Peterborough to March

15 August

Just for the record, Stephen saw a kingfisher on Monday.

Other bird jottings - yesterday evening the swans and geese were all milling together near our mooring by the Grain Barge. This morning there were only swans around us. We found the geese further down the river.

Back to today's travels – about 8.15 we moved down the embankment a little way to the ‘facilities’ where we took on water, got rid of the rubbish and did a pump out. All for free, though you did have to find the control panel a little way away behind a thorny bush (berberis?) interwoven with brambles. We then hung around for a little while until it was time to head to Stanground for our 10.00 booking through the lock.

The two friendly lockkeepers worked us through and there we were on the Middle Levels. 

The morning cloud cleared and we then had a lovely day, sunny and warm without being too hot.

The only other lock we had to do today was Ashline which is unmanned so back to working it ourselves. This lock was very, very slow to fill and not very quick to empty, added to which, these locks need a special windlass and we only have one, so we can only work one paddle at a time. (Usually Steve hops off the boat to come and work one side of a lock.)  But entertainment was provided in the shape of two dogs swimming in the river below the lock. They were supposed to be retrieving a ball thrown by their owner, but just swimming back and forth seemed more fun. (She ended up retrieving the ball herself with a branch!)

At about 1.15, we passed a sign marking the Greenwich Meridian, so we are now officially in the East. The countryside of this leg of our trip was not very exciting, but as the sun was shining and we were pootling along happily, the scenery didn’t really matter.

We are now moored in March on a pleasant mooring near the Town Hall, having shuffled along a bit to accommodate first one and then another boat behind us. With boats in front and behind, this mooring is now full. 

Before the other boats arrived

We have had a walk around March which has a good variety of shops; we were able to buy local OS Maps at WH Smiths which had a buy one get one half price offer.

Elton to Peterborough

12 and 13 August

2 days for the price of 1 in this edition of the blog.

We left Elton at some ridiculous hour of the morning (6.00) on Monday hopefully not disturbing our companions nb Madge and nb Jovial Tour. Steve had already set Elton Lock so we were quite quickly through. We needed to catch the 1.52 train from Peterborough so we wanted to make sure that we would get there in good time.

Water Newton lock is very pretty with a church and a mill building.

As we arrived at Alwalton Lock, another boat (nb Cut Loose) was just leaving and they said they would wait for us at the next lock and then we could go through it together. So when we got to Orton Lock, they were there and had started to set the lock. We may well see Cut Loose again as they too are heading for St Neots.

As we approached the embankment at Peterborough, it looked full, but nb Phenomenal hailed us and encouraged us to breast up with them. We explained that we were going to catch a train home and they said they would be happy to moor us in their place as they were due to leave before we returned.

We walked to the nearby Asda for lunch and then briefly went to the cathedral where we saw Tim Peake’s space capsule. Very impressive in that it is small and not bright and shiny, yet it has been so far and brought three people safely back to earth.

Capsule and parachute

Then to the station and train and bus home. Stephen is our church treasurer and he had hoped to do some of the regular weekly work, but this turned out not to be possible as the paperwork was not available. However, we were able to mow the lawn, tidy the garden, do some washing and sort out the post which included a package we had been waiting for.

Tuesday morning, we caught up with a few more jobs and then set out for the return journey to Peterborough. Before going back to the boat we went for a proper look round the cathedral which is celebrating its 900^th birthday this year.

When we walked down to the river, as promised there we were, safely moored against the embankment. I went off to Asda to restock the fridge and later Steve touched up some paintwork and re-waterproofed his wax jacket.

The weather over the last two days has been mainly dry with just the occasional shower.

Oundle to Elton

Sunday 12 August

We had heavy rain overnight, but it was dry, if a bit grey and cloudy, by the time we were up and around. We walked up to St Peter’s Church Oundle for their 9.45 service, an all-age Holy Communion service. It was informal and well planned, all based on Psalm 103.  We left some BCF leaflets.

Back to the boat and on our way just before 12.00. Another 5 locks today of which 3 are those manual ones with the big wheels (though we met a boat just coming out of one of them so both we and they were saved some work).

There were several fishermen on the stretch above Ashton Lock – possibly a competition. They were all very sanguine about having their sport interrupted by us.

We have not spotted any kingfishers on this trip, but we have seen several red kites. I know they are quite common in this area, but we don’t see them in Coventry, so we always enjoy watching them when we can.

Fotheringhay Church

Fotheringhay Bridge

Remains of Fotheringhay Castle

We were warned that moorings between Fotheringhay and Peterborough are scarce, so when we spotted two narrowboats moored above Elton Lock, we thought we would join them though this is not an official mooring. However, we did hope to be a bit nearer Peterborough, as we need to be there by tomorrow afternoon to catch a train home, so tomorrow is going to be a long day.

We did manage a walk through Elton – another of those ochre-coloured stone villages with several thatched cottages, this one still with its post office and school as well as its church. It also has a rather unusual home for its defibrillator.

Then a lazy evening watching those energetic people in the European Championships.

Thrapston to Oundle

Saturday 11th August

We set off in bright sunshine at 9.15 this morning – our companions were going to leave a little later and were travelling together. We had an interesting time getting through the designated arch of Thrapston bridge; it may have been better to go out into the river turning upstream, turn round and head back towards the bridge, but we didn’t, with the result that we left a bit of paint on the bridge and a bit of stonework on the boat (not to mention a rather dented chimney cover).

We came to Thrapston in 2015, now we’ve gone through Thrapston bridge, we are on new water for us. Between Titchmarsh and Wadenhoe we came across a lot of traffic – 1 narrowboat, 3 female swimmers, 1 male swimmer and 2 canoes. We spoke to the women who told us they had swum from Wadenhoe to Titchmarsh and were now on their way back.

We were due to meet our daughter, son-in-law and two granddaughters at Wadenhoe for lunch at the King’s Head. We moored at the bottom of the pub garden and as we had arrived a bit early, Steve put some undercoat on the newly acquired scrapes, while I walked up to the church which is somewhat isolated from the village. The village itself has some beautiful houses and a tea-shop in addition to the pub.

Following a really good meal and a short family visit to the boat, we continued our journey to tonight’s mooring at Oundle Cruising Club where they are very happy to welcome visitors and just ask for a donation. We had quite a (relatively) speedy journey to Oundle as boats were coming up in each of the three locks which meant the locks were set ready for us. Settled down now for a quiet evening after a short visit to the club house; we felt it was only polite to swell their coffers slightly.

Irthlingborough to Thrapston

Friday 10th August

At 6.20 this morning, the sun was shining and the sky was blue. Two hours later when we set off, the sky was grey and it felt decidedly fresh (or, according to Stephen, cold).

Yesterday evening we were joined on our mooring by nb Phenomenal and a cruiser, while another skiff arrived and moored on the other side of the river.

The weather, although grey and breezy, did stay dry for most of today’s journey though we worked our final lock of the day (Denford) in the rain.

We had a bit of excitement at our first lock of the day, Irthlingborough. As the water level was going down, one of the chains on the lock wall caught under the boat causing it to start to tip. Fortunately she righted herself quickly and all was well. It would have been difficult to have done anything quickly about the water levels in the lock as the guillotine gates move so slowly.

Three of today’s five locks are manual rather than automated – this means that instead of pressing a button you turn a wheel several dozen (hundred?) times. I think we would still be doing them if Stephen hadn’t come off the boat to help me.

We moored at Thrapston in a lovely little backwater above the bridge. The rain continued until into the afternoon, but by 2.30 the sun was out so we walked over the bridge into Thrapston, bought some milk and bread and returned to the boat via Islip Lock. We timed it exactly right as we had a cloudburst about 10 minutes after we got back.

nb Phenomenal turned up at lunchtime, but only stayed long enough to do their shopping before moving on.  In the early evening nb Patience and nb Spurwing arrived. This is a very small mooring and I doubt whether three boats manage to moor here very often – Patience is behind us and Spurwing breasted up to us.

Manor Farm Mooring to Irthlingborough

Thursday 9th August

Today it rained! Not just a bit, but a lot.

When we got up the weather was grey and cloudy, but dry. The folk in the skiff got away before 9.00; we and the man from nb Arabella next door waved them off.

We set off at 9.15 and went through two locks before stopping at Wellingborough to take on water (and have a cup of coffee). As we were leaving Wellingborough, we felt the first spots of rain. 

It was just drizzling through the next two locks, but we did have fun at the second of these – Ditchford. There was a tree branch in the water which we thought might cause difficulty when we tried to open the top gates. As it happened we got the gates open and the boat in the lock without much difficulty. The problem came when we tried to close the gates as the branch kept getting itself wedged between the gates. We spent a good while moving gates backwards and forwards trying to create a flow which would encourage the branch to either slide into the lock or move out of the way of the gates. In the end it came into the lock and we were able to close the gates. Thankfully we were able to open the bottom gate with no problem and continue on our way. By this time the rain was heavier and we did Higham Ferrers lock (the last for today) in a downpour. We did try to remember all the crops and gardens which are desperate for rain, and be thankful, but it was a little difficult!

We moored at Irthlingborough visitor moorings at 1.15. The rain lessened but continued all afternoon so we stayed on board in the dry. I did manage to persuade Steve that a bit of rain did not mean he had to light the fire!

We ventured out when the rain stopped at about 5.30 and had a walk along the old railway track past some of the many lakes in this area where we saw some great crested grebes and picked some blackberries.

We hadn’t been back long when it started to rain again. 

(Blame the lack of photos on the rain.)

Northampton to Manor Farm Mooring

Wednesday 8th August

Well, the sun is still shining and it’s certainly not raining, but it is definitely cooler.  We had a peaceful night at our town centre mooring, only disturbed by the Canada geese flying in at about 5.30!

A rather more leisurely start today, not on our way until 9.15 This was after I had had a walk round the whole of Morrison’s extensive carpark in a fruitless search for somewhere to recycle bottles.

The first three of today’s locks were much like the canal locks we are used to but then we got to the ones with a guillotine bottom gate. These are not difficult to work but they do take quite a long time to do as the guillotine goes up and down very slowly (probably just as well, really).

There was an incredible amount of duckweed around the first few locks; in places it covered the whole water surface. 

We did make an unscheduled exploration of a bit of the Nene we hadn’t intended to visit (the sign pointing out the right way was very small!). 

 We stopped for lunch on the lock mooring above Whiston Lock, thinking that if a boat came up the river towards us, they could use the lock first, and if one came up behind us, we would abandon lunch and both use the lock. As it happened nb Phenomenal arrived just as we finished lunch and we then shared Whiston, White Mills, Barton and Doddington Locks with them which speeded progress up a little.

There have been several swan families on this stretch of the Nene, plus a couple of cormorants.

In contrast to last night’s mooring in Northampton, tonight we are moored at Manor Farm mooring, a ‘Friends of the River Nene’ site near Great Doddington, it's very rural, though we do have company – a small narrowboat with a father and son aboard and a skiff. Yes, a 1904 skiff, crewed by a man and two women (we guess in their fifties or sixties) who have rowed here from Cambridge!!  They are heading for Billing so have nearly finished their journey, wild camping along the way. The things people do for fun!!

This evening we walked along the Nene Way up to Great Doddington where we had a lovely meal at the Stag’s Head. The walk back gave us great views over the river and the water filled gravel pits beyond.

Gayton to Northampton

Tuesday 7th August

The weather today was due to be much as it has been before, so knowing we had 17 locks to do today, we decided to make an earlier start in the hope of doing at least most of them before it got too hot. 

We were on our way by 7.45 and at the top of the Rothersthorpe flight at 8.00.  Although the first 5 locks were empty and had to be filled, they fill and empty quickly so we made good progress. Lock 6 was full (always seems odd when this happens in the middle of a flight), then 7,8 and 9 were empty. The pounds in this section were much lower than they had been higher up. Lock 10 was another full one and there we met a lady who had walked up from Lock 12 where her husband was apparently worried about low levels in the pound he was about to enter with their cruiser. We agreed that we would go down Lock 10, turn Lock 11 in our favour and then go down it, so that he would get two lots of water in his pound.  This was all accomplished and we both carried on our way.

As there was no-one else around coming up or down, we stopped for coffee in Lock 13 surveying the countryside.

     

Many of these locks have mosaics embedded in the grass; these were made by local schoolchildren and show canal life and the animals and trees they might see around. I think the letters might spell Northampton, but with the letters not (as Eric Morecombe might say) necessarily in the right order.

The canal below Lock 13 is much more river-like; it is very clear and you can see lots of small fish swimming amongst the weed. There were also many dragonflies (damselflies?) around.

The other thing there was plenty of was weed – cut and lying on the surface, gathering itself around the front of the boat, behind lock gates and potentially round propellers. Someone had fished a large heap of it out by one lock, but had rather unhelpfully dumped it right by a ground paddle, so I had to stand on this smelly, soggy heap to work the paddle.

We did meet two other narrowboats on this lower section, passing each slowly and carefully as the undergrowth encroaches from both sides onto the channel.

We arrived in Northampton at 12.30 having done all 17 locks – by this time we were ready for lunch, as also, it would appear, were the local residents. 

After a while we wandered along to the very convenient Morrisons to do some shopping, back to the boat for a lazy hour or two then back to Morrisons for toasted teacakes.

Over the last couple of days we’ve seen some lovely cloud formations - I know the one on the left as mare’s tails, but I don’t know what the other one is.

Bedazzled to Gayton

Monday 6th August

Guess what the weather was like today. We set off at 9.00 from what turned out to be a peaceful mooring - no-one joined us, the bikers on the A5 all went home and the trains fell silent until about 6.30 when we were awake anyway.

No locks today (saving them all for tomorrow!). We saw our first swan family of the trip today; we'd seen several single adults but no cygnets.

Much of the towpath on this section of the Grand Union has been well strimmed; you might say, too well strimmed as there were no wild flowers left.  However, in some places the flowers had been left to grow making mooring difficult. "Can't please all of the people all of the time" scenario, I would think.

 CRT are busy dredging some of the canal between Weedon and Bugbrooke and they have prepared areas on the offside to take the dredgings.


We arrived at Gayton at 12.15 - this is where we make the turn to head for Northampton, but first there is work to do.  We moored by the sanitary station to fill up with water and to do a pump out, and then moved onto the Northampton Arm and moored up. This is a pleasant mooring overlooking the marina, but this time instead of the A5, we've got the A43!

Lunch again was on the late side (1.45) and we then spent a very lazy afternoon doing nothing very much. By about 5.00 it had cooled enough for us to venture out and walk up to Gayton village. There is a church, some lovely houses, one pub and not much else, but there are some lovely views over the Northamptonshire countryside.

Braunston to Bedazzled

Sunday 5th August 

Yet another hot, sunny day dawns! We had a lazy start this morning before walking up to All Saints for the 11.15 service. As a bell ringer, Steve always tries to ring at churches we visit so we aimed to arrive early enough for him to do so here. I sat outside for a while, listening.

We had a friendly welcome (including from BCF member Jane Dunkley (nb Rainbow) who is a member at All Saints), and following the service returned to the boat, had a slightly late lunch and were on our way again by 2.00. 
. 
Braunston Tunnel was travelled without incident, passing just one boat within it. Then onward to Buckby Locks. As at Braunston, we were able to pair up with another boat, an ABC Hire Boat, Pied Billed Grebe, with experienced boaters aboard. We met boats at all the first five locks so made good progress, and were only slowed a little by having to half fill a leaky sixth lock and almost completely fill the seventh. We decided to carry on a little way further to avoid some of the road and rail noise, but in the end the lure of mooring in the shade won out and we moored up north of Weedon (by the home mooring of Bedazzled, the lighting people). We will put up with the trains and the A5!

Hillmorton to Braunston

Saturday 4th August

First of all, we need to mention the 'elephant in the room' which we forgot yesterday. That would be the extensive construction work which is going on around Hillmorton, diggers and lorries seemingly removing a hill and depositing it elsewhere. The VLKs at the locks told us that it was all preparatory work for a new village on the site of the old radio masts which had been a feature of the landscape for so long.

 After a night which was cooler than we expected, we got away in good time - about 8.30. We made really quick progress through the three Hillmorton locks as there were boats coming down towards us each time. 

Approaching Braunston

We moored at the visitor moorings at Braunston at 11.15 and walked up into the village. We checked the times of the church services for tomorrow and continued to the shop to buy sugar (the container on the boat which I thought had sugar in it, turned out to be coffee) and fly spray (we had rather a lot of insect life in the boat yesterday evening). We also treated ourselves to a pork pie for lunch from the excellent butcher's.




Following lunch back at the boat, we decided we would do the locks and moor at the top - this would mean a rather longer walk to church, but as the service isn't until 11.15, doing the locks today would considerable shorten what we are due to do tomorrow.

We were able to pair up with another boat, The Pat Mobile (which by some coincidence has a registration number exactly 10,000 more than Chyandour), to go up the locks, but as he was on his own, we still had to work quite hard!. However we met boats coming down at each lock so that was a great help. We were delayed a little coming out of lock 4, as lock 5 was set ready for the boats coming out of lock 6. As we were not in a hurry ( and neither was The Pat Mobile) we waited for them rather than turn the lock (doing our bit for water conservation!). We reached the top at 3.45 and moored up and put the kettle on!

A little later, we decided to explore the old horse path over the top of the tunnel. It wasn't much of an exploration as the path is very obvious but it was a pleasant walk.

The weather today was hot and sunny, though again there was slight breeze helping to make conditions more bearable.