Real "Swallows and Amazons" Country

Wednesday, 2nd July
Today was a much better day. Last night we dried out, had a Chinese take away and felt human again.
The first thing we did today was to fill up with diesel in Stanstead Abbotts.
There aren't many boatyards along the Lea & Stort and so there isn't much competition on price.
But we need plenty of diesel when we go out on the Thames on Saturday.
So we filled up.

We moved on down to the junction and turned left on to the Stort.
We nearly missed the turn, it was so tucked away and very narrow.
I really wondered if we were on the right waterway when we started,
it was so incredibly narrow and twisty.
The trees were overhanging and there was very little space for a boat.



Wide beam boats also use this waterway, I'm not sure how we would have passed one,
but fortunately that eventuality didn't arise.

We were told that the Stort was even nicer than the Lee, and it's true.
It is a magical river, with little tributaries and backwaters, bends and twists
and it goes through beautiful country.
There was very little traffic and we enjoyed the peace and quiet.
The only drawback is finding moorings. They're few and far between,
and frequently are already in use when we arrive.
Eventually we moored up in the country just by a lock, and stayed there for two nights.



The only noise was the planes coming in practically every minute through the evening to Stansted.
But they stopped around bedtime, only to start again about 5.00 a.m.
But at least we don't actually live here, and so we know it's only for a short time.
Pity the poor locals who have to hear it all the time.

That's one of the pluses about living on a boat--if you don't like your neighbours
or the view etc., you can move on.

Friday, 4th June
Today we went on to the head of the navigable river at Bishop's Stortford.
We'd been spoilt by what we found at Hertford at the the end of the Lee and were expecting a similar treat,
but Bishop's Stortford isn't any where near as pretty as Hertford,
and we were told not to moor there, as there is a lot of "youthful activity"
on the nearby carpark in the evening,
as the local wildlife show their prowess on their motorbikes.
So we shopped, winded and went on back down the Stort.

We moored out in the country again, near Spellbrook lock, where we had been told there was a good pub.
And the recommendation was right.
It was a delightful place, part of it a lovely sixteenth century thatched building.
We had a good meal and retired replete to the boat.

On Saturday, Trev walked in to Spellbrook village more in hope than expectation
to see if he could buy a newspaper.
But just as he was walking along, a bus came by for Bishop's Stortford and he hopped on to it smartly!
He was expecting to walk back to the boat along the towpath,
but there was another bus coming back, so he was in luck.

Trev spent the day patching up the small chips and scratches we've made on the boat over the last year.
Sadly there are quite a few of them, and they can't be ignored, as the boat will go rusty.
We stayed here for two nights

Sunday, 6th June
Today we moved slowly on.
We have a timetable over the next few weeks,
various friends are coming to see us or to stay
and we have the Thames to do--as if I could forget!
We need to be in Limehouse Basin on Thursday evening,
to meet the indomitable Cherry, who is going to do the Thames with us.
She certainly enjoys taking a risk!
So we're going to start moving gently back down the Lea and Stort.
The last part we shall do all in one day, as it isn't at all scenic
and we wouldn't want to moor there overnight.

Today was a fantastically warm day. We moored in Sawbridgeworth.
There were two small snakes swimming in the river just as we moored.
I couldn't get near enough to see if they were grass snakes or slow worms.
We walked in to the town and it has a pretty centre,
but it's not a place to put on your must visit list.

Monday, 7th June
Amazingly, on Monday morning we both woke up early and we set sail by eight o'clock.
We had to find a Bank to sort out one or two items and so we moored up at Harlow.
Trev's guide said there was an Alliance & Leicester Bank at Harlow,
which was what we needed,
so we moored up and caught a bus in to town--
only to find out that the A&L had closed last year!
The nearest one was in Bishop's Stortford!
So I caught a bus back to the boat and Trev caught one to B S.
I must say that we've found the public transport system around here,
and in London (Are you listening Mr. Livingstone?) to be excellent.

When Trev got back we set off again, and the heat was blistering.
I began to feel quite dizzy, so we found a lovely mooring spot under some trees,
right by a nature reserve, and well away from the flight path.
The nature reserve is run by Essex Wildlife Trust, and is a sixty-eight acre site
which has been kept for six hundred years under the Lammas system,
whereby farmers graze their cattle in late summer,
followed by a hay cut in July.
Over one hundred species of plant have been recorded here,
including green winged orchid and adder's tongue fern.
So you see, this is an educational trip
as well as just a slow peregrination around England & Wales!



HUNSDON MEAD NATURE RESERVE

Today has been even hotter than yesterday,
and tomorrow we're promised more of the same,
so we think we shall stay here for two nights and take it easy!
What do you mean, we do that all of the time?

Tuesday, 8th June
But when we woke up this morning, we found we were at an unusual angle!
The drawers had opened in the night, things had slipped and moved.
The problem was that the water level had dropped considerably overnight
and we were hung up on the edge of the river bed.
It reminded us of last year when I panicked and was sure we were turning over,
and we rang our boatfitter to tell him we were sinking!
At least this time we're a little wiser and know what the problem was.
So we slacked the ropes off and pushed the boat further into the river.
This helped, although we were still on the tilt.

A boat came by and said he was having problems travelling,
due to the water being so shallow.
He said he would let more water down when he got to the next lock.
We sat down to have our breakfast, and in a little while, water flowed past us
and eventually the boat righted itself and we were level again.

We moved on down the river to its junction with the Lee and moored up.
It was still very hot and we didn't want to do much travelling.

Now we're ready for our assault on the final stretch
of the Lea and Stort Navigation, down to Limehouse.
It's been a lovely experience, and I hope we shall return one day.



A LOCAL RESIDENT

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