Grandparents Gadabout - Week 5

 Monday 21st June - Ely Riverside

A slow start to the day, Dave caught the train from Ely to Worcester to collect the car so that we have our own transport for a total of 3 weeks whilst we are over this way.  

I walked up to Laura’s and spent the afternoon helping out with the babies, going for a walk until Dave got back and then we returned to the boat.  

Unfortunately, where we were moored on The Riverside there is a very weak wifi signal, so it was radio and an early night! 

Tuesday 22nd June - Ely Riverside to Cawdle Fen to Queen Adelaide

We have moored the boat for 48 hours so we have to move it to a different mooring for the next 48 hours. We set off out of Ely to Cawdle Fen, it was cold and windy, and when we got there, I turned the boat and attempted to moor up.  It was really difficult, and eventually we decided against it and came back into Ely.

Here we are cruising back through Ely and out the other side to Queen Adelaide’s EA moorings.  This time we were successful and with the help of EA men cutting the grass we were able to moor beautifully.

After a lunch on the boat we walked from Queen Adelaide, over the footbridge and into Ely, a very pleasant walk, and spent the afternoon with Laura and Amy and the twins.  

At the end of the day we drove the car back to Queen Adelaide where we were able to park in a lay-by on the road, really handy, so I think we will use this mooring again!  Also the wifi signal is superb out there, so that is a real bonus! 

This was taken from the window at gone 8pm, a rowing crew with a training boat shooting past the boat, they certainly get up some speed!  

3.5 miles, 0 locks, 1 hr 42 mins.

Wednesday 23rd June - Queen Adelaide EA Moorings 

We spent the morning quietly on the boat and then drove the car into Ely to spend the afternoon with Amy and the babies.  We had a lovely time, the babies are changing so quickly! 

We left the boat for the day at these moorings and it was a warm sunny day, I was delighted to see that the solar panels had done a great job with keeping the batteries topped up and we have no need to fire up the engine to top up the batteries.  Absolutely chuffed about this!  

Thursday 24th June - Queen Adelaide to Jubilee Gardens, Ely

We woke to a calm and warm morning, ideal conditions to turn the boat and bring her back into Ely for the next 48 hours.  Dave stayed on the bank whilst I turned the boat and then he drove into Ely to park the car and find us a mooring spot.

He found us a mooring alongside Jubilee Gardens, this is the boat cruising into the riverside moorings, as it is a Thursday the moorings are still quite empty.  We spent the afternoon with Amy and the babies whilst Laura went to work.

1.75 miles, 0 locks, 0 hrs 48 mins.

Friday 25th June - Jubilee Gardens, Ely

Toby found a friend, another cockapoo, with almost the same colouring but with a much curlier coat. They seemed to accept each other and get on pretty well! 

In the afternoon we went for a walk with Amy and the babies, we saw several wildflower meadows and in one we spotted these bee orchids, stunning little plants which really do look like a bee! The Bee orchid gets its name from its main pollinator - a species of bee - which is thought to have driven the evolution of the flowers. To attract the bees that will pollinate the plant, it has flowers that mimic their appearance. Drawing them in with the promise of love, the bees attempt a mating. As they land on the velvet-textured lip of the flower, the pollen is transferred and the poor bee is left frustrated. Sadly, the right species of bee doesn't occur in the UK, so Bee Orchids are self-pollinated here.  The bee orchid is also the county flower of Bedfordshire! 

I was fascinated by this building in the distance, a crenallated tower.  I looked it up and discovered that this building was originally the Ely Union Workhouse. It was built in 1837-8 by W. J. Donthom. It was built as a result of the Poor Law Act (1834). It was designed to accommodate 300 inmates and cost £7,000. When the NHS was established in 1948 it became the Tower House Hospital. It closed as a hospital in 1993 and has since been converted into apartments.

Saturday 26th June - Ely

We have had our 48 hours in Ely, so we turned the boat around and headed back out to Queen Adelaide and moored up again on the EA moorings. 

We then drove out to Linton to meet up with Lizzie, Bea and Hollie.  We went to the local park where Bea played on the brand new skate park on her scooter, she was excellent at going up and down the ramps.  Lizzie and I had a go on this giant swing, such fun! 

We spent the rest of the afternoon watching the Rugby Final between Harlequins and Exeter Chiefs, a great match and made even better by Harlequins becoming the champions!  We even had home made pulled pork baps for our interval meal, really spoilt!  

1.75 miles, 0 locks, 0 hrs 54 mins

Sunday 27th June - Queen Adelaide Moorings

Today Laura works all day, so we spent the whole day with Amy and the babies.  We had a walk into Ely and bought lunch from the Ely Bagel Bar, bringing it back to eat in the garden whilst the sun was out.  We stayed until Laura finished work then came back to the boat for the rest of the evening.  

Grandparents Gadabout - Week 4

 Monday 14th June - Fotheringhay to Wansford Railway Station

One of the locks we went through was Elton Lock, we used to go to Elton when we lived in Peterborough, have a babysitter and go out to the Crown at Elton, lovely memories!  

I was looking forward to an ice cream from this kiosk at Yarwell Lock, but unfortunately it was all locked up and a notice on the door informed us that the owner had passed away in February of Motor Neurone Disease at the age of 58, very sad! 

We moored for the evening at Wansford Railway Bridge and took a walk back into the village of Wansford.  This is the church at Stibbington, a village we walked through.  It doesn’t have a tower and I discovered that a tower was built in the 1500’s only to be demolished in 1848/49 because it became unsafe.

I rather like this house in Stibbington, it looks a little like a  gingerbread house, most edible! 

This is The Haycock at Wansford.  We used to visit here with our young children and treat ourselves to a cream tea either in the lounge or garden depending on the weather, I remember the scones were enormous and delicious!  It is in the process of a major refurbishment, so we weren’t able to sample their cream tea this time! 

Parked at the back of the Nene Valley Railway, we found Thomas the Tank Engine!  Although there was lots of activity, we had missed the actual opening times.  Later in June, Thomas is celebrating his 50th birthday.  The little blue engine spent its entire working life at the British Sugar Corporation Peterborough factory pushing wagons of sugar beet up an incline until the day came when a diesel engine replaced the steam power of Thomas. The Peterborough Railway Society purchased this delightful little engine on 9th September 1973 and he was moved to the Nene Valley Railway, where he has since delighted his friends and children of all ages.

9.5 miles, 4 locks, 4 hrs 18 mins.

Tuesday 15th June - Wansford Railway Bridge to Peterborough Embankment

Our first lock of the day was Waternewton Lock, it is one of the prettiest locks on this river.  Water Newton is world famous because of the discovery in 1975 of the 4th century Water Newton Treasure at the site of the nearby Roman town of Durobrivae, in the parish. The treasure is the earliest known Christian mass silver in the world and is now in the British Museum.  It also has a Roman tomb in the graveyard.

The Watermill taken from the other side of the lock.  Three water mills at Water Newton are mentioned in the Domesday survey, the present mill, which replaced an older structure bears the date 1791.  It has been developed into 5 dwellings.

The mounds in this picture could be the pottery kilns where calcite-gritted cooking pots were produced dating to the late 1st century AD.  Clay and wood could be brought in by the Nene and the finished pots dispatched by water.

At the last lock of the day we came across two boats with these workmen.  They were cutting back vegetation but kindly let us take their lock which they also worked for us, very kind and most helpful.  Anything to avoid working apparently!  

Festival Boat was commissioned from the artist as part of the final ‘Festival of Sculpture’ in 1989 which marked the end of the Development Corporation in Peterborough. This large scale artwork rests on the bank of the River Nene in Thorpe Meadows and takes as its inspiration from its location and the festival boats used ceremonially in the artist's native Nigeria.

After putting on water, we moored on Peterborough Embankment and walked into the city.  Peterborough Cathedral is dedicated to St Peter whose sculpture is in the centre of the magnificent West Front of the building.  

9.5 miles,3 locks, 3 hrs 24 mins.

Wednesday 16th June - Peterborough to March

We left our mooring early to get to Stanground Lock in time for 9am.  We were half an hour early but it was a pleasant morning and Dave took Toby for a gentle walk.  By 9am we were in the lock and descending on to the Middle Levels, Julie checked with us that we had the correct windlass and key to open gates and taps and we were on our way! 

Only one lock today, just outside Whittlesey.  The windlass fits on top of the metal bollard in the foreground on the photo, Dave said it was 90 turns to open or close the paddles!  Although these locks are wide, they aren’t wide enough to take 2 narrowboats, so it is one at a time. 

There are several of these pillboxes along the banks of the Old River Nene, it was part of the massive defence strategy against invasion during the Second World War.

A view along the waterway we have come along, a straight even ditch stretching away into the distance, where the water meets the horizon at a point.

The Greenwich Meridian crosses the Fens at this point and is marked by this structure.  I saw it at the last minute so it isn’t very clear, I found this fascinating, that we had cruised over the Greenwich Meridian!  

We cruised into March and found the visitor moorings empty apart from one boat, so we moored up for the evening.  Dave did some shopping and we went to the local key cutter to see if we could get some keys cut for the engine.  We were asked to go back in the morning as the owner wasn’t there at the time.  Weather is forecast to break down, so we stayed on board whilst the rain set in.

16 miles, 2 locks, 5 hrs 12 mins.

Thursday 17th June - March to Upwell Church Bridge

A much greyer day today with light rain showers.  The fens look dark and foreboding, as we continue our journey across them.  

There is a lot of weed in the water, and we passed these weed gathering boats collecting great shovel loads full and depositing it on the adjacent fields.

We decided to moor for the day on the visitor moorings below St Peter’s Church in Upwell, we intend to continue to Salters Lode tomorrow in time to catch the ebbing tide.  A pleasant mooring with Joanne’s Pantry across the road, perfect! 

Once the rain had dried up we went for a walk around the back of Upwell, we couldn’t do the circular route as it was too overgrown, but it was a pleasant ‘out and back’.  We saw this very young calf suckling from its mother when she would stand still long enough! 

I was intrigued by this tower in the property behind the church.  The property is Welle Manor Hall a 14th century hall, which has towers that flank the former courtyard entrance in the wall, which has since been demolished.  They are octagonal and date to around 1480, constructed of brick and retain their original brick spiral staircase.  The East tower has since been converted into a dovecote.

7 miles, 1 locks, 2 hrs  24 mins.

Friday 18th June - Upwell

Today the weather has taken a turn for the worst, heavy rain and high winds.  We have decided that we don’t want to tackle the tidal Great Ouse in these conditions and have delayed until tomorrow, when the conditions are forecast to be much better!  So a day on the boat catching up with admin and playing scrabble!

Saturday 19th June - Upwell to Denver Visitor Moorings.

A much better day weather wise, less wind and dry but still cloudy and cool.  We set out from Upwell early to make it down to Salter’s Lode for 12.40 when the passages are allowed to go through.  I think this narrowboat completes the family, with both eldest girl’s names on it!  

Crossing the fens, a flat and wide open landscape, with this line of electricity pylons marching across fields in a perfectly straight line, you could see them for miles! 

A converted windmill without the sales, called Mill House, very attractive and beautifully done on the outside. 

When we got to Salter’s Lode there were three boats ahead of us and one came after us, but as there wasn’t any mooring space left they buttied up alongside.  We had to wait for another hour before Paul the lock keeper started to let the boats through.  It was a neap tide, so he was able to let the boats out on the incoming tide once there was enough water, right through to the outgoing tide, a window of about 2.5 to 3 hours.

There were some fishermen near us and here one of them had just caught an eel, and they were trying to remove the hook.  It was a good size, but the fisherman didn’t like them and it went back in the water.  He was fishing for Zander.

We have just left the lock and turned right and heading up to Denver Sluice and onto the River Great Ouse.  The water was just beginning to ebb, so the flow was minimal and quite gentle.  We made the turn with no problems and sailed into Denver Lock beautifully.  The Denver Complex is amazing with sluices and locks regulating the water within the Great Ouse.  The stretch of water between Denver and Ely rarely floods because of the work of the sluice to keep the the water on an even level.

We moored up at the visitor moorings at Denver and spent the night there, tomorrow we shall continue down into Ely. 

6.75 miles, 2 locks, 3 hrs, 12 mins.

Sunday 20th June - Denver Sluice to Ely

We woke to grey skies and relentless drizzle, fortunately there are no low bridges between Denver and Ely so we were able to cruise with the pram hood up keeping the worst of the rain off us!  This is a lovely stretch of the river but it really didn’t do justice to itself in these conditions!  

Coming into Ely we passed the boat house, where many of the crews were out on the water practising. This was where the Oxford and Cambridge Boat Race was held this year, we happened to be visiting and saw the TV presenters talking to camera outside the boathouse.

After we had moored up, Lizzie came to find us which was lovely, she came bearing gifts for Father’s Day!  We then had lunch at Peacocks Tearooms, very pleasant indeed!  

Ely Cathedral, an imposing building, and we walk past it to reach Laura’s home.  We intend staying in the area for the next two weeks to help out with our grand twins and live on the boat.  All very exciting!  

16 miles, 0 locks, 3 hrs 42 mins.

Grandparents Gadabout - Week 3

 

Monday 7th June - Buckby Top Lock to Gayton Marina

We left Buckby Visitor Moorings behind two solo boaters sharing a lock together.  We were lucky to pair up with another boat, Al and her partner on nbClarence and gradually worked our way down the locks.

We passed nbToby on our way, another one to add to the family!!!

We had to stop at Lock 9 for 20 minutes as the pounds ahead of us were drained and the Canal and River Trust person was working his way up the lock gradually refilling the pounds.

I was really impressed with the flower and vegetable garden on the roof and bow of this boat, apparently all the work of the lady driving the boat! 

At the final lock, I met a boat from the Llangollen Canal and a boat that we were moored along side in the Aylesbury Arm 2 years ago.

This looked extremely hot work, a sheep shearing station in the middle of a field.  We got a cheery wave from one of the shearers as he was having sunscreen applied and taking a cooling drink!

There have been many of these trees along the canal bank, covered in white fluff, a friend has told me they are a female aspen, but the breeze takes the fluff and blows it in all directions getting caught in every nook and cranny.  Sometimes it is like cruising through snow drifting on the breeze. 

12.25 miles, 7 locks, 7 hrs.

Tuesday 8th June - Gayton Marina to Northampton Marina

We left our mooring before 9am to make an early start on the Northampton Locks.  This heron stood still beautifully for me as we cruised past, didn’t seem in the least bit concerned about our presence.

There are 17 locks on this flight of locks most of which are close together.  There are also 3 moveable bridges, one which was up, one that was dismantled and this one which was down.  It comes immediately after the lock and it took some working out as to the order in which to do the lock and the bridge! 

I like this photo as it shows the slow river cruising with the speeding lorries going over the top and in the distance there is a white lorry on a bridge which has stationary traffic on it, we were going faster than they were! 

We are coming down towards Northampton here, it was beautiful, still, quite incredibly green and not a soul to be seen.  We didn’t pass a single boat throughout the whole flight, and it was really most enjoyable. 

A lovely mural under a bridge painted by local school children with help from a local art group, certainly cheers up an otherwise gloomy space.

We passed this last year as a building site, now it is an empty Landrover/Jaguar showroom with a huge car park.  

At one of the locks we disturbed a very large group of Canada Geese and goslings. There were 4 adults and some where in the region of 20 goslings.  Canada geese goslings will form large groups. These nursery groups, or creches, provide protection for the chicks (safety in numbers) and teach them how to work as a group (important during migration). Usually one pair tends the crèche while the other parents remain nearby.

Our approach to Northampton and tonight we are going to stay in Northampton Marina, where we stayed last year.  The town mooring is quite high and makes it difficult to get Toby on and off the boat, especially with Dave’s bad back so it is easier to moor in the Marina. 

We went for a walk into the town and were fascinated by this building. Northampton’s Guildhall speaks volumes of the thriving economy and cultural aspirations of the town in the mid 19th century. The building is triumphal and richly decorated, in the Gothic idiom. The architect was one of Britain’s most innovative designers of the second half of the century, who won the competition aged only 28. Edward Godwin was strongly influenced by John Ruskin’s book The Stones of Venice which accounts for the continental style of the building and its varied use of different coloured stones. 

5 miles, 17 locks, 1 moveable bridge, 4 hrs 48 mins.

Wednesday 9th June - Northampton Marina to White Mills Marina

A lovely sunny day, and a good start to our cruise along the River Nene, as we leave Northampton behind the river becomes very wide, it is known as the Northampton Washlands and the site is important for the numbers and diversity of over-wintering waders and ducks, especially Golden Plover and Gadwall. In the summer there are vulnerable breeding birds including Redshank and Lapwing. 

Weston Favell lock is the first of the guillotine locks, the mitred gates at the top are operated with a windlass and the bottom is a guillotine gate that is lowered and raised using motor power.  One of the hazards is the drips off the gate as you pass under it! 

We are moored on the lock landing waiting for the lock to be ready.  In the background is Billing Aquadrome, last year this place was packed to the gunnels but today it is empty and very quiet.  Perhaps it is early in the season.  Many years ago we brought our very young family here and stayed in our own tent so we could visit family! 

We moored up for the evening at White Mills Marina, we stayed here last year on our return journey and found it very pleasant.  From the Marina we were able to walk into Earls Barton, a large village with a shoe-making heritage.  Scenes from the 2005 film ‘Kinky Boots’ were shot here.  All Saints Church has an amazing Saxon  church tower which is meant to be the oldest Saxon tower in England.

Inside the church is a delightful rood screen with illustrations of the saints dressed in 1930’s dress. 

8 miles, 8 locks, 5 hrs 18 mins.

Thursday 10th June - White Mills Marina to Ditchford Moorings

We left the Marina to continue on our way, after buying cake from the cafe for later in the day!  We passed this family of swans and for the first time I saw 2 cygnets riding on the back of the adult swan, it gives the babies a bit of a rest and the chance to warm up after being in the river.

We came through a lock and in the field were several horses and their foals.  There are 2 foals here standing in the shade of the tree, it does look rather a strange photo, but it was the best angle I could get!  

Just outside Wellingborough, there looked to be a new set of moorings, but unfortunately they were closed and roped off, seems a shame but maybe the farmer has refused permission for them to be used. 

We moored for the evening at Ditchford Moorings, just space for us, a lovely quiet mooring with lots of open water sports on the near by lakes.  I love these bright blue damselflies, there are two in this photo, one a more green colour.

6.5 miles, 6 locks, 4 hrs 24 mins.

Friday 11th June - Ditchford Moorings to Woodford Mooring

I know this is yet another swan and cygnet photo, but I was taken by the fact that 2 of these cygnets are all white.  According to the RSPB website ‘Cygnets are generally dingy brown above and whitish below. Occasionally' cygnets may be all white and are known as 'Polish swans'.’

The lock at Ditchford has a radial bottom gate instead of the usual guillotine gate, it is the only one on the River Nene. It looks vast and I wonder why the design was changed for this one lock? 

A lovely old bridge at Irthlingborough dates back to the 14th century.  The arches are very narrow and only one is navigable, but it is on a tight corner so needs to be done very carefully. 

Saw these lovely wading birds on the river bank, I think they are a species of oystercatcher, very pretty. 

We first saw ‘Black Rose’ in White Mills Marina, and have been passing each other ever since.

We moored up for the evening at Woodford Moorings, somewhere we have wanted to moor at since last year.  I wanted to walk into the village and have a look at the church, one of the largest on the River Nene.  However, we discovered that the field was barbed wired and you could’nt get out onto the Nene Way.  A phone call to Friends of The River Nene whose mooring this is, confirmed that the farmer had blocked off access because of the unruly behaviour of young people during the lockdown!  He also put young bullocks in the field as well!  We decided to stay anyway and have a quiet afternoon.  

8.25 miles, 5 locks, 3 hrs 54 mins.

Saturday 12th June - Woodford Moorings to Wadenhoe

The old bridge at Thrapston dates from medieval times and has very narrow arches on a difficult bend, very picturesque though.  Much of the bridge was rebuilt towards the end of the 18th century when the original structure was swept away in a flood.

We were fortunate to collect a river cruiser who shared a couple of locks with us before stopping at Pear Tree Farm Moorings.  The size difference is obvious, but it is more the fact that we are 17 tons of steel and they are fibre glass, so we have to take the locks nice and gently.

Titchmarsh Lock is very picturesque, we were lucky that we arrived in time as another narrowboat was leaving the lock.  Dave also managed to catch a gull flying in this photo.

We got to Wadenhoe and moored up at the bottom of the King’s Head pub grounds. We sat in the garden and had a lunch and spent the afternoon relaxing outside whilst it was so hot.  When it was cooler we walked across to Achurch through the meadows. 

Toby had cooled off in the stream flowing through Wadenhoe and enjoyed a run through the meadows. 

8.25 miles, 4 locks, 4 hrs 6 mins.

Sunday 13th June - Wadenhoe to Fotheringhay

An early start this morning, it is going to be a hot day so we want to get to Fotheringhay and secure a mooring and have a quiet afternoon.  

The lock at Wadenhoe is incredibly slow, the original motor failed on the automated guillotine and has been replaced by a much less powerful one because they haven’t been able to source an identical one.  Rather than 20 minutes for a lock this one was nearer 40 minutes!! 

Lilford Lock is one of the prettiest locks on this stretch of the River Nene, as you leave the lock you pass under Lilford Bridge with its ornate balustrade.  

Lilford Hall is a Jacobean Mansion with 100 rooms.  The massive chimney stacks are linked by arches and its origins lie in the 17th century.  It’s most famous occupant was the 4th Baron Lilford who was responsible for introducing the Little Owl to England in the 1880’s. 

Fotheringhay Church stands reflected in the River Nene, the castle mound is still apparent , but there is very little left of the actual castle itself.  The church that remains is a third of the size it used to be. 

Later in the afternoon we went for a walk into the village and stopped for a drink at the Falcon.  On the way back Dave lost his boat keys and no matter how many times he retraced his steps he couldn’t find them.  He has left his details with the mooring man in case they are handed in at a later date.   In a last ditch attempt, a different set of eyes, I set out and retraced our steps - and yes there they were in a field one up from when he realised that he had lost them!  Panic over - but we will get an extra spare set cut just in case!  

11 miles, 7 locks, 5 hrs 24 mins.