There was more waiting around this morning. We spent some
time chatting to the other boaters who were waiting to go upstream. The river
looked calm and easily navigable. We realised that some of the EA staff were
probably at Wainfleet in Lincolnshire where severe flooding had taken place.
Then an EA van appeared, and a man closed the top gates of
the lock and raised the vertical guillotine gate. He said the red boards would come
down at about 4pm when all the locks had been reset. He also added that after
he had left boaters would probably ignore the red boards and set off.
When he had gone, two boats from the cruising club went
into the lock and came up. We used the lock straight afterwards and went down.
There was another boat waiting to go up when we left.
The first boats through Titchmarsh Lock
Our turn
Farewell to MNCC
At last we were moving again. The flows were fine – no
problems. We passed the unusual church at Wadenhoe, and this was followed by
the Kings Head, where there were a few boats tied up, and as we turned into the
lock cut, we saw one boat move forward to the water tap there.
Wadenhoe Church
Poppies
We passed through Lilford Lock, and then under an ornate
bridge. Lilford Hall has 100 rooms and dates back to 1495. We could only
glimpse part of it through the trees, so we have nicked an aerial view from the
internet to show the scale of the place.
Ornate Bridge
We have seen several of these red and
white signs.
Does anyone know what they mean?
At Upper Barnwell Lock there is a lovely mill which at one
time was a restaurant, but it looks private now. This is quickly followed by
Oundle Marina and and Lower Barnwell Here we saw a red sign displayed, and we
noticed that the lower landing stage was level with the water. The flows were
still manageable so we continued.
Approaching Oundle Mill
Oundle Mill
In 2011 we had moored in the cut leading to the weir above Ashton
Lock. There had been several boats there, and it had been one of the best
moorings we had found. We walked from there along a path, over a small bridge
and across a meadow into Oundle. This was our intended mooring this time. Our
Friends of the River Nene moorings booklet had indicated that this was now one
of their moorings, called Ashton Carr. However, when we arrived this time, we
saw that there were big red signs saying no mooring at any time – private land.
We still wanted to go into Oundle for a haircut and an Indian meal, so we
moored just behind the lock bollards, among some bushes, doing a bit of
gardening with the nettles.
Moor no more at Ashton
Moored above Ashton Lock
In the bushes
A boat arrived from behind us – it was the one we had seen
on the water point at Wadenhoe. They told us that mooring was possible on the
meadows below the lock, but that it was noisy from the road. They agreed that
we could just stay put and walk into town from where we were, so we decided to
do that.
We set off walking along the lock island where the “no
mooring” signs were, but when we came to the bridge, we discovered that there
was a gate, and it was closed with a padlock and chain! We gave up and returned
to the boat and Hazel rustled up something for a meal instead. The FOTRN
website no longer mentions this mooring.
5 locks, 8 miles
Thu 20th June Ashton Lock to Yarwell
Ashton Lock
After a peaceful night we did battle with the wheel on the
lock, and travelled down to the unofficial mooring on the water meadows, where
we moored successfully with no need for a plank.
As we walked into Oundle we saw a sign saying moorers must
leave by 8am. They didn’t say which day.
Moored on the meadows
Oundle is a lovely town, with stone-built houses and a
vibrant marketplace. James found somewhere to get his hair cut, and we bought a
few things in the market and in Waitrose, before returning to the boat.
Oundle
As we
crossed the meadow, we saw another boat coming downstream, so we called to the
helmsman and suggested we share locks. We set off through the old bridge at Oundle, under
interesting skies.
Oundle Bridge
Cloudy skies
We caught up with the other boat at Cotterstock Lock. It
was a solo guy called Ian and his boat was called Loose Cannon. We
arranged that he would go first and lower the guillotine gate at the next lock,
while James raised it again when we had left the lock. The system worked well.
Sharing with Loose Cannon
Ian and Hazel
There are some fine old churches on the Nene, such as the
ones at Cotterstock and Fotheringhay, which both look impressive from the
river.
Cotterstock Church
Fotheringhay Church
Fotheringhay Bridge
Fotheringhay Castle Mound
We arrived at Warmington Lock, the second manual wheel of
the day, and the final one on the Nene. There were two boats on the lock
bollards, and we thought there might be a problem with the lock. No – the other
boaters were merely having a spot of lunch, so we used the lock.
Boats at Warmington Lock
At Elton Lock a boat was already using the lock, coming up
stream. This was useful, as we did not need to lower the guillotine gate. The
boat was nb Petrel, built in 1914
Nb Petrel
Arriving at Elton Lock
Elton Mill
When we arrived at Yarwell Lock, our friend Maureen was
just passing through, walking her dogs and going to visit someone. For both Loose
Cannon and ourselves, this was our last lock of the day. We said farewell
to Ian, who went first. He needed to turn around and face upstream to arrive on
his mooring.
We continued a little further and turned to starboard into
a private marina where Maureen lives with her husband Peter. They are BCF
members, and we met originally three years ago on the tidal Trent at
Gainsborough. They had kindly offered us their mooring for the night, and
dinner at their home. We had a good time of catching up.
We did take some photos, but accidentally deleted them!
6 locks, 12 miles
Fri 21st June
Yarwell to Ferry Meadows
We attempted to slip away quietly this morning without
disturbing any of the residents. We headed downstream through Wansford Lock,
and under Wansford Bridge. There were no places to moor except by tying to trees
almost under the bridge, as we did last time.
Leaving Maureen and Peters place
Wansford Bridge
Wansford is a lovely old town, so we were surprised that
the A1 bridge there is so ugly.
A1 road bridge
Two miles further downstream, the river goes under a
railway bridge, which is at the end of the Nene Valley Railway, which starts in
Peterborough. Some of the trucks and wagons can be seen across the fields.
Water Art
Nene Valley Railway rolling stock
The lock at Water Newton is in a very attractive setting,
with a mill and a church nearby. There were two ladies with two children there,
and one of them said she lives in Castor, half a mile across the meadow, but
this is the first time she had found this place.
Water Newton Lock
Water Newton Mill
Alwalton Lock was next, and we took note of the two mooring
possibilities here. One was a FOTRN mooring, and the other was some mooring
bollards on the weir side of the lock island. There was no sign for these with
any mooring restrictions, so we are hopeful we can moor here for the New Wine
event on the showground in August.
That was the last lock of the day, as we now had a 3-mile
loop round Ferry Meadows Country Park. We passed under Milton Ferry Bridge and
entered a narrow channel which connects the river to Overton Lake, where there
are moorings on two pontoons.
Milton Ferry Bridge
The entry channel to Ferry Meadows
On the lake
Moored on Ferry Meadows
We went for a walk, had a coffee in a café, and visited
some bird hides. We were very surprised to see a ring-necked parakeet, as we
hadn’t realised that they were in this area. There are lots in Surrey, and we
saw them almost as far north as Rickmansworth this year, and they are up the
Thames almost to Henley. We saw one in Skipton a few years ago.
Parakeet
We also saw a greater spotted woodpecker. In Northampton we
saw a black swan next to a mute swan. Here, at the other end of the Nene we saw
another black swan next to white one.
Greater spotted woodpecker
Black and White swans in Northampton
Black and White swans in Peterborough
We met some lovely people on another boat, Tricia and Steve
Higham. They have offered us a lift to their church on Sunday morning. We were
treated to a lovely sunset, reflected on the water.
Tricia and Steve's boat
Sunset at Ferry Meadows
Next: Through the final lock into
Peterborough for two nights. A visit to Kingsgate Church on Sunday with Tricia
and Steve, followed by a Sunday Asian buffet on a floating barge called East.
Then we have booked a passage through Stanground Sluice on Monday morning. This
will take us onto the Middle Levels to March, where we leave the boat for two
days to attend two funerals.
