Wildlife

On Tuesday morning we left St Ives in dry but windy weather and retraced our steps back to the GOBA moorings near the Pike & Eel. 

The GOBA moorings near the Pike & Eel are small clearings between the trees which give a private feel to each mooring

From our side hatch we watched a mallard duck and her brood of chicks making their way along the opposite bank.  Then we spotted a heron which was stalking them.  Kev tried to scare off the heron making a noise and waving a towel out of the hatch but to no effect. Eventually the heron gave up and headed away in the opposite direction. 

The next day as we approached Brownslow Lock we spotted an otter.  I watched spell bound as it dived and resurfaced working it's way along the bank.  Kev prompted me to take some photos so we have some pictures of the back of it's head receding into the distance.    It was thrilling to see the otter but I have a better photo of the first cygnets we've seen this year.  

Our first cygnets this year

  As we continued downstream we were pursued by dark clouds and could see downpours not far away across the Fens but it was our lucky day and we dodged the showers.  We passed the Stretham pumping station and moored up shortly afterwards at Popes Corner. 

Stretham Pumping Station

The next day Ely Cathedral came back into view, standing out against the flat surroundings. 

Ely Cathedral in the distance

We had a quick stop at Ely, just for shopping, before heading out to rural moorings between Ely and Littleport.  There was one drawback, a railway track running nearby on the other side of the flood-bank.  

Looking down at the moorings from the flood-bank

During the afternoon we discovered the local birds made good use of the railways overhead cables.  We had a good view of a cuckoo as it perched on the cables and a better view of a kestrel which picked a closer point for it's look-out. 

A kestrel using the overhead cable as a look-out

As the Bank Holiday weekend approached the volume of boat traffic increased and some were still on the move late on Friday evening.  As we set off on Saturday morning we hoped there would be some free moorings and were lucky to find space at Brandon Creek.  The next day we found we'd had a visit in the night; our rubbish bag on the front deck had been ripped open, presumably by a fox.  Surprisingly Bess and Brinny didn't raise the alarm but perhaps they're just cowardly curs.  

On Sunday morning we completed our return journey on the Great Ouse by sailing back to Denver Lock but we wouldn't be leaving the river until the tide turned the following morning.  There were some other boats also waiting to lock out and during the morning a queue formed on the lock jetty.  We  were in no rush and just as well, each boat had to lock down, sail down a short tidal section of the river and go through Salters Lode Lock before the next boat could make the trip.   The turn into Salters Lode Lock is virtually a u-turn into a very narrow channel whose entrance is restricted by a sandbank but Kev took it in his stride. 

The entrance into Salters Lode Lock.   We had to travel passed the lock and turn sharply so we came in close to the tyres and pilings to avoid the sandbank     

After making the turn we entered the lock

The boaters coming through after us had an additional challenge; their boat is longer then the lock.  They came down the river and sailed as far as they could into the lock.  Then they had to wait as the tide went out until water levels on either side of the lock were equal.  At that point the top lock gates could be opened as well and they sailed through.  

The lock is opened so the long narrowboat can sail through.  

Salters Lode lock is our entrance back onto the Middle Level drainage system and we decided to stay the night before venturing down the narrow channels. 

Our journey from St Ives to Salters Lode 

St Ives and St Neots

Since coming through Denver Lock, onto the Great Ouse, the river has been non-tidal but bizarrely we now encountered a tidal section.  The One Hundred Feet drain cuts 20 miles across the Fens in a straight line from the tidal Great Ouse and rejoins the river at Earith.  Hermitage Lock separates the tidal and non-tidal waters and besides seeing us through the lock the lock-keeper provides another service, rubbish disposal.   As the water level was low we were down in the bottom of the lock so the lock-keeper hooked up our carrier bags of rubbish with his long boat hook and whisked them away.  

We continued to see a variety of bird-life including Egyptian Geese which  I haven't seen on the canals.  

Best foot forward for these Egyptian Geese

After a peaceful night on the GOBA moorings conveniently near the Pike and Eel pub we sailed to the next town, St Ives.  This little town is popular with boaters and has 3 sets of moorings near the town centre.  We pulled onto the quay which gave us a good view of the famous bridge.  

The quay from St Ives bridge

St Ives Bridge in the morning sun

The next day we sailed passed Huntingdon and Godmanchester where the river changes character; it narrows and we have to keep a watch for the channel markers where the river branches or islands block our way.   At St Neots lock we were surprised to see steps leading down into the lock, an unusual sight but useful for getting on and off your boat. 

The steps in St Neots lock

At St Neots we moored up on the pontoon near the town centre and took a walk around town before the forecast rain started.   St Marys church had some interesting stained glass which depicted an entire scene across the whole window. 

Fishing scene in stained glass in St Marys church

St Neots was the turning point on this trip as we'd decided not to continue on to Bedford.   We followed some hire boaters out of St Neots and discovered they'd left their key dangling from the control box at St Neots lock.  They'd sped off before I could catch their attention but sometime later we saw them again, speeding back towards us from the next lock.  They were mightily relieved we'd brought their key with us as it was quite a distance between the locks.  

The GOBA moorings between the villages of Hemingford Grey and Hemingford Abbots were a good place to stop for a couple of days.   We discovered there were cows in the field when they came down to the river, eating noisily outside our windows and putting the GOBA sign to good use.  

The GOBA sign is just the right height for that itch

Hemingford Abbots is a picturesque village with thatched cottages and some of the roofs had interesting additions; straw cats, birds, a hare and even a fish had been imaginatively posed on various roofs.  

A straw cat stretches against a chimney

We left the Hemingfords on Sunday morning and after the next lock we discovered the river was busier than expected, another rowing club was out practising. 

A busy Sunday morning on the river.  The cruiser on the left added to the confusion by going to the wrong side.

As we approached St Ives we could see the town centre moorings were busy but once again a GOBA mooring provided a quiet place to stop just outside town. 

On Monday morning the heavens opened and the wind howled.  We waited for a lull before heading into St Ives and back onto the quay.   There were heavy showers during the day but by late afternoon the skies had cleared and Bess and Brinny were able to enjoy a walk around a vast buttercup meadow which glowed yellow in the sun.  

Our journey from Aldreth to St Neots and back to St Ives. 

A week of sights

The River Great Ouse is a wide expanse of waterway and we were able to travel faster than anticipated.  We were halfway to Ely when we moored up at Brandon Creek on our first day travelling on the river.  

2 cruisers follow us and soon overtake us on the wide river

On Tuesday we left the wheelhouse up to keep dry in the heavy rain.  As we approached Ely strong winds blew across the river rolling Brent III as she soldiered on.   We were relieved to see a mooring space not to far from the city centre.  

Ely Cathedral has been on our wish list of places to see and we weren't disappointed when we took a tour of the octagon lantern tower.  Our guide led us up ever narrowing spiral staircases, through narrow doorways, across a roof and into the stone base of the tower.  Here we could see the  wooden framework which spans 74 feet and has the lantern at its centre.  The lantern has painted wooden panels some of which open to reveal the stained glass windows and painted ceiling above them and looking down you have a view of the cathedral interior. 

Looking up at the lantern. The wooden structure spans across from the stone arches supporting the lantern.  3 of the wooden panels are open and visitors on the previous tour are looking down.  

Looking across the lantern

The guide had a final view for us and took us up another spiral staircase.  He led us out onto the lead clad roof giving us an excellent view of The Fens including the dust storms whipped up by the strong winds.  

View of the Cathedral's main tower, Ely and The Fens from the roof 

After a couple of days in Ely we set sail for Cambridge turning onto the River Cam at Popes Corner.  At the first lock the River Cam Conservancy take authority on the navigation but in practice there is little difference for the boater.  That is until we arrived at the second lock and found it was out of order.  I rang the Cam Conservancy and within 10 minutes an engineer arrived to take us through the lock.   We sailed into Cambridge passing the elaborate rowing club boat houses and on to the visitor moorings at Jesus Lock.  This is the extent of the navigation for most boats; the far side of the lock is the preserve of punts. 

One of the Cambridge rowing club boathouses

Cambridge is a very busy city; 'Like ants in a nest' observed Kev as pedestrians and cyclists rushed along the streets.  Bicycles are chained up on the many cycle parks, against any available railing or just propped up against walls.  I joined the ranks of camera carrying tourists blocking the streets to take photos of the grand college buildings.  

Detail on the Gonville & Caius College building

We left Cambridge early on Saturday morning but not early enough to beat the rowing teams.  Kev kept close to the bank as the fast rowing boats sped passed but occasional traffic jams occurred.  At one point we had to stop in a queue with 3 rowing boats in front of us as another turned and blocked the river.   After the first lock we had the river to ourselves and continued back up to Popes Corner where we rejoined the Great Ouse and moored up. 

The river narrows after Popes Corner and we saw a variety of birds, many nesting or already with a brood of chicks.   A tern accompanied us along the river treating us to an aerobatic display as it ducked and dived around us. 

This tern accompanied us along the river

Before coming onto this river we joined the Great Ouse Boating Association which allows us the use of their moorings.  These are often in quiet, out of town locations and the one near Aldreth made a good stop.  We climbed the flood bank to look across the flat cultivated fields and Kev spotted something we have been looking out for since leaving Goole, a couple of hares were sat at each end of a field.  One quickly disappeared but we enjoyed watching the other loping across the field, pausing here and there to sniff the air and possibly watch us.  


Our journey from Denver Lock to Cambridge and Aldreth

  

The Middle Levels

From Fotheringhay the River Nene continued to wind in a  northerly direction to Wansford giving us a good view of the surrounding countryside.   Our moorings for the night were on the Environment Agency pontoon near the Nene Valley Steam Railway.  There weren't any trains running that day but we were able to have a look round the station.  

Steam engines at Nene Valley

The next day we sailed into Peterborough and pulled up on the long line of moorings known as 'The Embankment'.   ASDA is a short walk and the city centre is just a little further. Peterborough Cathedral is a magnificent building with an enormous frontage and fan-shaped ribs in some of it's ceilings. 

Ribbed ceilings in Peterborough Cathedral

The Nene is navigable to The Wash but Peterborough is our last stop on the river; we've booked passage through Stanground Lock which takes us onto the Middle Levels.  The Middle Levels are essentially a series of drains through which there is a link route to the River Great Ouse.  These waters are controlled by the Middle Level Commissioners and at Stanground we had to buy a windlass to fit their locks and a key for the facilities.  The lock-keeper also gave us an information leaflet containing a small map and then we were on our way.  The first drain, Kings Dike, gave us unexpectedly good views across the flat Fens and took us to the small town of Whittlesey.  

A view of the flat Fenlands

Straw man on a roof in Whittlesey

After Whittlesey our view of the Fens was blocked by the higher banks of the Whittlesey Dyke but it was interesting to see a local rotary club had erected a sign to mark the Greenwich Meridian.  On arrival in March we pulled up to the waterpoint only to find our key did not fit the lock.  We decided to move onto the nearby visitor moorings and check where we could buy another key.  Luckily the local council office on the High Street sell them but they were closed that day.  The next morning we bought another key and reversed Brent III back to the facilities only to find the new key didn't fit either.   To make matters worse the facility yard was fenced off and the gate locked so we could only access it by boat.   So to return the key we had to either sail Brent III back to the moorings or climb over the fence.  So over I went, much to the surprise of an elderly couple on the other side.   It was third time lucky with the key but in the meantime Kev had phoned the Middle Level Commissioners who were prepared to send someone out to assist us.  

The Chinese take away in March will be remembered for the wrong reasons.  My chow mien was mediocre but Kev's special curry was something else.  Instead of a selection of meats in his curry Kev found just mushrooms and onions.

Leaving March

From March we picked up some speed along the Old Nene which again had high banks on either side.

Looking up the Twenty Foot River at it's junction with the Old Nene.

At Marmont Priory Lock the lock-keeper advised Salters Lode Lock is tidal and the lock out tomorrow would be at 8.30am.   As we were halfway between March and Salters Lode we decided to complete the journey that day.  After leaving Marmont Priory the Old Nene changed from a wide deep watercourse to a narrow, shallow channel winding through the villages of Upwell and Outwell.

Upwell.  A busy A-road runs between the houses and the river but there is no fence or other barrier.    

Some of the bridges are very low.

It's a tight fit!

The river became very shallow and we kept picking up rubbish around the propeller.  Then it became apparent we were dragging something along but couldn't reach it through the weedhatch.  We plodded along until Kev reversed as we approached the Salters Lode pontoons.  A noisy vibration indicated whatever we were dragging was now around the propeller.  Up with the weedhatch again to find a plastic tarpaulin.

We awoke to heavy rain the next morning and were the first boat into Salters Lode Lock.  The lock has a low bridge across it so we had to wait until the tide had turned and the water in the River Great Ouse had dropped sufficiently before the water level in the lock could be raised.  Torrential rain came down as we waited in the lock but eventually the gate was raised and out we went making the sharp turn upstream to Denver Lock.

Waiting in Salters Lode Lock - before the torrential rain.

We travelled the short distance up the Great Ouse and into Denver Lock which was already open for us.  The lock-keeper advise there were moorings through the lock and that is as far as we went.

Our journey from Fotheringhay to Denver Lock