At the moment we are 'on a schedule' - that is to say, we know that we have to reach Buckden Marina in good time on Thursday so that Mike can prepare to leave first thing on Friday to go to York for five days. We want to reach the marina with enough time to speak to the engineering company about the batteries as well as another possible repair. This means that today we will have to turn around at lunch time and retrace our route back as far as St Neots or just beyond.
Just after setting off we passed the Black Trap Weir and entrance to the Eynesbury Marina and apartment development that we spoke about in yesterday's blog. This time, however, we have views from the river.
We had hoped to a fuller picture of the power station as we passed close to it. Alas, the site is obscured by dense trees and we were able to see nothing at all, not even the chimneys we showed last night!
Half way along the next very long reach we passed under a line of pylons (not directly connected to the power station it seems) and, wanting any other helpful landmarks, Mike decided to take a photo to add to CanalMap in case we come this way again. As we came closer we could see quite a few vans parked beside the river and then up above a cradle with two people working on one of the power lines. Christine even manged to extract a wave from them!
This part of the river is frequently tree-lined and rather pretty most of the way.
At Tempsford we passed under the Great North Road, aka the A1. When this part of the route was dualled, the older bridge was kept for traffic going north whilst kin the opposite direction it now passes over a modern bridge.
Jut a little further and we passed a site that seems to be a permanent mooring for three boats. The one in the middle has a distinctive access 'bridge' that converts a steep bank into a set of steps. The converted lifeboat is something that we have not seen since we were last on the southern reaches of the Grand Union where we have seen a number in the past.
Roxton Lock brings - for this navigation, a new sight: pointy doors at both ends.
It was late coffee time as we came up through Barford Lock with the old bridge in sight. We had made slightly faster progress than scheduled so we opted to come into the Visitor Mooring by the bridge for a short break. An information board about the history of the bridge included a snippet that when an earlier more modest bridge was opened in 1427, it attracted so much traffic that the burgesses of Bedford complained that it was putting them out of business! The present 17 arched structure is the result of several re-development projects of the intervening centuries.
Another narrowboat arrived and moored - Christine quickly discovered that they too had stayed in Droitwich marina over winter - but as they were on the opposite side from us, we did not see them then. They have just come up from the sea, having crossed the Wash. They did it once before when it was flat calm but this year it was rather more exciting. There is a group of boats who made the same crossing recently and who are fast making their way up the Great Ouse, but this boat organised it themselves.
Time now to re-trace our steps. It is rare that we do not see something we missed coming the other way. At Roxton Lock we looked better at this feature - a plaque and some stones which, it seems, were preserved from the previous lock and weir when it was re-built in 1972. Both here and at Great Barford there was considerable damage in unusually severe floods.
We also noted the C & F inscription we noted yesterday.
Also, on the older Great North Road Bridge we saw this inscription which reads, "J Savage Architect 1820 Johnson & Son Builders"
As we entered Eaton Socon lock we saw the same C & F inscription in an old stone set into the modern brickwork when the lock we re-built.
Coming up we missed taking a photo of the Old Mill which is now a pub and restaurant. There has been a mill here since before the Domesday Book but this building dates from 1847. The last family running a milling business here were the Addington family. A much larger building alongside St Neots railway station was the main base for Jordan and Addington. After various mergers, the name Jordans is still a well-known brand name for cereal bars, flours and cereals. Further down the A1 near Bigglswade is Jordans Mill.
When we reached St Neots we opted for the much pleasanter riverside park moorings. This land was long ago gifted to the people of St Neots for their open air enjoyment.
We walked across the bridge to the shops and took time out to visit the parish church.
An earlier clock mechanism which has long since been replaced.
Just for balance we took photos of two long-established nonconformist churches as well.
Christine is trying to make contact with a cousin whom she has not seen for a very long time - Judith was one of hr bridesmaids and that really is a long time ago! Christmas letters have been regularly exchanged so we knew that Judith still lives in St Neots or nearby. Some detective work led to an email and then a phone call - they may be able to meet up when Mike is on York. At least it was established that she now attends this Baptist church as the one she was long associated with has closed.
It was gone half past four by the time we wended our way back to the boat. It would be nearly 90 minutes before the next overnight mooring where we stopped for lunch yesterday. We know that it is a rather short mooring and if it happened to be full the next mooring is beyond where we are aiming. Unsurprisingly we took the easy option of staying here for the night. It is only a couple of hours to Buckden Marina.
14.9 Miles - 5 Locks
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