Autumn in Welford

A bright autumnal day, and though the mellow fruitfulness may have gone the leaves are still on the trees and filtering the sun in golden shafts. A good day for boating, except that Patience is currently having her bottom blacked in Oundle.
So, reluctant to miss the a boat-flavoured visit, I headed further west along the A14 to spy out some other marinas. Despite some confusion in my mind between Walton, Whilton, Welton and Welford I ended up in the latter and found it a very attractive spot.

Welford is mid-way along the route of the Leicester to Northampton turnpike, at a point where there was a ford on the river Avon. There is a neat, if packed, wharf, a  marina a few hundred yards further up, and boats moored along the canal between the two. The pub, The Wharf, was packed with locals and walkers (its website briefly describes local walks too) and it all had a busy and sociable feel to it.

A detailed set of information boards suggest walking routes and gives local history, and evidently it is popular with walkers.
I took the simplest route from the wharf, around the marina, past the lock and along the tow path to the junction with the Leicester Line of the Grand Union, returning the same way, a distance of 4 miles or so.

I couldn't find any contact details for the marina while I was there. They seem not to have a website, but I found one phone number: 01858 575995 which might be a contact for Les, the man in charge.
Welford: A bit off the beaten track, and all the better for it!

Making the Most of Moorings

I'm thinking of starting a MMM campaign for landowners and Parish Councils to Make The Most of your Mooring places.  Why? Because I've recently noticed in the Middle Levels and The Nene that moorings are too few, and in several places they exist but are not signposted. This seems odd to me.
Naturally, as a boater, I'm keen to see more moorings, but I don't understand why, where there is a clear stretch of waterfront, the owner doesn't either bang in a few stakes and invite a contribution or offer the stretch to a boater for a longer term in exchange for a fee and a commitment to keep the grass down and not leave a mess.
There are several possible reasons for this, I imagine. For a longer term arrangement there's the risk that, once the boat is in place, it's impossible to get it to move on. This seems to have happened at Isleham where a liveaboard took over a GOBA mooring and simply refused to leave. In the end GOBA withdrew and the incident soured relationships and lost everyone a mooring.
On the other hand, between the signs saying Private, No Mooring, there are several lengths of bank where a simple sign says ...

This one is at Fotheringhay on the Nene, where I assume the beautiful view of the church entices boats into overnight mooring and they feel it is worth the small fee. Fine if there are also free moorings not too far away.
In these cases there is a cost, of keeping the grass down, and a risk I suppose that someone could damage their boat or themselves then blame the land owner. But I'd hope that more boaters mooring would translate into more business for nearby pubs and that the small print on the sign could absolve them of any responsibility. At Reach there is a fierce sign by the Parish Council, who could have left space for several more boats and worked in cooperation with the excellent local pub.

At Thorpe Meadow there is a fantastic mooring but no sign to it, even though the mooring is directly opposite the popular pub, The Boathouse.
So, all praise to The Great Ouse Boating Association (GOBA) who have worked tirelessly to track down and maintain suitable moorings on the Ouse. For a tiny annual subscription you too can enjoy these 48 hour moorings. So, who will do the same for the River Nene? I can't fathom what The Association of Nene River Clubs actually does in the way of moorings. Perhaps readers can help me?

Solved the Mapping Problem

Following on from my previous blog I'm now thrilled to say that I've solved the problem! For the benefit of those who care, here's what I did.
I checked I had Google Earth installed.
[Update: latest blog for list of Railways near Canals]
Choose the downloaded kmz file to open in Google Earth.
Knowing I wanted mainly railway lines and stations I selected More > Transportation > Rail in the Layers panel and unticked mostly everything else.

River Ouse and Railway Bridge at Ely

Finally in the Places panel I ticked My Places > Temporary Places > UK_Canals_Route_only and ticked absolutely everything within that. If you're only interested in a small number of canals you need only tick those you need. Screenshot below with Ely station highlighted for clarity. The Ouse is lined in blue.

So here's my next (or the one after that...) project - noting railway lines near to canals so I can moor up, catch a train and come back later - or friends and family can catch up with me while I'm away.
Next, to find friendly folks who will accept me mooring for a short while and where I won't block anyone else - a bigger problem altogether!

Hilgay on The Wissey

I drove down from Stoke Ferry, where I'd been told there were no moorings until Hilgay. It was rumoured that there was a single landowner who held the land between Hilgay and Stoke Ferry and would not permit moorings.

So Hilgay came as a pleasant surprise, with a flurry of boats, a lengthy GOBA mooring and some additional green stretches alongside a recreation ground for general visitors. Shops and a garage too.
The GOBA mooring is just yards from the Rose and Crown which boasts food every night except Mondays. From here it's a little over 2 hours by narrow boat to Stoke Ferry and half an hour to  the Great Ouse and thence Denver.
George Manby lived most of his life in Hilgay, famed for his invention of a rocket to send a line to ships in distress. His memorial is in the churchyard.