Another month gone by

Just a short update as we reach the end of August all too quickly. It's been a great month catching up with a few friends and enjoying their kind hospitality and good company. The weather has been kind with only a few rainy days and cool nights. I finally made it to the top of the Gt Ouse just above Bedford and am now making my way back towards Denver sluice and the route through the middle levels and back onto the Nene.

I was planning to stay around Ely for a week or two but it's quite busy with hire boats and to be honest, although it's a lovely little city, I saw more than enough during my enforced winter stay. I've moved on to Hilgay bridge a few miles from Denver, it's a nice quiet mooring and is looking lovely in the early evening sun. The wind that has been gusting all day has dropped too.

I must confess that during my Ukulele buying trip I was taken by the Saxophones as I've always loved the sound. I had a return visit last week and am now the proud owner of an Alto Saxophone. I'm not quite ready to audition for the Jools Hollands orchestra just yet but I can at least get a squeaky tune out of it and really enjoying learning.

 

 

It's beginning to feel a bit like Autumn

Well yet another week has passed in a flash and the weather is turning noticeably Autumnal with the chilly wind from the north and the nights drawing in. It's already dusk as I type this blog at 8:30 and there is a hint of brown appearing in the riverside trees. I've even had the heating on on a couple of mornings as I tend to rise early, before the sun has had time raise the temperature.

 

I've spent most of the week in Huntingdon with a brief trip to Jones boatyard in St Ives to collect a new 12' barge pole to replace the one I snapped in Bedford. I also picked up a new gang plank from B&Q as mine was looking tired and needed replacing. A couple of coats of Ronseal should offer some protection from the elements.

The weather was quite bright on Wednesday so I headed up river by canoe to Godmanchester and explored a few small side streams on route. These offer some lovely tranquil paddling and looking at the picture below, it's hard to believe the A14 flyover is only a few hundred yards away.

On Thursday morning I called in to see Paul B for a coffee and spent the day helping him laying decking. It was thirsty work and a glass or two of Doom Bar helped keep up morale. A return trip on Friday saw the job finished.

The bank holiday weekend has been spent being fed by friends. On Saturday I had lunch with yet another Wyton escapee, Ella and her husband and today Paul and Debbie invited me to christen the new deck and join them for dinner too.

I'm now back in St Ives for a couple of days waiting for the weather to settle before moving on toward Ely.

 

 

I seem to have bought a Ukulele

Nothing very exciting to report I'm afraid. I've spent the last week between St Ives and Godmanchester and caught up with a few more friends. This stretch of river is particularly pretty to cruise.

This thatched cottage at Hemmingford is in a beautiful setting by the river.

Even the approach to Huntingdon looks pretty as the trees mask the town. Slightly worrying to see hints of Autumn colours in the trees already.

On Friday I met up with Terri, Amy and Paul for lunch at Johnsons farm. Company and food excellent, although I would have preferred fewer screeching children. Must make sure the schools are back before our next visit.

While chatting about the Cambridge folk festival over fish & chips and a bottle of wine with Paul and Debbie on Friday evening the subject of Ukulele's came up. I decided to pop to Cambridge on Saturday to have a look in Millers music centre. Paul and Deb joined me and we walked into the store just as a Ukulele beginners workshop was about to begin. Debbie and I joined the fun while Paul per used the Sax section. An hour and half later we had mastered the basic strumming technique and learnt 3 chords. In fact we had learnt 3 chords between us as I mastered C and F but couldn't grasp G, while Debbie had the C and G mastered.

Needless to say we left the shop each carrying a ukulele. However, while we were busy learning to strum Paul was coveting a rather lovely Alto sax which, after a short test run he purchased so he didn't feel left out. I'm not doubting his skill but while Debbie and I played our Ukes in the store with an audience Paul was, after a few notes, ushered into a storeroom to try his instrument.

On more mundane matters I've replaced the gang plank and boat pole.

I'm currently at Godmanchester and planning to spend the week in the area as I'm having lunch with an old friend a Hougton on Saturday. After that I'll head back down river to Ely for a week or two before making my way back across the middle levels to Peterborough.

A week on home waters

Well another week has flown by since I reached the end of the navigable Gt Ouse a couple of miles beyond Bedford. As I headed up the last half mile the river narrowed and I was expecting to see a sign marking the end and advising boats to turn around. Instead I ran aground on a gravel bank. Closer inspection showed that it was not just a small bank but in fact the whole river was now only 6 inches deep and I had infact reached the unmarked end. Much use of reverse and levering with the barge pole, which I managed to snap, finally got me afloat again with just the minor problem if reversing down stream until the river was wide enough for me to turn the boat. Thankfully I only had to reverse a few hundred yards before managing to turn around and head back the way I came.



The rest of the day was spent cruising gently back along the river through Bedford and on to the village of Great Barford where the river is crossed by a picturesque multi arched bridge. I spent the night and ate in the riverside pub which served a wonderful lemon cheesecake.

The river passes through Castle Mills lock which us one of the deepest I've been through. Quite tricky climbing the ladder with a rope and windlass in your hand but I managed without falling in.

Following a quiet night I moved on to St Neots where I moored up on the open grassland opposite the Priory centre. There was much activity on the green and I learnt that the annual St Neots 10k race was being held. After a look around the town and a trip to Waitrose to top up the larder I had an early night. The next morning I had breakfast at the cafe in the nearby park before venturing back onto the river to wend my way slowly back to St Ives stopping overnight at Godmanchester and Houghton. Houghton was the 4 Aug, the centenary of our becoming involved in WWI and I was keen to spend the night somewhere quiet. The island mooring below Houghton lock was ideal and Mother Nature provided a stunning sunset to mark the occasion for me. It was a remarkably quiet and peaceful night.

The next day I finally took the plunge and bought a small kayak in which to explore the smaller waterways and just enjoy quietly paddling along without the accompaniment of a diesel engine. Paul Beamont kindly drove me to the marina to pick up my chosen craft and then oversaw and photographed my maiden voyage. He seemed disappointed that I didn't fall in on this occasion as I had once before in his canoe.



Friday saw a rapid change in the weather and I got caught in a downpour as I moved down to St Ives. Thanks to Mr Tilley my head remained dry. After such a warm dry summer I'd forgotten how slippy the boat and locks are when wet and slipped a couple of times but managed not to fall in.

On Saturday morning I had a surprise visit from Paul and Debbie who were in town shopping. Earlier in the week I had bought a set of knives which had been reduced from £100 to £49 and Paul liked them. He'd bought a set that morning and was pleased to inform me that they had been further reduced to £39. I really didn't need to know that.

After lunch I spent a little longer getting used to the kayak with a new paddle and I think I'm going to enjoy it. This little backwater in St Ives is beautiful but simply not accessible in a 55' boat but ideal for investigating in a more intimate vessel.

That afternoon I had a visit from another ex Wyton friend Lesley-Ann who arrived bearing cake. We stayed on the mooring as she is not a keen sailor and I enjoyed catching up over coffee. After Lesley-Ann left I moved up to Houghton as the quayside in St Ives can be a little noisy on a Saturday night.

After a quiet night I awoke this morning to the sound of more rain which was quite heavy at times. By late morning the weather cleared and the sun even appeared. I headed off for a quick trundle up to Hungingdon but didn't quite make it before the next storm front blew in and I arrived soaked and listening to thunder overhead. After a quick hot shower I was once again ready to face the world and more importantly my friend Melissa who I was looking forward to seeing again after too long. Thankfully the rain cleared before Melissa arrived, bearing cake too. We spent an enjoyable couple of hours catching up on the past three years over coffee.

And that brings the blog up to date. I'm planning to spend the rest if the week in the area and I'm lunching with friends on Friday. Following that I'll begin the journey back to the marina at Oundle. I'll be spending a few weeks on the rivers around Ely before heading over the middle levels to Peterborough in mid September aiming to reach the marina by the end of the month.  I then have to put the boat through it's 4 yearly safety inspection - bit like an MoT. I'm expecting her to pass ok but will spend a week or so checking over all the important bits to make sure all us as it should be.

River Ouse

It's been a busy couple of weeks catching up with friends as I return to home waters. The journey through the middle levels was a gentle trundle through the fens. The views are limited in many places as the route is primarily a drainage system and therefore tends to be straight with high banks. However, the villages of Upwell and Outwell offer a pleasant diversion as the river narrows as it winds through.

 

The passage across the tidal Ouse, out from Salters Lode lock and up through Denver complex was unusual and very quick. There were 5 boats waiting to go through when the lock keeper advised that as the tidal river was level with both the middle levels and the non-tidal river. This meant he had a 10 minute window when both locks could be opened at each end allowing boats to pass straight through. I followed the other boats and made my fasted passage between the two waterways. It felt very strange approaching a lock without a gate at the far end.

The unusual site of a lock with both gates open

The highlight of the trip to St Ives was seeing this seal with her cub on the river bank above Earith.

 

 

 

I spent the next few days hopping between St Ives and Godmanchester. The church at Hartford looks particularly impressive from the river

 

 

Whilst in the area I enjoyed a BBQ with good friends Paul and Debbie on the meadow at Houghton. The next day Catherine Pool, another Wyton escapee joined me for a day cruising down the river where we had a bankside picnic before heading back to St Ives.

 

 

I spent the last few days cruising up the river to Bedford where I spent couple of days exploring the town while watching the busy rowing and canoeing club nearby. It was good to see so many youngsters enjoying the river. I then travelled the final couple of miles up river to the limit of navigation - the furthest point one can take a boat. There are plans to build a link between Bedford and the Grand Union canal at Milton Keynes although it will be a few years before funding is raised.