Downham Market Bridge and Heyfords Flour Mill by night
We walked from our mooring pontoon via the bridge and some
footpaths to Eternity Church. When we were here last the church was called
Downham Christian Fellowship. They meet in a very dull looking warehouse
building, but inside it is very practical for the church’s needs.
For the summer they have arranged their auditorium in café
style, with chairs around tables. The worship was led by a talented young man
on guitar, who had extra sounds coming electronically from a machine. There was
also a lady backing vocalist.
We had a warm welcome, and there was some interest in Canal
Ministries. We had lunch in Wetherspoons and walked back to the boat where we
had heavy rain.
Many of the older buildings in Downham Market are made of
what they call carrstone, a locally sourced type of sandstone.
Carrstone buildings
No boating today
Mon 29th July
Downham Market to Upwell
Although this was meant to be a 48-hour mooring, there were
two boats that had been moored for a long time. They had even arranged a kind
of tent at the end. We saw no evidence of anyone monitoring the moorings.
We left the pontoon to go back to Denver and the Relief
Channel Lock. The Relief Channel is deep and wide and runs very straight from
Denver almost to Kings Lynn.
After using the lock, we visited the facilities where we
were able to fill the water tank and with difficulty we managed to dispose of a
cassette. Firstly, it was almost impossible to undo the padlock. Thankfully a
man from the EA arrived and knew the secret knack and was able to unlock it for
us. Secondly, the facility was dry, as though it hadn’t been used for ages.
After one cassette, it was full, and therefore obviously blocked. We reported
it, and then moved to the waiting pontoon for Denver Lock, where we had a
passage booked for about 4.30pm. The tide was still going out when we arrived,
and the mud banks were showing below the lock.
They call this the Denver Complex, and it is aptly named,
having seven waterways converging in the area, five of which are navigable.
When we first arrived, we came from the Middle Levels through Salters Lode Lock,
and we went up the New Bedford River, or Hundred Foot River, as in route 1
below.
Last week we came down the Great Ouse, and through the
Relief Channel Lock to Downham Market (Route 2)
Today our planned route is coming from Downham Market, up
through the Relief Channel Lock, and through Denver Lock onto the tide, turning
sharp left against the current to go through Salters Lode Lock onto the Middle
Levels.
The same EA man came to operate the lock for us. His name
was Ben, and he suggested that the cruiser went in first, as they were going on
to Kings Lynn. We followed, and had to go diagonally in the lock to make sure
we had room.
We only dropped a few inches in the lock as we left the
Great Ouse and ventured onto the short tidal section. The tide was running in
strongly, and we needed a fair bit of power to go the half mile to Salters Lode
Lock.
Ben was in contact with the man at Salters Lode, and the
crossings were co-ordinated. We passed a boat going in the other direction,
which meant that the lock was open and ready for us.
The entry into the lock is at a sharp angle, so we had to
go further beyond the junction to turn without getting swept sideways, and we
had to power the stern round so that we could face into the lock. We had a
round of applause from some gongoozlers.
We were soon through the lock onto Well Creek, which felt
very shallow after the wide Great Ouse.
We passed over Mullicourt Aqueduct, with the Middle Level Main Drain
crossing underneath.
We arrived in the village of Outwell, and took the sharp
turn to the left onto the old course of the River Nene. There are roads on both
sides and the waterway is little more than a ditch in the middle, and progress
was slow. We passed a house with the
intriguing name “Up To Date House”. Perhaps they were the first to have running
water on tap, or electricity. We moored on the visitor mooring by the church.
Over the wall of the churchyard can be seen an octagonal brick
tower which apparently dates from the 15th century and it originally
formed a corner of the forecourt to the Rectory at Upwell.
3 locks, 9
miles. Dep 1010 arr Denver 1140. Dep 1645, arr Upwell 1920
Tue 30th July
Upwell (and Aylesbury by car)
We had planned an outing to Aylesbury today by hire car. A
lady from Enterprise came to collect us, and she took us to their base in Kings
Lynn. On the way James had the opportunity to explain to her how God had called
us to live on the boat seven years ago at a worship conference in Eastbourne. We
were allocated a Nissan Duke, which did the job, as it had cruise control and a
satnav. However, we didn’t really like the car, and wouldn’t buy one for
ourselves. The Qashqai was much more comfortable.
We drove to Aylesbury, where we had snack in Morrisons, did
some shopping, and went to our dentist for Hazel to have a new crown fitted.
We then saw a few people in the canal basin, before
visiting friends Eric and Norma for tea. We then moved on to Jack and Sandra’s
for an evening meal, before driving back to Upwell.
No photos today except these:
No boating today
Wed 31st July
Upwell to March
James drove the hire car back to Kings Lynn, and Enterprise staff returned him to the boat. Their service was faultless. We always use
Enterprise, and this is the second time this year.
Another canal boat went past about three minutes after
James arrived. Soon after, we had someone shouting from the pontoon. The mooring
ring with our rope attached had been pulled off the wooden pontoon. It is a
good thing we were on board. If it had happened yesterday what might have
happened to our boat?
As we were already half adrift, we decided to set off
straight away. We threw the mooring ring back onto the pontoon and departed.
The cruiser that had been moored behind us also set off. They
were much quicker than we were, as we have a deeper draft, so we let them go
past, saying that they may fit in Marchmont Priory Lock with the boat in front.
When we arrived there, the boat in front had gone into the lock and closed the
gates. We found out that they were a foot longer than Gabriel, so it was
more sensible that the cruiser shared with us. We went in first and they came
in behind.
We let them overtake us once again, and after a while we
caught up with the narrowboat that had gone first, and we overtook them. We spotted several kingfishers as we
approached March, seeing three at once at one point. We moored on the visitor
moorings by the bridge, and the other narrowboat came past about fifteen
minutes later.
Hazel went to do a bit of shopping, returning to the boat a
little later. In the late afternoon an incident occurred right next to the
boat. We are not sure of the details, but a man was wading past us in the
water, shouting obscenities at people, while police were on both banks of the
waterway to cut off his retreat. There were several police cars, some
ambulances and fire engines all around. We didn’t see what happened to the man,
but we guess he was taken into custody.
1 lock, 7
miles. Dep 1020 arr 1245.
Next:
Onwards to Peterborough where we need to find a suitable mooring with car
parking, as our daughter Amanda will be visiting us and joining us at New Wine.
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