Stuck in Denford

Thu 13^th June  Denford

Not a lot to report today. We didn’t move the boat, as it was raining all day.  One boat came up through the lock in the pouring rain. Perhaps they didn’t know the red boards were out.

Heavy rain

Still raining

James registered with the environment agency so that we would be notified when the Strong Stream Advice is lifted. Then we lit a fire - in June!!

It brightened up in the evening for a short while, and we spotted a barn owl flying over the water meadows.

No boating today

Fri 14^th June  Denford

Our mooring at Denford

The flow over the top gates

It was drier today, although it seemed as though the water level had risen. We thought we would walk into Denford and check out what it had to offer. We checked the bus times and worked out that we could go to Thrapston and back. However, it was a long wait for the bus, so we thought we would have lunch at the pub. No: they don’t open until 4pm! So we went to look round the church. No: it was all locked up.

We still had more than an hour before the bus was due, so we walked into Thrapston. We bought some sausages at the butchers, and discovered that the two pubs in the centre don’t serve food. We went to a café and had an inexpensive lunch. James went to look at the river going under the medieval bridge, and we caught the bus back.

The bridge will be a bit of a challenge when we set off, as it has many arches, and with a strong flow there is a danger of being caught against the bridge piers if we get it wrong. All except the centre arch are too low for navigation, and the centre arch does not line up with the natural route in the centre of the channel.

Thrapston Bridge

No boating today

Sat 15^th June  Denford

Most of the rain had finished, but the river was still flowing quickly. We considered eating at the pub in Denford, but then realised that they don’t serve food! Don’t people eat around here?

James made occasional visits to the lock to see if the water levels had dropped. It looked as though it was down slightly, but not enough to allow navigation.

We caught up with some paperwork and practised some songs.  We had heavy rain in the afternoon and a lovely sunset later.

Rain clouds

Heavy Rain

Sunset

No boating today.

Next: Tomorrow we could walk into Thrapston to go to the church there, but it means starting early. We have also found a pub that serves food and they do a carvery on Sunday. We also have a taxi phone number, so we may use that.

Hopefully we will be in Peterborough by next weekend, because we have booked three nights in the marina at March on 25thJune. We are hiring a car and going to two funerals on two consecutive days, and we have been asked to lead some worship at both.