 locks, 6 hrs 6 mins.
Wednesday 22nd July - Ferry Meadows to March
We made an early start from Ferry Meadows, we passed Peterborough Cathedral on the way, stopped on the Embankment to top up the water tank and then headed out to Stanground Lock and the Middle Levels!
At the lock we had to buy a special windlass for the locks and a key to gain access to the locks, this cost £17!
The locks are 11ft 8ins wide, too narrow for two narrowboats to share, and built especially for the Fenland Lighters, distinctive river-craft that had their heyday around 1700-1850. In that period, these oak-built freighters chiefly relied on sails, horse-tow, or water currents for propulsion, depending on circumstances. Generally operating in ‘gangs’ of half-a-dozen or so, linked head-to-tail, the lighters provided heavy transport in a large swathe of England.
Much of the Middle Levels are ditches that cross the countryside at right angles, they are lower than ground level, dead straight and often quite shallow. However the expanse of sky is amazing!
The old river channels through the Fens were probably used for transport during the Middle Ages, but it was the Dutch engineer Vermuyden who developed most of the system during the 1600s. The Middle Level water channels were primarily built for drainage, and that remains their primary purpose today; but they were soon found useful for the transport of agricultural produce, and as such use has faded away, they have become a hidden gem for those seeking solitude on the inland waterways.
18.25 miles, 3 locks, 7 hours.
Thursday 23rd July - March Marina to Salter’s Lode Lock
The landscape is so flat that it is an ideal opportunity to harness wind power, the cruise today started off quite calm and then the wind got up and these windmills were working well.
We came into Upwell and Outwell, picturesque fenland villages, but the levels were very shallow and it meant we had to go very slowly to avoid beaching ourselves on the bottom.
The other thing we discovered was that the bridges are very low, we only just managed to pass under them with everything on the roof, but we both had to duck as we passed under them.
We continued until we reached Salter’s Lode Lock and moored up for the night. The lock allows us to pass out of the Middle Levels onto a short section of the Tidal River Ouse, where we turn right and head towards Denver Sluice, the rather impressive structure in the photo.
This is The Toll House, built on the site of the original Toll House and using the stones from the original building. Very attractive.
14.25 miles, 1 lock, 5 hours 54 mins.
Friday 24th July - Salter’s Lode Lock to Ten Mile Bank GOBA Moorings
This was our mooring at Salter’s Lode. We had to wait for the high tide at 11am to begin to recede so that we could pass through the lock. nbIsla was also going through and as they were lower than us they went through the lock first and tied up on the jetty.
Paul, the lock keeper, (posing for the photo) was really informative and helpful on what we should and shouldn’t do. He allowed us to watch nbIsla go through the lock so that we knew what was going to happen to us.
Watching and listening, as the other boat completed their procedure, I was absolutely fascinated! Paul has been doing this for 27 years and has some real horror stories to tell about misjudged exits and entrances to this lock!
Our turn to exit the lock, the tide had receded enough now to allow us to pass safely under the concrete horizontals, and then we followed nbIsla out onto the Tidal Ouse. We made a right turn against the tide and headed towards Denver Sluice.
We are following nbIsla and there is another boat coming towards us heading for Salter’s Lode. The only boats allowed to turn left are sea going boats or boats with granted permission as the stretch heads for the Wash and the sea.
Denver Lock with nbIsla already in place and we pulled in beside them. Ben, the lock keeper, operated the lock for us and we dropped down to join the non-tidal River Great Ouse. Denver Sluice prevents the tide going up the Ely Ouse, overflowing its banks and flooding the low lying land much of which is below sea level.
Once we were on the other side, we headed up river to our mooring for the night. The river here is very wide, very calm and remarkably quiet. We moored up for the night at Ten Mile Bank and took Toby for a well earned walk.
Passed some huge haystacks, towering over us and Toby, then around a private fishing lake, before returning to the boat for the evening.
A gorgeous sunset to finish off the day, very peaceful, except for the occasional swan and fish jumping out of the water, stunning!
6 miles, 1 lock, 1 hour 42 mins.
Saturday 25th July - Ten Mile Bank to Ely
Today we made an early start to cruise into Ely. The wind had picked up overnight and was still blowing quite strongly, as a SW wind it meant it was blowing us against the bank and it took a bit of nifty manoeuvring to get us off the bank and into the middle of the river. Once under way we cruised against a stiff breeze all the way!
As we approached Ely the Cathedral stood proud above the flat lands around it. The story of Ely Cathedral begins in Saxon times with its founder Etheldreda, with the present building dating back to the 11th century. The cathedral stands on the highest hill in the fens, 26m above sea level, and before the fens were drained in the 17th century Ely was an island.
We moored by The Cutter Inn and were greeted by Laura and Amy who live in Ely which was a lovely surprise. Then later on we met up with Lizzie and Beatrice and had a browse around the Farmers Market before returning to the boat for tea and cake! After a lovely walk out to Cawdle Fen and back we said goodbye to our visitors and settled down for a quiet evening on the boat.
10.5 miles, 2 hours 48 mins.
Sunday 26th July - Ely to Little Thetford Moorings
We woke to a beautiful morning, blue skies and calm river, so we decided to go for a little cruise out towards Pope’s Corner and the Fish and Duck Marina to get diesel and gas.
Unfortunately the brilliant start to the day didn’t continue and this shot shows clearly the direction of the prevailing wind! We got to the Marina but it was busy and windy and we choose not to try and wait so returned to Little Thetford Moorings where we shall stop for the night before we head back to Ely tomorrow.
Toby standing guard over his domain for the night. We sat on the bank beside the boat as we were sheltered from the wind and later in the afternoon had a walk to Little Thetford and back.
4.75 miles, 1 hour 24 mins
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