Northampton to Wellingborough

Thu 6^th Jun  Northampton to Doddington

We set off as planned with St Brendan at about 9am. The first lock, Becketts Park Lock, was padlocked, so our Abloy key came into use for the first time.

The river was quite wide after this, and we passed under the A45. We turned right into a much smaller channel. Fortunately we were ready, as the signs were minimal.

Wide River with St Brendan following

A45 bridge

Hard to see signs

A closer look in case you missed them

Rush Mills and Abington Locks were not padlocked, but all three locks had vee lock gates at both ends. After Abington we cruised through the flood barrage, which is closed when the Nene is in flood. A wide river section followed, with Weston Favell Lock at the end, the first lock with a guillotine gate.

St Brendan leaving Abington Lock

Through the flood barrage

Wide river again

Weston Favell Lock

Last time we were here, in 2011, we completely missed the turning to Billing Aquadrome when we went downstream, and we missed it again when came upstream two months later. This time we were looking for it, and we now realise why we missed it. The channel was what looked like a mill stream, with no signs at all. It is not even marked on the map in the Imray Guide.

The bridge next to the entrance to Billing Aquadrome

Whiston Lock

We had a mooring pencilled on our map from last time. We realised that this was now a FORTN mooring, and we were planning to moor there. When we arrived, we discovered that White Mills Marina had been built on the spot, so where once there was a peaceful meadow, there was now a busy marina. We decided to move on. A boat called Tempo asked to share the lock with us, before they realised that there were two boats.

White Mills Marina

White Mills Lock

We continued to share locks with St Brendan as far as Earls Barton, where we managed to moor with difficulty, due to lots of bankside vegetation. We could have made good use of a longer plank. After a few hours we decided to move on.

Near Earls Barton Lock

Precariously moored

We moved on through two more locks to just after Doddington Lock, where there was a FORTN mooring. Water Otter was there, and they moved along for us. Thank you, Frank and Sandy. This was a delightful peaceful mooring, created by the Friends of the River Nene.

It was a lovely sunny evening, and we walked across fields to the village, following the Nene Way footpath. We had a following of cows at one point. We had a delightful meal at the Stags Head.

Doddington Lock and Hardwater Mill

Followed by a herd of cows

The Nene Way

The Stags Head

We had stormy skies later, with beautiful sunshine, making dramatic effects.

Sunshine and dark skies

We were sad to hear that our friend and partner in Canal Ministries, Lin Atwill, had passed away today. Another friend, David Clark, passed away two days earlier, on Tuesday. Our prayers go out for Peter Atwill and Anne Clark as they come to terms with their loss.

11 locks, 9 miles. Dep 0855 arr 1330. Dep 1715 arr 1820.

Fri 7^th Jun  Doddington

There was heavy rain today, as expected, so we stayed where we were.  Water Otter departed. Tempo arrived to take their place. James was very groggy because he had taken some pills for neuralgia, which he sometimes gets, so he slept most of the morning.

We prepared some songs for David Clark’s memorial service, as we have been asked to take part.

No boating today. No photos either.

Sat 8^th Jun  Doddington to Wellingborough

Manor Farm mooring, Great Doddington

We had more heavy rain this morning, and we monitored the weather forecast carefully. In mid afternoon we set off to negotiate two more locks.

Wollaston Lock was standard, with a guillotine gate at the bottom, and two gates at the top. Boaters are meant to leave the locks empty, so they are usually set against a boat coming downstream.

Wollaston Lock

Upper Wellingborough Lock was different, with two sets of “normal” gates, and no guillotine.

Upper Wellingborough Lock

Approaching Wellingborough

We stopped on the visitor moorings in Wellingborough, where there are bollards, and deep water. There is a factory opposite which makes a lot of continual noise from pumps or fans or similar. If we didn’t want to go to church here tomorrow, we would move on a bit further.

There are facilities here, and James emptied a cassette. The water and rubbish can wait until tomorrow.

Moored in Wellingborough

2 locks, 2 miles. Dep 1455, arr 1605.

Next: a visit to a Vineyard Church tomorrow, before moving on to Rushden Lakes. Then further downstream on our way to Peterborough.