Another Journey - up the Nene and back

After a 2 month break we are out on Dense again.  Our plan is to travel across the Middle Levels to the Nene at Peterborough and then cruise gently up the river for a week or so.  Then we turn round and go back to our mooring at Floods Ferry.

We left home at 10am to drive to the marina arriving some 45 minutes later . By midday the car had been unpacked, the boats water tank filled and we were ready to go. We did think about eating lunch  first but we estimated the journey to our overnight mooring at Whittlesey as 3 hours and by that time there was a danger that the mooring would be full, and there are no alternatives.  So we set off and had lunch on the move.

 I have written before about the Middle Levels so nothing more to say than flat, rather boring and shallow in places, though in the bright sunshine the scenery looked almost attractive at times.

Post settings

On the Middle Levels near Floods Ferry

After ascending Ashline lock, the only one today, we reached Whittlesey recreation ground moorngs at 3pm. There were already two other boats there but we were just able to squeeze half the boat alongside the official mooring, so good enough for one night.

Statistics: 6.6 miles 1 lock 3 hours travelling

Back home

Sorry for the delay waiting for final figures....

We left March at 10am to go to Foxes Narrowboats a mile away to empty our waste tank and for a fix to the fuel filter which was leaking diesel.  Then onto our mooring for the next year at Floods Ferry out in the Fens about 3-4 miles outside March wth another kingfisher seen en route.  We hope to be out again in August/September.

Today: 4.2m 0 locks 1 hour 30mins travelling.

Total for 2 weeks: 103 miles, 8 locks, 37 hours travelling.

March on the Old River Nene

Just as we are near journey's end the weather is improving.  The wind has diecd down and the sun is visible in a clear blue sky.  And today was good.....

First thing we filled up with water and then went to  St Peter's, the village church which overlooks the moorings, as today is the start of the Upwell village flower festival when local groups decorated the church with flower arrangements which this year were on the theme of Films.   The flowers were well presented but for me the star attraction was the church itself.

Upwell Church from the Nordelph gallery

An angel on the church roof.

We had tried to visit the church on other visits but it had always been  locked.  This time there was time for a good look around.  The most spectacular part was the angel roof dating from the early 13th century, said to be the most beautiful of its kind in East Anglia if not the whole country.  Wooden angels carved into the roof overlook the attendees   Other items of interest  included the memorial to 67 parishioners who died in 1832 in a cholera epidemic and the gallery at the back of the church reserved for inhabitants of Nordelph who were taken to the Upwell church each Sunday on a horse-drawn barge, a distance of about 4 miles.

After leaving our mooring at 10:50 we proceeded slowly through the village to Marmont Lock which took us down (yes, even more down) to the Old Course of the River Nene which now flows through an artificial channel from Peterborough straight to the Wash but before the Fens were drained followed a far more meandering route.

A wind turbine towers over a nearby tree.

A narrowboat passes a wind turbine

The lock was soon followed by an impressive wind farm, the photos give some idea of the size of the turbines.  Then nearing our destination of March we were finally able to tick off kingfishers from our must see list for the year as three were seen within a mile or so.  We arrived in March at 13:30 after lunch which we had eaten on the move.  The moorings are often full here, but we were lucky that one, only slightly larger than our boat, was available.

7.15 miles, 1 lock 2 hours 45 mins travelling time

Through the Middle Levels to Upwell

We are now off the main rivers and onto the narrow, shallow drainage channels of the Middle Levels.  Our average speed is down from about 3.5mph to 2.5 mph and everything is much quieter and more peaceful.

View over the Fens from Well Creek

Typical Middle Level waterway

We left Sadlers Lode at 9am and travelled across the Fens along Well Creek.The waterway is attractive There are no high flood banks to obscure the view of the extremely flat low-lying scenery. Our satnav shows an elevation of about 5 foot above sea level.  But the satnav sits about 4 foot above the water level and the water level is well above the level of the land beyond the immediate vicinity of the Creek.

Entering Outwell

Outwell Church

Moored at Upwell

There are 3 waterside villages, Nordelph and the twin villages of Outwell and Upwell, the latter together stretch for about 2 miles along both sides of the waterway.  We moored at 11:20 just outside Upwell Church where there is a well kept flowerbed alongside the delightful moorings.

This afternoon we  took a bus to the nearby town of Wisbech, the self-styled Capital of the Fens.  It was a medieval port which is now some miles from the Wash.  Some old buildings remain but it is more a working town than a tourist destination.

5.99 miles, 0 locks, 2 hours 20 minutes

We did not go to Downham Market

Our plan for the next couple of days was to travel down to Denver, which is apparently the largest flood control facility on the country.  There we would join the Relief Channel, the flood bypass for the Great Ouse, to Downham Market for a bit of shopping. However the journey from Hilgay mooring to Denver Sluice was unenjoyable as we were faced with a strong cold headwind.   The weather forecast shows similar winds for the next few days so we decided to leave the Great Ouse today.

Great Crested Grebe on a precarious nest, we saw 1 egg

Waiting outside Denver lock

After arriving at Denver at 10:30 the lock keeper told us that after 1pm we could go through the tidal section of the Great Ouse below Denver to Salter's Lode Lock to take us onto the Middle Levels.  Before this time the river would be too shallow.

In Salters Lode Lock

Our departure was delayed to 14:30 when we ascended onto the tidal river.  The journey to Salters Lode was straightforward.  However entering the lock was not because its entrance is at a sharp angle to the river which had a strong incoming tide.  The technique with a rising tide is to travel past the lock entrance, turn the boat around, travel up with the tide. and then a quick turn off the river gets one into the lock. But it all requires careful judgement and timing.

I turned a bit too early and by the time the bow of the boat was near the lock entrance the tide was pushing it well off course.  Fortunately with some extra engine power and forceful steering I was able to just avoid the entrance wall and get the boat safely into the lock.  Later the lock keeper explained my error but said that the two previous boats coming down had both hit the wall.

We have moored at Sadlers Lode for the night.

3.5 miles 2 Locks 1.5 hours moving

Back on the Great Ouse

Views of the Little Ouse

Last night it rained heavily and did not stop til lunchtime when we set off again down the Little Ouse.  Thanks to the rain the water level was up a bit and we made reasonable progress going with the flow despite an increasing head wind.  Two and a half hours and 7 miles took us to the junction with the Great Ouse where we turned right to go down stream.

Once on the main river the wind became stronger and colder and the final 3 miles were very tiring.  However we did manage a moderate speed and moored up at Hilgay, where we had stayed last Fridday night, just before 4 pm.

10.55 miles, 0 locks, 3 hours 20 mins travelling

Brandon - 4 hours journey to Tesco and back

Today we completed our aim of reaching Brandon in Suffolk which marks the end of the of the Little Ouse at least as far as it is possible to go on a narrowboat.

Lock and weir at Brandon

We set off at 9am and cruised the 6 miles up the Little Ouse through quite attractive countryside in hot sunny weather. We were disappointed to again fail to see a kingfisher, nor any Golden Orioles.  Arriving at 11am we moored up just below the lock which prevents any further progress, it being 40 foot long whereas we are 57 foot. We had thought about staying the night here after shopping for the next 3 days.  However we decided to return to yesterday's mooring as it seemed more interesting.

Twin floodgates to divert the Little Ouse water away from the Great Ouse

After lunch we left Brandon and travelled with the stream back to our mooring.  The peace and quiet of the morning was not repeated thanks to the repeated low level fly-past of a couple of US fighter jets, Lakenheath and Mildenhall being close-by. On the way I took the photo of the flood gates where the Cut-Off channel passes beneath the river.  During times of flood the flow down the river is blocked and the water is allowed to flow into the Cut-Off channel which collects flood water from all of the tributaries and sends it directly to the Wash.

12.14 miles, 0 locks, 4 hours 5 minutes