Hemingford Grey to Brampton

19 August 

It was very windy this morning – the wind woke me up at 6.30. But it was dry and quite warm. We went to church at St James in Hemingford Grey and had coffee with a friend from Tanzania days, Allen Foster (grandson, Moses, has arrived safely – see yesterday’s post).

St James Hemingford Grey

Then we continued on our way. The locks today were even busier today than yesterday – not necessarily boats going to the festival, but lots of local river craft out for the weekend.  At Houghton Lock there was already one narrowboat on the landing stage and we were following another one, so the three of us breasted up to wait for the boats already in the lock to come out. The steerers (all the men!) decided that we might as well work from the outside in, which would mean that we would go into the lock first along with two cruisers which had arrived meanwhile. The woman from the boat which would now be in last (though they had arrived first) was not very happy about this arrangement!

We also had a wait at Godmanchester and Brampton Locks, but then you don’t choose to travel by narrowboat if you are in a hurry! I managed to leave a windlass at Godmanchester Lock – fortunately not the special one you need for some locks in this part of the world.

Old Bridge at Godmanchester

The Current A14 Bridge at Godmanchester

Our mooring tonight is another GOBA one; our companions at the moment are three cruisers but there is room for more. The view is not exciting, but very pleasant and peaceful.

As the wind had died down and the sun came out, we went for a walk along a section of the Ouse Valley way, passing under the new A14 still under construction (photos tomorrow when we go under it by boat).