Beginning of the return to the canals

After spending a lovely summer in home waters it's time to begin the journey back onto the canal network.

Yesterday I replaced the rudder bearing which, already worn, was completely ruined when I dislodged the rudder a week or so ago.  Thankfully the job was straight forward and with the help of Paul took only an hour.

I'm going to visit family for my nephew's wedding in the Isle of Man for a couple of weeks in September and have booked the boat into Oundle marina while I'm away. The plan is to have a gentle cruise back through Ely, possibly with a detour to Cambridge, and then back through the middle levels from Denver to Peterborough to catch up with my eldest son before going up the Nene to Oundle.

After the wedding and IoM holiday I'll make my way up river to Northampton and join the Grand Union canal.  I have no definite plans after that but am thinking of heading over to Stratford-on-Avon for a week or so.  Depending on conditions I might then go down the river Avon (one of many) and back up the Worcester & Birmingham canal which I've not done before.

Introducing the Falcon Inn - Huntingdon

Hard to believe it's over a month since I updated the blog. To be honest there's not much new to report. I've spent the last month moored at various spots on the river between St Ives and St Neots and managed to catch up with a few old friends while in the area. 

I have come to love the reopened Falcon Inn in Huntingdon. This pub is in a 16c building in the market square which was used by Oliver Cromwell as a HQ.  They serve only cask beers, a few craft lagers (non of the fizzy pop variety) and a selection of ciders. The welcome is very friendly as are the locals and I strongly recommend a visit or two.

The pub has a lovely garden which is the real reason Paul and I called in to get some planting tips. We only ordered beer to be polite. We were very polite. 

In fact the garden was so good I had to show it to Malc, Trevor and Gareth too. We were also very polite - in fact so polite I had a headache the next morning. 

It was great to catch up with these guys who made my time in Jaguar and Adour so enjoyable. 

I didn't spend all month in the Falcon, just most of it, for an injection of culture I had an enjoyable day exploring the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge where they have a exhibition of bronzes which, as you can see, are modelled on myself. 

The plan is to make my way back to the Nene via Cambridge and Ely over the next couple of weeks and then head up the river to Oundle where I'll leave the boat for a couple of weeks while I jet off to the Isle of Man for my nephew's wedding. 

About turn back to the Fens

I've spent the last 10 days between Peterborough and the peaceful Ferry Meadows. Although both last Saturday and today I joined my eldest son in the Parkrun, a 5k timed run for all abilities, even mine. While Steve galloped off like a marathon runner, which he is, I plodded along with the OAPs. I've run a couple before and am trying to get my time below 40 mins after which I may retire from running. Today I managed 41:13 which is 26 secs outside my best time of 40:47. I'm sure I'll soon shave off the last minute and get a sub 40. 

In my last blog entry I was planning a return to the canals but in the meantime my nephew has invited me to his wedding in September on the Isle of Man so I've decided to stay in the fens as it's easy to find a marina to leave the boat and catch the train to Gatwick to fly over. I'll use the opportunity to take a break from the boat and spend a couple of weeks with my brother and his family.

So today, after my morning run I had a gentle cruise back to Peterborough to fill up the water tank before passing through Stanground lock back onto the middle levels where I am now moored up for the night in March. Tomorrow I'm booked through Denver Sluice in the late afternoon so I'll have a steady cruise over there and then moor overnight at Denver before heading back along the Gt Ouse. I see another visit to Cambridge on the cards as well as a return to Huntingdon to sample a few more of the real ales served in the reopened Falcon. 

And I leave you with the stunning sunset over Ferry Meadows last night. 

Cambridge to Peterborough

After the tranquility of Wicken Fen I made my way up the river Cam into the city of Cambridge. I managed to pick the end of "Bumps" week when the college rowing teams race against each other. They don't actually close the river for this which makes navigation interesting as one meets a 50ft long boat travelling towards you at speed. It is ironic that the narrowest vessels on the river are transformed into the widest due to the very long oars (or blades to those in the know). By hugging the bank I managed to leave them the vast majority of the river to shoot by. The situation was complicated by the fact that there is a short stretch of river where the normal keep right rule is reversed requiring boats to swap sides on the approach to a bend and to swap back a few hundred yards later. This is because the rowing eights cannot navigate the bend on the right and need to take the wider line on the left. Of course this required me to make a dash across the river knowing that I may meet a fast eight head on midstream. Thankfully I managed to reach Cambridge without incident although there were a few close calls. This is just a single scull I met on the way back. 

Cambridge is a beautiful city with much stunning architecture, mainly the many colleges, which I know well having lived nearby for over 20 years. However, after meandering for several miles through open countryside and large meadows 

the rivers final approach to the city is rather spoilt by a number of poorly maintained boats on the long term moorings along one bank, some of which were in such a poor state I was surprised they remained afloat. The other bank is home to the various college boathouses which are in stark contrast to some of the  boats moored opposite.

As an aside, when in Ely, I noticed some very muscular chaps rowing in Cambridge shirts. I've since learned that the actual University rowing team of Thames boat race fame actually practice at Ely as the river is straighter and not cluttered up with amateur college rowers. 

 

The visitors moorings in Cambridge are limited to about 8 boats which made mooring tricky. I managed to squeeze onto the end of the mooring below the weir at Jesus lock. 

After a couple of days I headed back to Ely where Carol McEwan, an old colleague from Wyton, popped over one evening and joined me for dinner in the Cutter Inn. 

I've spent the last few days making my way back across the fens to the Nene. The trip over the middle levels is largely through man made drainage channels which are wide and straight with high banks which limit the view of the surrounding fens. There are times when the boat seems to be making no progress along the apparently endless channel. 

And if it looks a long way to the next bend, looking back shows it's just as far from the last one.

However, there are a few pretty villages along the way which offer a welcome diversion and the opportunity to check the tiller still works after a couple of hours without a bend. 

This morning I crossed through Stanground lock onto the Nene at Peterborough. The embankment moorings at Peterborough can be a bit noisy it the weekend due to Al fresco drinkers so I continued a few miles to Ferry Meadows park which offers a lovely tranquil mooring which I currently have all to myself. 

I'll return to Peterborough next week for a few days before heading up the river onto the canals.

Ely & Wicken Fen

After a month around St Ives moving only a couple of miles every few days I made the 23 mile 6hr trip to Ely. There are only 3 locks on this stretch and 2 of theses were faulty causing a bit of a delay. Doesn't really bother me but Mr Angry on another boat gave the poor lock keeper a hard time. Silly really as it's not his fault. After passing by Holywell and Earith the river meanders through open country until Ely. 

After spending a couple of days in Ely and taking the train to visit my son in Peterborough I was planning on staying in Ely over the weekend until I remembered that it is a 48hr mooring so I had to move on. I chose to head a few miles onto the river Cam and then travel down the very narrow but beautiful Wicken Lode through the famous Wicken Fen. Progress was slow due to narrow, shallow channel and the weed but well worth the effort for the views. 

I managed to catch a few pics of the local birds including an Oyster Catcher 

And a family of Great Crested Grebes. I love the cute striping on the chicks heads. 

A few weeks on home waters

After crossing the middle levels I was joined by Paul who volunteered to double the crew for a day to bring the boat along the Gt Ouse to St Ives. A pleasant day for cruising the river and just what I needed as I was shaking off the black dog. 

During the trip Paul serenaded me with my saxophone, anything to avoid work. 

We moored up by the bridge in St Ives and managed a quick pint in the Robin Hood. 

The weather has been mainly dry but cool with some stunning sunsets and sunrises. 

Since arriving I've spent the last few weeks moored up at either St Ives, Huntingdon and Godmanchester and have been visited by a few old friends including Geoff & Lisa Osbourne, Malcolm Harley and Paul & Debbie Beaumont. It's been a lovely few weeks and given me the chance to recharge by batteries, and my wine cellar, and I'm now ready once again to travel the canals for a few months. 

Im planning to make my way back through the fens to Peterborough and then up the Nene to join the Grand Union canal.

Normal service is resumed

I haven't updated the blog for a couple of months due to the return of an ongoing illness. Thankfully, due to support of family and friends, I can put this period behind me an continue to enjoy life afloat.

When I last posted I was heading north aiming to cross the pennines. However, I had to make a U-turn and head back to home waters to see my doctor while I got myself sorted.  I spent the latter part of March making my way back down the canals to Northampton and then along the river Nene to Peterborough where my eldest son lives.  I spend 3 weeks in the area waiting for my medication to kick in.  By mid May I was on the mend and spent a week crossing the middle levels to join the river Gt Ouse at Denver and then made my way to my home port of St Ives.  I've now spent a month in the area catching up with friends and enjoying this lovely stretch of river.

Chapel Bridge - St Ives