More on Fish and Duck

My first visit to the Fish and Duck since the recent renovations -and, despite the fact there's no pub yet, I was impressed.
I like the website graphics, I liked John who is marina manager and who showed me round (after checking me out that I was not snooping with intent!) and I liked the way they have cleared the site, invested in electricity and water, improved the marina and provided floating pontoons ... Yes, I could see myself happily moored up at the Fish and Duck. They have high standards and are being firm about maintaining them. Quite a change from the laissez faire regime of liveaboards with gardens and sheds and dogs and junk. There's a place for them, but sometimes free spirits get their anchors  too firmly dug in and take advantage of benign hosts.
This is a marina in progress, but it looks like a good time to get in. The access road is undergoing more improvement since the surface recently became rutted, so that should be better soon. There are plans for a taverna style eatery - which appeals to me, and I'm delighted it is not to be a gastro pub. They have access to a mobile crane and can arrange dry docking with Stretham Marina (more good folks with ambitions for excellent marinas). Parking seems well organised, mooring payment is one month in advance and "time of payment is of the essence", but there is no lengthy period of being tied to 6 months or a year as many marinas do.
So for £47 per foot per year on average, with additional charges for electricity if you choose, which is a high end charge compared to what we pay, you get a perfectly placed marina at the confluence of three great rivers: the Old West, The Great Ouse and The Cam.
A trip of a few hours could take you to the Lazy Otter, Cambridge (The Five Miles), or Ely (The Cutter). On a sunny day, what more could you wish?
I must add that I have no involvement in the Fish and Duck apart from a keen desire to see a good marina and a drinking hole on this excellent spot. I wish the owners and the manager well - it's a very good start!
Photos on an overcast day I'm afraid, but quite a contrast with this time last year. I expect to see the place full of keen boaters by the end of this year.

Fish and Duck Marina Reopens

Following a great deal of commotion in clearing liveaboards from the Fish and Duck at Popes Corner on the Ouse (our old stomping ground with Patience) as described in a previous post, we now hear that the Fish and Duck has reopened.
According to Waterways World there have been major refurbishments with additional moorings, "smart" electricity meters and water points. The access road has been repaired and planted with flowers along its edges and the whole place brought up to scratch.
THe owners are now turning their attention to rebuilding the pub, which was a popular watering hole for over 100 years and was demolished a few years ago.
Congratulations for all their hard work to Davina and James at www.fishandduck.co.uk If it's as good as they say we might be tempted to bring Patience back to the Ouse before long!

Twenty Pence Marina

A pleasant day, warmest for several months, so following the interest shown in my previous entry on Twenty Pence I took in the Marina on The Old West river  near Wilburton on the way to work.  Having seen it often from the river this was the first time I'd approached from the road.

 

At first glance it was unimpressive, with that run-down, bird-dropping and mouldy-caravan feel. The "reception" was closed (not unreasonable for March) but with faded notices in the window and nothing welcoming.  So much so that I went back to the road rather than force my way through the locked gate.

Here I found that where the Twenty Pence Inn had stood was now posh "executive style" houses.

 On the other side of the bridge sat the attractive cottage we'd passed in Patience so often.

 Then squeezing through another locked gate, marked Public Path, I made my way into the marina itself, where a lady in floral wellies was scrubbing the roof of her cruiser. She seemed happy with the marina, announcing it to be simple and quiet with no facilities. I agree. She'd heard the "rumour" that it had been sold but knew no more and I think didn't believe it.

 

 I can only refer her to the auction page of Allsop's Auctioneers where the site appears to have sold for a princely £210k.
So is it just a rumour? Does the owner want to keep the sale quiet or does he just want to keep the marina quiet (no fancy website for this marina which can't even spell the river Ouse!) Will there be a fuss as there has been at the Fish and Duck? Or will it be a quiet and positive change as at Stretham Ferry Marina?
I don't know, but if I made out the faded poster on the reception window correctly, you could email Alan G Humphreys or Alan at Twenty Pence and ask him yourself. It is - and could continue to be - a really nice peaceful place.

Waterways World

We happily subscribe to Waterways World and love the Pull-Out Guides for the regions. This month (February 2013) we have more interest than usual because there are two articles on our boating area: one describes the "Cruise of a Lifetime" - 344 miles from Llangollen to the Little Ouse - and a guide to the Middle Levels.
The long cruise starts in Wales and makes its way across England to the river Nene (where we are now) describing the experience as "drifting timelessly through rural middle England, past quaint stone-built villages and historic watermills". Oundle (our mooring) is "the icing on the sumptuous Nene cake". So we look forward to the boating season with additional rose tinted glasses - but actually, it's true!
The Middle Levels are said to be: "remote adventurous cruising" and more than just a transit route between the Ouse and the Nene. Indeed this is what we found. It also describes the problems of weed clogging the prop, which we experienced in 2012, to our great frustration.
See our earlier blogs for example here for the Nene and here for the Middle Levels as we saw them.
Oh, and one other reason for enjoying the article on the  west to east trip across England - it ends with a lovely pic of Patience in front of Kings College Chapel, taken by David Coppendale when we navigated the Cam in 2011.
So here's another glimpse of that trip along The Backs of the colleges in Cambridge. One of the blog entries for that trip is here. We recommend the eastern region, Nene, Middle and Great Ouse!

Leaving Home

On Friday 22nd June Patience left home, slipping her anchor at The Lazy Otter, quitting Stretham,  The Old West River and heading for The Middle Level.
Over 2 1/2 years we have fond memories of the marina at The Otter, The Old Bridge, the irascible Cyril, liveaboard Tim and his two barges, Alan our guide, and even the stuffed otter in the pub itself. It was where we found Patience in November 2009 and where we learned to handle her.
But nothing stands still and the next challenge is a new mooring in a different part of the river system.
We are stocked with enough food and water for 5 days, we've checked the weather and the EA warnings as far as we can, surveyed Denver lock, yet we don't really know what lies ahead given recent drought, floods, heavy rain, unpredictable winds ... and it's June!
So, a brief stop at Ely and another at The Ship, Brandon Creek, but onward, crabwise at times, up the Ouse, with a 20mph tailwind and occasional heavy showers. Wet weather gear at all times.
Despite gusts forcing us towards the bank we arrive at Denver at 6.30pm, 21 miles from Stretham. Plenty of moorings and now fine weather, with the prize of a meal at Jenyns Arms and a lateish start tomorrow.

Patience in early morning at Denver. The sluices are in the background.

Denver sluices and lock are crucial barriers to the sea. Without them it could surge down from the Wash. They also take water from inland out to sea, in a highly complex series of channels and sluices that drain the fens using a system developed by Vermuyden in 1651. Beyond Denver lies a route out to The Wash, where it is possible to cross to Boston, Lincs. We are attempting an easier option: to go up the tidal section for a very short way before turning acutely east down Salters Lode, gateway to The Middle Levels, those rivers joining The Ouse through the Nene to the Grand Union. Our destination is Oundle on The Nene, 76 miles and maybe 4 days from The Otter.
Good weather is expected tomorrow, followed by heavy rain overnight, so we feel confident as we retire on Friday evening.

A Quick Jaunt to Ely

One of the pleasures of being moored at The Lazy Otter is the chance to pop up to Ely for the day.
Ely is a delightful place where you can shop (market, antiques, chandlery) or take culture (the splendid Norman Cathedral with its grand lantern tower, known as The Ship of The Fens) or simply wander around the waterfront gongoozling.
We browsed the chandlery, where we bought an updated and greatly improved version of Fenland Waterways, the Imray Guide, then up the hill to the excellent bookshop Topping & Company (9 High Street, Ely) for a couple of other useful books from a splendid stock. Do go there and encourage them in what, in these Amazon Days, feels like a dying trade.
Also we dined on fish and chips and a pint of Wherry at The Cutter. What better way to spend one of the first sunny days in months?
Though there was a sharp north west breeze the sun was warm out of the wind and any issues with fast flowing streams seem to have vanished. The Ouse around here (though not so, beyond Earith, where there is still flooding) looks to be in good shape.

 However this boat at Little Thetford EA moorings was less fortunate....
Incidentally there seems to be an improved mooring on The Old West, almost opposite the Stretham  Old Engine. We saw a wooden pathway and some electricity points newly installed (May 2012).

Awash!

So that was the wettest April since records began!
I think that's put paid to our plan to pootle along the Ouse to Bedford this week. I took a circuitous route to Godmanchester today, going via Stretham to check on Patience (lying quietly at her moorings, dry as a bone inside, though the gas lockers and the engine room have a bit of water swilling around) then on to Earith (locks closed until at least the weekend, water meadows awash and the channel invisible) and St Ives (channel awash).

Water Meadows at Earith, by Hermitage Lock 1st May 2012

Here at Godmanchester the water level has subsided by a good 6 inches, though it's still flowing fast and Port Holme remains virtually impassable on foot. The forecast is some improvement for a couple of days but more rain at the weekend.

Time to chuck another log on the wood burner and get stuck in to that long novel you've brought with you.

Trolling Banned!

Oh no, just when I had planned a bit of weekend trolling!

Noticed this on the way up The Great Ouse north of Ely. I didn't feel guilty - but then I didn't quite know what I would have been guilty of! Should I support a campaign to BRING BACK TROLLING? Am I relieved that EBSSC have protected me from Trolls? Are Trolls endangered by my cruising up and down river? I just didn't know what to think. Until I got home and Googled it. Maybe you know already ... but for those of us to whom trolling is a novelty here's the answer from wikipedia.


And if you think the answer is a let-down - just Google it again, to find the alternative meanings. Oh ... really?! And here is a very serious article about nasty trolling, from the BBC. Definitely not a joke.

And if you've time on your hands try guessing what EBSSC is. If you think it's a secondary school in Santa Cruz you've been cheating by Googling - and you're wrong anyway!

[Postscript: Trolling, defined as "online abuse" or "virtual violence" is a form of bullying that has hit the headlines in March 2012. This blog entry was written long before I became aware of this and the lighthearted tone of this blog entry reflects that. There can be no excuse for insulting and bullying people online.]

Stoke Ferry on the Wissey

As part of my recce by car before going up by boat I drove from Brandon (see previous post) to Stoke Ferry on the River Wissey. There I found not quite what I was expecting.
Reaching a roundabout joining the A134 and the B1112 here I followed signs to Stoke Ferry village (perfectly pleasant, a pub or two and a shop or three) but had to go round to come across the river and moorings, a bit of a walk from the village.
Aerial views show lines of narrow boats along the banks leading up to Stoke Ferry, which is encouraging, but this turned out to be very pleasant but private moorings. No room for visitors.

Walking on through this private area I felt a bit of a trespasser even though I was entirely harmless. Then I came to some more warning signs and decided to turn back. On the other side of the roundabout opposite Whittington Garage (shop included) I found the Grange Farm Touring Park - an unlikely site for mooring, I thought, bristling with caravans in orderly rows, very neat and well scrubbed. Dogs only on leads. No children.

Look carefully and you will see a long list of "don'ts" or at least things you have to pay for. But as it's a GOBA mooring surely that's fine? Turns out GOBA rent the mooring from the caravan site owners - and look where they've put it -

right next to the road bridge, and an overflow outlet.
Prettier from this view ...

... but less than perfect.
So, worth thinking about before you take the 2 hour trip from Hilgay, further down river. On the plus side you could use this mooring and with a bike easily get to Oxburgh Hall just 4 miles away. There are pubs and shops in the village and a shop at the garage opposite the caravan site and ample winding space (it can take 60 foot) a little further up river before the limit of navigation.
On the other hand you are a second class citizen at the camp, (you have to report to reception showing proof of GOBA membership, adults only, barbecues only by agreement, mooring fees of £2 for one hour for non GOBA members, not allowed to use their facilities, pushed away in a corner ...) and there seem to be no alternative moorings anywhere near. EA where are you?
Interesting factoid: it's the Wissey, a tributary of The Great Ouse, that gives its name to the town of Wisbech (Wissey + Bech meaning "shore")
You takes your choice .... I'd say - stay at Hilgay down river and if necessary use Stoke Ferry only as a brief launch pad for Oxburgh Hall, which is a fabulous National Trust moated building, before going back to Hilgay the same day.

Stretham to Great Barford

We spent five glorious days afloat in weather that was as sunny and as warm as any we have had this year. Starting on Wednesday from Stretham to moor at Hemingford,  on Thursday to Godmanchester, and on to Great Barford in the evening, we debated going on to Bedford but left that for another day.
Complicated personal arrangements meant that folks were getting on and off Patience at various points, but Duncan saw it through - 84 miles, 24 locks and five days.

The Old West River

We had three problems, which will be described in more detail in a later post, but this was a great trip exploring the further western regions of the Ouse. The water level was generally low but the water clear and sparkling, with trees dipping into the edges, abundant wildlife (heron, kingfisher, and swans, geese and ducks all with young chicks) and a classic view of a basking seal at Earith.

Cygnets on The Ouse

We noted that the moorings at Hemingford appear to be very grand but are in fact hard concrete and so high that there is an ever present risk of either scraping poor Patience's sides or even getting her gunwhales trapped under the ledge with water rising. On the other hand the rough moorings a hundred yards further up are fine and a visit to the excellent Cock for a good pint and a splendid meal compensate for any inconvenience.

 Don't miss the lovely garden in Lucy Boston's house which you can see by peeking over the wall by the moorings.
On Thursday to Godmanchester where we can borrow a private mooring and we filled up with water and newspapers. On to St Neots whose Paper Mill lock is long and deep and can be disconcertingly vigorous with surges of water. Passing the delights of St Neots and the golf course of Wyboston and on through Roxton Lock we smiled smugly at the poor motorists above us in queues on the A1 and the A14. Moored up at Great Barford bridge and ate at the busy and friendly Anchor right next to the bridge. It has been said that a long narrow boat might find it awkward manoeuvring through some of the arches as the river bends immediately south of the bridge but we think you should easily make it so long as you bear left directly after passing through the arch.
The return journey varied with the available crew. We spent longer at St Neots this time and moored for the night at The Offords where the GOBA mooring (a bit cramped though perfectly adequate with a gangplank),  opposite the chic popularity of the Buckden Marina with its pool and gym - and whose well constructed moorings are charged at £5 per night (and which were mainly empty...).

The Old Bridge at St Ives

The final night we moored at St Ives, close by the Norris Museum of local history. It seems to be a honey pot for young people on a Saturday night out. The Golden Lion, where we ate at 8pm, was taken over by young ravers at 8.30 so we made our excuses and left. We counted 12 take-away shops, four pubs with live music and - too late - two small friendly restaurants close to the old bridge.
There was a lot more weed in the river than there had been a few days before - but The Tale of Three Problems must wait, tantalisingly, till my next blog post ....

Easter up the Great Ouse

As we grow familiar with Patience and with the ways of the rivers it's easy to forget that some folks have never even been on a narrow boat (or barge or even "longboat" as so many people call it). So in a spirit of broadening the experiences of my family and friends I took Patience up the Old West to Pope's Corner with my parents - who in all their 80 plus years had never been on a narrow boat. They expressed themselves "excited".

Then on the day of the Royal Wedding I tried to avoid the sentimental outpourings by taking a trip to Ely with a friend, leaving our respective wives to gawp at the ceremonials. Tony cycled up from Cambridge, we had lunch at the Cutter at Ely (where we learned in 70 seconds of BBC News what our wives had been drip-fed all morning). Then we toured the cathedral, which had been open all day for a service to celebrate the marriage, paused by a brass band also celebrating the day, through the happy masses in the Cathedral Green and past a few moored up cruisers strung with bunting to the Lazy Otter with Tony's bike on board.
A good day out with a conspicuous failure to avoid The Wedding .... Nevertheless I wish the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge (so they're now local?) every happiness.
I noted, incidentally, how much newspaper space was taken up admiring Pippa Middleton's bottom. So a good day was had by non-royalists too!

Solo to Godmanchester

Patience at rest in Godmanchester backwater

I share Patience with John and we've had a great time together pootling up and down river, fixing improving and generally mulling over the ways of the world. I've found boating very sociable. However I've always fancied venturing out by myself from time to time though I've been put off by the realisation of how hard it can be to control a 45 foot narrow boat in difficult conditions (currents and winds can be real problems on the east anglian rivers.)
Anyway, having read up about solo techniques at this blog and it being a beautiful day with plans to go boating at the weekend too, I set off from the Otter aiming for Godmanchester. Why Godmanchester? Well it's a pretty little village (er, ancient town!) with a backwater (literally, that's no slur!) and at the bottom of the garden at the offices where I work there is an ideal unused mooring (though an overhanging branch is in wait, ready to scrape off the TV aerial).
It means I can commute (in a very round about, wholly impractical way) to work.
It also serves as a convenient staging place to explore the further regions of the Great Ouse instead of always returning to our main moorings at Stretham.
So I had a great trip, the weather was fantastic, I managed some of the locks single handed and at others was helped by other boaters in a small cruiser heading from Holywell to Huntingdon. It's also handy to be going upstream in locks where the gates are downstream and most of the locks are guillotines (no arm-tiring winding).

Approaching mill and bridges at Huntingdon

The Old Bridge from the Godmanchester side

To Hemingfords

Taking advantage of the Bank Holiday weekend we set out on Saturday morning aiming to reach the Hemingfords and return to base. This involves several locks, several waterside pubs and a variety of views along the Great Ouse and Old Western River.
We were also testing out Patience for overnight stays - the first we've had since we took her over at Christmas.

The river to Earith is meandering and the river banks are built up high as flood protection, which can make visibility limited.
Nonetheless it's worth looking out for church spires, windmills and of course the bird life - herons that float lazily away as you approach, swans that sit proudly in pairs, on substantial riverside nests or in groups of 50 or more with last year's cygnets in the flooded margins at Earith and beyond.
Geese of various kinds, terns, grebes, egrets ... they're all here, flourishing and undisturbed.

Flood damage, collision or carelessness? These two are past their best as they cling to each other near Twenty Pence marina.

Approaching St Ives from the east. I thought I knew St Ives but it is very different approaching it from the water. The Dolphin appears after the bridge and on the left, where there are some moorings, but we went on a little and to the tributary on the right after the bridge, where there is a public mooring outside the Norris Museum. Very convenient and close to the town, lots of eating places, the church and a nature reserve.

Next morning, following heavy rain overnight, we had hardly left our St Ives moorings when we chased a long rowing boat to a medieval recreation alongside the river. Tents, open fires, pig roasts, iron tools being made, sword fighting etc. And our old friend councillor Charles Nightingale visiting in his official capacity as Chair of the South Cambs District Council.
Next to The Ferry Boat at Holywell, Needingworth, for a well earned pint then on to Hemingford, a beautiful old village, boasting the oldest continuously inhabited house in England - Lucy Boston's house, author of The Children of Green Knowe. You can see the garden over the wall on the right from our mooring place here.

A pint in the excellent Cock inn which manages to be both a good local pub and an up market restaurant (a tricky balance) while welcoming oddments like ourselves.
With time pressing we head back now rather than press on to Houghton and Godmanchester and with wind and current against us narrowly avoid a scape at a rough mooring by The Ferry Boat (Holywell) to make safe harbour at The Pike and Eel (Needingworth).

A very welcoming place, though surprisingly empty, we force down a pint of Adnams, retire for a rest and a read of the papers, to trot back for an excellent and well priced evening meal. The mooring is very good too, though we imagine more designed for cruisers, and this is the view in the morning just before we set off back to the Lazy Otter.
Four different locks - Earith, St Ives, Brownshill and Hemingford, four pubs and a wealth of experience gained navigating seemingly simple rivers in very squally conditions. Winds and currents that threaten to blow us onshore, three hail storms and combined sun and wind that make my face as pink as a salmon. But it was worth it - a thoroughly enjoyable trip, with many thanks to John for his calm seamanship.

Moving Bridges

By good fortune the place where I work has a long garden that leads down to the River Ouse at Godmanchester, where in summer narrow boats and cruisers often moor. Yesterday I couldn't fail to see a massive crane hanging over the river, which made me curious. It turned out that they were planning to remove the famous Chinese Bridge, which had become unsafe, and replace it with a new one.
Now this is no tiddly little bridge - it's pretty big and would have to slide and swing into a small paved area next to the road. So that would be a sight to see. And the crane was huge!

An hour later there was still no movement and I was freezing cold and had to get to work, but I kept an eye open, just glimpsed the bridge being raised and swung across, (this second picture just shows a simple and temporary scaffolding bridge) then dashed out to see it "landed" and soon cut to pieces.

 

  

 

One or two folks even took bits away with them. This chap is clearly bearing his cross ...
The Cambridge Evening News and The Hunts Post both filmed it. The lady from the Hunts Post was more friendly.
They expect to replace it with a new bridge - which everyone hopes will look identical - in a week or so.
I realise that since buying Patience I've started to notice things like bollards and weirs, river banks and bridges, which previously I'd mainly passed by. It's good! I've also joined the Great Ouse Boating Association or GOBA, which does good works and knows of good moorings.