Today's Navigation : River Great Ouse
We travelled up yesterday, making good time despite having to make a diversion near Hungerford as there has been a serious road accident earlier in the morning. Even though the recommended diversion (by a police officer on duty at the stoppage point) was a narrow, twisty lane we did not lose a lot of time.
A comfort stop at the services just off the M40 as we turned to take a cross country route towards Huntingdon also allowed us to top up the battery. We ate our lunch rolls whilst waiting for the charger. It was labelled a Medium Rate but nevertheless seemed remarkably fast. We arrived at the marina not long after 2.
As this is a comparatively short trip we did not have too much to transfer from the car - just two and a half trolley loads. After a refreshing mug of tea we drove into Huntingdon for grocery supplies. Our list was not complicated so we were able to find it all at Lidl. In the end, the complex traffic scheme in the town meant that it was as far as Sainsbury where Mike went at the end of the last trip.
We were ready to make an early departure from the marina were it not for the fact that Mike forgot to fill the water tank as soon as he was dressed and we also had to find someone in the office so that we could hand in our security fob. We had hoped to fill up the diesel tank - we were down to half full - but their pump was broken. We were able then to leave by 10:30.
The entrance/exit channel between the river and the marina is unusually long and passes some of the smart lodges that are a feature of this place.The service pontoon is located on the river itself, seemingly a long way from the marina entrance but that is deceptive as both river and channel bend around.
The weather was generally much cooler today although initially there was plenty of sun and blue sky. Later rain clouds arrived on schedule but only an extended light shower made any attempt to alleviate the drought conditions. (Before we left this morning we discovered that the Nene is currently closed in a couple of places, including Peterborough but hopefully that will recover in time for our next trip. The Northampton Arm is an altogether different matter)
Very soon we arrived at Offord Lock which was empty and waiting for us. There is a busy road just below the lock so the landing is well back from the lock itself. Another boat arrived just as we were ready to open the top guillotine and kindly worked us through.
The next reach is quite long - about four and a half miles. Just after leaving Offord lock we faced a split in the water channel with no indicate to go right or left. After a lengthy study of several maps we went right and were relieved that we had made the right choice as we were on the brink of going the other way which eventually leads to a substantial weir on the river parallel to the lock channel.
There are few landmarks along the reach and at times it was rather tricky to correlate our position with the map. We made a note of this wind pump for future reference even though it is not on any of our maps!
St Neots lock is different from most others so far on this navigation with the guillotine gate at the bottom. With Christine already having brought the boat into the lock, Mike tried and tried to open the gate control box but to no avail. Eventually a cruiser came up behind us. Although it was a wide bean the lock is very long and easily fitted behind us. Just as the steerer on that boat was climbing up to try his key, Mike finally succeeded - but don't ask him how! It must require a good thump in just the right position . . .
The lock took ages to fill, it seemed that only one paddle was working (both mechanisms are on the same lock side) In addition the other boat was extremely cautious and wound up the one paddle very slowly! Altogether we were at the lock for over 40 minutes.
Just above the lock the main weir channel appears to be straight ahead when coming downstream - the route for boats is the narrower channel to the left.We must try to embed this photo into our collective minds ready for the return trip. (Unlike last time . . .)
It was now a short distance to the centre of St Neots where we planned to moor for the night. Alas, the place that we were aiming for, and where we stayed eight years ago, was already full - it seemed a lot shorter than we remembered but that might be the result of unrestricted bank erosion. Another good long mooring on the opposite bank is closed during building works adjacent to the water's edge.
There is a space for just two boats immediately after the road bridge - fortunately one of them was still available. The other, a very friendly boat, is from just outside Cropredy where we are (were?) aiming for this winter. Like us they are heading down to Bedford and also like us have no clue about whether we will make it back to base before it is too cold to continue cruising.
6.3 Miles - 2 Locks
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