Monday 5th July - Southampton
Spent a lovely day with Alba playing on the beach at Lepe Country Park, not quite the weather for swimming but great fun playing in the waves.
Tuesday 6th July - Southampton
A wet and muddy walk through Itchen Valley Country Park and great fun playing in the mud kitchen! Tonight we return to the boat hopefully where we left it at Queen Adelaide!
Wednesday 7th July - Queen Adelaide to Judes Ferry, West Row
Today we are having a few days exploring the rivers off the Great Ouse. Dave took the car into Ely and left it with Laura and Amy, then walked back to the boat, before setting off back towards Denver Sluice and taking the first turning right onto the River Lark. These are the GOBA Moorings before the village of Prickwillow.
The only lock on the River Lark that we go through, it is 1.1 feet depth and automated although it took some time to work out how it worked!
After the lock the river became narrower and very windy, but eventually we arrived at Judes Ferry, Dave turned the boat and we moored up on the pontoon at the bottom of the garden. The pub was making preparations for the match between England and Denmark tonight, but we were pleased to see that it was all very quiet and civilised!
We went for a walk into West Row and found the church, again with no tower. West Row had a Methodist church and a Baptist church. The few Anglicans had to go all the way into Mildenhall to attend divine service at St Mary, so in 1875 the village school was extended and converted into a church. The school had been built 25 years earlier as a National School, but soon turned out to be too small. It constituted the nave of the new building.
This was the space for turning the boat, with a blustery wind blowing and the narrowness of the water, it took several reverses and forwards to bring her round, but Dave did it brilliantly!
A lovely photo of the boat on the mooring taken from further up the River under the bridge. The current navigation ends at West Row where a minor road crosses beside a pub which provides moorings alongside its garden. This used to be a commercial wharf and was known as Jude's Ferry.
12.25 miles, 1 lock, 4 hrs 12 mins
Thursday 8th July - Judes Ferry to Prickwillow
We left Judes Ferry and began to make our way back up the river to Prickwillow. I spotted a deer in the shade of the willow tree, but it was well camouflaged!
The side of the lock was a mass of colour from the wildflower planting, the number of bees and butterflies was amazing, shame they don’t come out on the photos.
We moored in Prickwillow before the bridge, another lovely quiet mooring. Prickwillow Museum, a registered educational charity, tells the story of the drainage of the Fens, the history of the local area, and those doughty individuals who ran the drainage pumps in out of the way places.
Ella on her mooring at Prickwillow, a welcome sight after a walk along the Hereward Way and the river.
8 miles, 1 lock, 2 hours, 30 mins.
Friday 9th July - Prickwillow to Wicken Fen
We left Prickwillow after stopping to fill up with water and headed back towards Ely. I spotted this little egret on the river bank, the little egret is a small white heron with attractive white plumes on crest, back and chest, black legs and bill and yellow feet.
We stopped in Ely for diesel and water and then continued down the River Cam and turned into the Wicken Lodes and through the lock called Upware Ship Lift! We moored just before the turning into Wicken Fen on the visitor moorings. The water was incredibly clear and very weedy, and at this point we decided not to try and cruise the three lodes, Wicken Lode, Burwell Lode and Reach Lode, but to explore them on foot instead.
We walked along Wicken Lode and did come across this boat sitting in the middle of the water, just watching the fish and the dragonflies, looked very peaceful!
We stopped at the National Trust Visitor Centre for tea and scones and then walked back across the fen. We saw these ponies in the fields, they did look amazing, a lot of foals. Wicken Fen is home to the beautiful Konik ponies who help by grazing the scrub, stopping the wetlands from turning into woodland. On the back of their legs they have zebra stripes and on their back is a thin stripe and their mane is both blonde and dark.
Artists Heather and Ivan Morison have built the artwork Mother..., a thatched hut offering sanctuary and solitude in Wicken Fen Nature Reserve. Heather and Ivan, who together lead Studio Morison, wanted to explore how the natural world might be used to improve people's mental health.
Ivan Morison said - Mother... makes us think of the sculpture as a vessel that might take us places; this could be on an imaginary journey around the solar system, it could be a journey connecting the past with an imagined future, making the work a time machine of sorts, or it could be a journey within our own minds, a rehabilitative journey from upset to calm.
13 miles, 1 lock, 4 hours, 18 mins.
Saturday 10th July - Wicken Fen Junction
This morning we saw the trip boat, Mayfly, which comes from the National Trust centre at the end of Wicken Lode, comes up the lode, turns in the junction and goes back again. All with an on board commentary.
Once the rain had stopped we set off to explore the Burwell Lode and Reach Lode. This is Burwell Lode from the footbridge, very narrow and quite long, about 4 miles from the lock!
On the way we saw these cattle grazing on the fen, they are Highland Cattle and the hardiness of the breeds means they are more than capable of withstanding the rigours of life on the fen throughout the year and thrive on the available forage. The Highland cattle originate from the Highlands and Islands of Scotland, they are tough and robust with a placid nature.
We walked along Burwell Lode, stopped for a drink at The Five Bells, then carried on to Reach and walked back along Reach Lode, up to the lock and then back to the boat. A total of 10.5 miles!
Sunset from the side hatch of the boat, stunning reflections in the very still water.
Sunday 11th July - Wicken Fen Jumction to Little Thetford Moorings
This morning we decided to move the boat off the Lodes and back onto the Great River Ouse. This is Ella entering the lock at the entrance to the Lodes, which we managed easily this time.
We moored up at Little Thetford Moorings and spent the afternoon watching the Men’s Singles Final before going for a walk back down towards the Fish and Duck Marina. It had turned quite cold and blowy, so it was a short brisk walk!
4.75 miles, 1 lock, 1 hour 48 mins.
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