St Ives to Salters Lode

Whilst at St Ives we decided not to sail any further along the Great Ouse; we had seen the places we wanted to visit and there was no reason to continue on to Bedford.  The heatwave was continuing so we set off early on Tuesday 20 June (there has been a delay in writing up this blog due to a technical hitch with my laptop which proved to be terminal and so it has since been replaced). We didn't go far, just to a quiet GOBA mooring with a little beach nearby.  We took the dogs down for a paddle and another swimming lesson, as the water was cool and refreshing I too took the plunge.  

Kev took this photo of Bess venturing in but Brinny wasn't joining in

That evening a cruiser turned up and the owner came to see us; he would be walking about at 4.30am to take a picture of the summer solstice sunrise.  He estimated it would appear by a church spire.  This sounded intriguing so when I woke up at that time we couldn't miss the opportunity.  The boater had however miscalculated but we still got a photo of the sun rising between some distant trees. 

Summer solstice sunrise

We stayed on our quiet mooring until Friday and then sailed back onto the Old West River which had been full of blanket weed on our outward journey.  There were several boats in front of us and perhaps they cleared the way because it didn't seem so bad on the return journey.  Once again we stopped on the Aldreth GOBA moorings and that evening saw a brilliant sunset.  We got our cameras out and Kev's photo was definitely the one for the blog. 

Kev's photo of my 'dalek impressions' on the embankment

On Saturday we sailed down towards Popes Corner, the junction with the River Cam, and stopped on the moorings near Little Thetford.

An unusual house, created from the bottom of a windmill, in Little Thetford

On Monday we sailed into Ely and enjoyed another potter around the historic town.  We also enjoyed some delicious fudge from the Ely Fudge Company and discovered the shop assistant came from Sheffield.  That evening a saxophone player came busking in the nearby park.  I like to hear a saxophone so sat out to listen but sadly he didn't stay long. 

On Tuesday we went shopping before setting off from Ely.  As we left the city it started to spot with rain; within minutes it turned into a torrential downpour.  Luckily we had the wheelhouse up but we still got soaked as we tied up on the mooring.  The heavy rain continued overnight and into the next day so we didn't move until Thursday.  We then had a good run down to Denver which has a complex system of sluices and channels and 2 locks.  

We went into the Relief Channel and encountered something new.  Before going through the lock we had to register our presence on the waterway by entering our details on a keyboard at the lock.  From the lock the straight channel took us to Downham Market, a quiet little town which was useful for some shopping.

The ornate clock at Downham Market

We returned to Denver that afternoon, logging ourselves off the Relief Channel at the lock. The next day we were due to go through Denver Lock onto the tidal section of the Great Ouse at 12.45 but there was a delay.  The heavy rain had caused high water levels and the lock further downstream, Salters Lode, couldn't be opened for us until the water levels were lower than that on the Middle Levels.  We went into the lock and waited for the phone call from Salters Lode which eventually came through.  

Waiting in the lock at Denver, the bridge over the lock is unusual and a bit unnerving when the lock is filling. 

After the short run down the river we went through Salters Lode Lock and moored up for the day on the other side. 

Our journey from St Ives to Denver