Back on to the Canals

July 8th--11th

This is the weather the cuckoo likes,
And so do I;
When showers betumble the chestnut spikes,
And nestlings fly;
And the little brown nightingale bills his best,
And they sit outside at "The Travellers' Rest",
And maids come forth sprig-muslin drest,
And citizens dream of the south and west,
And so do I.
Thomas Hardy

This week we finished the first part of our cruise, and so I have ended this page at the end of the cruise. I have started a new section for the next part of our cruise--Summer Cruise 2005 Part Two. I shall post the first thrilling episode of Part Two next Thursday, July 21st. I only hope you can wait that long!

Friday, 8th July
It started off windy today, but later, at last, the wind dropped, and it grew quite warm. We carried on along the Nene, ever nearer to my beloved canals! On the way I helped a single hander through a couple of locks, even doing the huge wheels that operate the guillotine gates for him. Then it transpired in conversation that his other half was below decks having a lie down because she was tired! I wouldn't have minded being below decks having a quick kip myself!

We moored up at Denford in almost the same spot as we had moored going down the Nene. We went to the Cock Inn again, as we had enjoyed it on the previous visit. It was at least as good as before, and the staff were so charming, it made the whole thing a worthwhile experience. So often we've eaten out and then felt we hadn't had value for money, so this was a pleasant change.

Saturday, 9th July
We had a long day today. First we travelled to Ringstead, where Trev made two forays. The first was down the weedhatch, to remove loads of weed which had wrapped itself round the prop. The river is very weedy at the moment, there are weedcutting boats out to try to remove it, but it's an uphill struggle. His second foray was in to Ringstead on the bike to buy a newspaper and some milk.

Then we moved on through Irthlingborough Lock, where there was a group of young people sunbathing. They asked if we would leave the lock full for them to swim in, but the rule on the Nene is that the bottom gate must always be left open. This is to allow for flood water to flow through. As we left the lock, they all jumped in. It was quite a drop in to the empty lock. Well, the lock wasn't empty! but at its lower level.

Irthlingborough is the home of the Rushden and Diamonds Football Club. Isn't that a lovely name? Their ground is right by the river, and there is a mooring there. We moored up to take on water and whilst we were there, I was talking to a person on another boat going in the opposite direction. He asked for a good recommendation for a place to eat that evening, and so I was pleased to be able to tell him of the Cock Inn at Denford. Good places deserve support!

On again through Ditchford Lock where a herd of piebald gipsy ponies came so close to the boat that there was a danger of sweeping them in to the lock as we opened the gate, and we had to chivvy them away.





Then upstream once more through Lower and Upper Wellingborough Locks, anticipating trouble, but fortunately there was none. We moored eventually out in the country just below Wollaston Lock. It was an idyllic evening, the weather today has been wonderful.

Sunday, 10th July
Today we were aiming to get close to Northampton, so that tomorrow we can go through the city, up the flight on the other side and back on to the Grand Union. There isn't anywhere safe to moor in Northampton, and once we start on the flight there isn't anywhere to moor either. It will take us about five or six hours to get through the last few locks on the Nene, shop at Morrison's which is right by the river and pass through the flight of seventeen locks.

It was SO hot today. We had a lot of locks close together, but eventually we went through Weston Favell Lock, turned sharp right and moored up on the visitor moorings there. These moorings are in the area known as The Northampton Washlands. This is an area which has been set aside to cope with floods. It's a large flat grassy area with lakes, and the river runs through it. It is enclosed by two locks, Weston Favell and Abington Lock. At each end there is a gate which comes up from under the water automatically when the water rises. There are traffic lights to warn that they are going to rise.



ON THE FINAL STRETCH OF THE NENE

Monday, 11th July
We set off mid-morning with the people on the boat in front. so that we could share the locks. We went through the first two locks with them and then noticed that there was a pump out. As this was going to be the last free pump out (they've all been free on the Nene and the Ouse) we said goodbye to our travelling companions and pulled in. There was also water and rubbish disposal, so it was a useful place to call.

Then we went through the last lock on the Nene and moored up at Morrison's. Here we did a mega shop, and we were allowed to push the trolley all the way back to the boat, which was very useful, as otherwise it would have involved a number of trips.

And then, at last, we set off and went through the first lock on the Northampton Flight, and were back on the canal. The first thing to strike us was how quickly the locks filled. They're narrow locks on this flight and it seemed as fast as going up in a lift after the slow ones on the Nene. The first few locks are spread out, with half a mile or a mile between them. This is the province of the graffiti 'artist', the litter lout and, apparently aerial artistes, judging by the rope hanging from the bridge. There was a huge cube of polystyrene in the lock mouth, about a cubic metre, which Trev had to move out with a boat hook before we could go in. There was a pair of trainers, tied together, hanging high up on an overhead cable.

Trev did all of the locks, riding on to set one or two ahead, dashing back to open and shut the gates. He was a very busy lock person.



LOCKING UP THE NORTHAMPTON FLIGHT

It was an incredibly hot day, and we both felt like a pound of lard when we'd finished. (Not to eat, you understand......) Fortunately there was a place to moor just round the corner, and we moored up and collapsed! But it's great to be back on the canals. I love the small scale of it all, it feels so much more manageable and safe. I suppose familiarity has a lot to do with it.

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Summer 2005 Cruise Part One, Weekly Log

Summer 2005 Cruise Part Two, Weekly Log

Summer 2005 Schedule