Down the Nene to Peterborough.

After leaving Northampton I spent a week trundling gently down the Nene to Peterborough. The river passes mainly through open countryside passing only a few towns and villages along the way.  It's about a 4 day trip with my usual overnight stops at Wellingborough, Oundle, Elton and always calling into Ferry Meadows before the final few miles to Peterborough.  I've done the stretch from Oundle to Peterborough a few times and have stop at various small villages along the way such as Fotheringhay with it's impressive church, Wansford and Wansford Station home the the Nene valley railway with a lovely little cafe.  The upper reach is less well served with villages although there are several pleasant mooring in the middle of nowhere.

After leaving Northampton I planned a longish day to reach Wellingborough which has a Tesco near the embankment moorings. Although handy for supplies the mooring is overshadowed by a large riverside flour mill which runs 24 hrs a day. While not too noisy it does generate an annoying background hum and also completely blocks the TV signal.  

Many of the river locks were originally built as sluices to control water levels to power riverside mills and while very few are still working many of the original mill buildings are still there - often now converted to hotels. 

The following day I moved on to a peaceful mooring just beyond Titchmarsh which offered by contrast only birdsong to lull one to sleep.  Although the birds idea of morning is rather earlier than mine.  

Treated to a beautiful sunset I slept well here.

Following a peaceful night I continued on to Oundle marina where I filled up with fuel and finalised arrangement for blacking the boat in late July.  It was as ever a pleasure to catch up with Jacqui and Mark who manage the marina and who I am pleased to count as friends to boot. 

Beyond Oundle the river continues to meander through wide open country vistas although progress is slow as you meander around a sweeping loop of river covering 3 miles to reach a point only 1 mile from the beginning of the bend as the crow flies.  

After stopping overnight at Elton I then continued to Wansford station to have lunch in the cafe before heading on to Ferry Meadows for the weekend.  Treated to another stunning sunset I settled here for a few days before heading the last few miles to Peterborough to restock the fridge.

I now plan to stay in the area for the next few weeks before moving back to Oundle by 20 July to put the boat in for blacking.  While that is undertaken I'll avail myself of my eldest son's hospitality for a few nights before packing up my tent and heading to Cambridge Folk Festival where I'll meet up with Paul and Debbie for a touch of culture and possibly the odd flagon of ale. 

Where did that month go

Well so much for updating the blog more often - I can't believe t's almost a month since the last post.  To be honest there has not been a lot to report as the weather has been rather chilly and damp most of the time.

I continued up the beautiful river Thames to Oxford where I rejoined the canal network again.  The Thames gave me opportunities to play with the new camera and lens to capture  a few of our feathered friends on the way.

Cormorant

Red Kite

Cute Goose chick

Gret Wagtail

Kingfisher

From Oxford I headed up the canal through Banbury and round to Braunston where I spent  a few days doing a few housekeeping jobs in the inclement weather. On departing I noticed a strong smell of diesel from the engine room and found a leaking joint on the low pressure pipe.  Fortunately Braunston has several boatyards, including the one in which my boat was born, so a replacement pipe was quickly sourced and fitted.  

Leaving Braunston  headed down to Milton Keynes to spend a few wet days catching up with an old friend and fellow boater Pete Billings.  Further odd jobs were completed including replacing a cracked joint on the stove chimney and repairing a couple of loose cupboard doors - yes there are plenty of mundane days onboard.  

Yesterday I came up the Stoke Bruerne flight of 7 locks and then through the 2 mile long Blisworth tunnel before turning onto the Northampton Arm and heading down the 16 locks to Northampton.  A tiring day which ended with a welcome shower and an early night.

Stoke Bruerne Top Lock

So I'm now in Northampton only one lock away from the river Nene which I'll join later today.  Now look forward to the somewhat delayed summer and a couple of month cruising the gentle river.