Sunday 24 June 2012

Even with all the recent rain, we have recorded 30 mm in the last week it seems its not enough for some people and they were busy irrigating a field just south of Ely.

Last nights moorings wee not the most peaceful of spots with two of the resident geese shouting at each other until well into the early hours, then a little after 5 am it was people walking by talking loudly.
Whilst walking the dog in the rain we saw the two Type 47 engines pulling the Pullman type carriages back through Eye after their trip to Settle yesterday. We decided to top up with water again as we don’t know when we will find another tap, said goodbye to Matilda Rose who’s engine was in bits and Yarwood before heading south again. A quick wave to Noproblem as we passed and away.
Looking back at the Cathedral the sky looked very unfriendly, even so we didn’t have any more rain all the time we were moving.
At Little Thetford we were waved down by the Fire Brigade who had just retrieved a calf from the river. I am not sure what they were trying to do as we passed as they had poles like shepherds crooks and were poking the straps around with them.

The Great Crested Grebe looks to have had a  good breeding season in these pasts as we have seen lots of youngsters and the parents taking them small fish.

 

At Popes Corner we turned left into the River Cam where in one of the flashes I was able to photograph a White Egret landing in the water. Lots of people, especially those who have fish in a pond at home believe that Heron will only land on land and walk into the water, this is not true, they will happily land in shallow water.

Last time we were this way I contacted the EA to tell them there were two trees down half way across the river, as you can see they have done nothing about them.

When we arrived at The Five Miles from Anywhere all there moorings were full so we left the cam via Reach Lode Lock on to Reach Lode. This is an automatic lock with a difference.You operate it manually with a guillotine gate at each end, but 15 minutes after you  leave it the upstream gate drops and the down stream one opens to just above water level. it then operates as an automatic flood control device. We where going to moor on the visitor moorings at the end of the long term moorings but needles to say there was a boat right in the middle, so we turned up Wicken Lode and are now moored on the GOBA moorings right in the middle of Wicken Fen Nature reserve. There was one other boat here when we arrived but the moorings are long enough for 3 Narrowboats or several cruisers. We arrived at about 3 30 pm and walked to the visitor centre where we supported them by drinking coffee and eating cakes.

Saturday 23 June 2012

It seams my technical knowledge of rolling stock is not up to scratch when I said the Pullman coachers were moored/parked in Ely. I have been informed by Bob that they are a Statesman Rail set of Mk2 coaches in Pullman garb. They will have been stabled there not moored and its likely that by the time you read this they will be in Carlisle or Settle having done the West Coast run from Cambridge behind a Class 47. Thanks Bob.

This morning the wind was still blowing, I think it failed to read the forecast last nigh but the sun was out. After taking the dog for a walk we made our selves ready to try and photograph the Titfield Thunderbolt but needless to say it was late and when it did come it was traveling faster than I anticipated, I got a shot as it approached, but it had crossed the bridge before I could readjust the camera, however Diana managed to get one from further back.

Once it was away we set off, winded and headed towards Ely, as we passed the moorings at Popes Corner Diana spotted a rather unusual caravan.

Back on the Gt Ouse and it was just 4 miles back to Ely, we moored by the road bridge an visited, you’ve guessed it. Tesco for some beer and food. We stayed on the moorings for lunch and then went to the other end of town to fill with water. We had spotted a nice little spot right by where the trip boat operates from to moor as the quay is lower there, but first we had to turn, so I went a bit further down stream and waited for a cruiser to pass, but he actually turned behind us and moored right in the spot we had our eye on, so we have had to moor behind him where the quay is higher. This means giving Magic a leg up to get off the boat, it also meant we had to sweep and scrape up the goose droppings so as not to walk them into the boat. It wasn’t long before we bumped into first the crew of Avalon and then the crews of Matilda Rose and Yarwood who we had to help drink beer in The Cutter Inn.

Friday 22 June 2012

Last night diner was taken at Judes Ferry Inn and it  was slightly unusual, we has a Hungarian dish, I don’t know the name of it but it was a layer of rice, followed by a layer of pork mince, followed by a layer of cabbage, this was then repeated and topped with a topping similar to that used on Mossaka. It was made in a large tin and we had a piece about 4 inches cube. It was served with sour cream and bread. To go with it I had a pint of Elgood’s Olympic bitter that had the smell of raspberry Opal Fruits.

The weather overnight to put it mildly was rough with high winds and rain, most of the heavy rain had cleared by this morning but the showers were to last all day, as did the fresh breeze.
We were away a little after 10, dropping back from the moorings and putting our stern into the long slipway channel and letting the flow take the bows round. Just as we were casting of a chap walked down to the mooring who had arrived in a van completely covered in vinyl decoration with Made of Fibre written on the side. It wasn’t until he passed comment about the use of a bow thruster being cheating I realised he was a boater.
We set off down stream passing the steel cruiser looking forlorn on the bank.

Not far past this as we approached Horseferry Lodge there was a huge rose bush or bushes on the bank with several colours of flowers on it.

Next was Isleham Lock, the guillotine was open so we could motor straight in, there was less weed than yesterday and the boat on the lock mooring had gone but there were several reflective jackets with lifejackets wandering around the lock.

I had a word with the one from the EA as there is a sunken boat a short way below the lock, its been there for some time, but recently the EA have buoyed it off, but the buoys have disappeared. It wasn’t long before we noticed that the water level was down by about 6” from yesterday, so I expect the EA getting ready for extra water from the Cam catchment area. We continued through Prickwillow towards the Gt Ouse when we decided that we would stop at the Toms Hole Farm EA moorings for lunch and maybe even the rest of the day. As we approached we saw a Narrowboat, at first we thought he was on the mooring but then we could see he was coming towards us. As we passed it was the same chap that we had been speaking to at Judes Ferry when we left this morning and his entire boat was covered in vinyl decoration the same as his van, it was Made of Fibre. There are pictures of the boat and what they do on their web site at www.maidoffibre.com
We pulled over for lunch and when the weather improved, i.e.. it stopped raining we push off again. Out into the Gt. Ouse turning left for Ely. The weather behind us looked quite grim, but ahead was brighter. We passed an inlet on our right just before the waterway maintenance yard that leads to a nature reserve, the bay is full of water lilies with just a small channel connecting to the river.
In Ely we stopped for a chat with Graham on his boat before continuing on to the Old West. Leaving town passed the railway station I spotted all these Pullman Coaches, tomorrow Ely is due a visit from a steam train, the Titfield Thunderbolt both in the morning and the evening so I don’t know if that has any bearing on their presence. You can see the time table here.

A little  further upstream I had to blow the horn at a pair of rowers coming towards me. I had already met one boat who came round the bend nicely in the middle of the river but the second boat was running wider and wider. the first boat shouted at them but the wind just took his voice away so a quick blast of the horn made them tighten their line. It was just after this that a Grebe  surfaced with a small fish in its beak calling its family surprisingly loudly.

We rounded Popes Corner into The Old West river and passed under the railway bridge, the first lot of moorings were full but a cruiser we had met almost in the bridge had left the second lot, so we were able to get in there for the night.
The reason for making the effort to get her is to see the Titfield Thunderbolt cross the river in the morning on her way to Ely from Cambridge.

Thursday 21 June 2012

Yesterday afternoon and evening the weather just got better and better. When we took Magic out we walked down the far side of the river and Diana took a couple of photos looking to the west.

 

As forecast it started to throw it down with rain during the night and by 10 o’clock when it started to clear we had had over 5mm again. After taking the dog out we pulled up tight behind the Wilderness boat to top up with water and set off to a very overcast day at 10-30 am.
We soon passed the spot where we had winded last time we visited Prickwillow and the camera didn’t work, so this is the spot we winded in.
It is easy to see how sometimes a Heron can be mistaken for a Hawk. Remember Shakespeare said “can’t tell his hawk from his harnser”. 

We only saw one other boat on the move, but at Isleham Lock there was a Narrowboat moored on the lock moorings that looks as if its there for a repaint. Looking back down steam the old wind mill and willow tree looked quite attractive beside the river.
The boat on the lock moorings didn’t cause us a problem, but had I been single handing it would have been a different story.
Isleham Lock was full of weed, the top gate is left open and it has all just drifted down the river and then blown into the lock.

We continued on passed a well decorated hut called Horseferry Lodge which still had all it union flags out. 

Soon after this we passed a field that not only had a shed in it but also a steel cruiser and a small heard of horses with foals. We could see at least three youngsters.
The next thin was Judes Ferry Inn with two EA weedcutters moored in the old ferry cut and the weed harvester on the best bit of moorings.

We continued passed them and the sign that says end of navigation to see how far we could get upstream, and the answer was not far. we probably didn’t do mush more than 150Mts. before running out of water due to the shallowness of the river. So we backed downstream in quite a flow to moor up against the pub landing stage. This landing stage is not very Narrowboat friendly, it has a large overhang about half way up the cabin side. We found a bulge in the piling that came out a bit further than the rest and floated a wheel there to put the front end against. I pushed the boat pole into the mud and against the staging at the back to stop us running underneath it so preventing the paint from being scraped off the cabin sides.

Once safely moored we took a walk to speak to the Landlord and explore upstream with the dog. My heart lifted when I saw a notice on the gate post "£2 30 per pint. when Di opened it out fully it was not for beer, but maggots. We only walked to the point we had manage to cruise to and as you can see the water  is only about 18” deep all the way across the river.

I did take a photo looking back and you can see just how far we didn’t manage to get passed the bridge and official end of navigation. Such a shame that EA don’t maintain this section if only for flood elevation.

Today has been a day of aircraft, I am sure those of you that know more about it than me will know what they are.

A refuelling plane, I don’t know if they declare their own split or just go 40/60

This one was throwing a nice vortex from just one wingtip.

This cap came in quite quietly compared to the others.

Wednesday 20 June 2012

When I looked out of the engine room doors this morning the sight that greeted me was out of this world. The river was as smooth as a mirror but here were no reflection, the surface was completely covered with white petals and tree seeds. Before I could go and get my camera an EA patrol launch came through and spoilt it all.
After a while it all calmed down again but the cover was gone  leaving wonderful reflections.

A little further on we did pass the remains of the white cover on one of the bends, but it was not a patch on what it had been earlier.

We set off at twenty past ten at a very sedate rate as we planned to stop at Prickwillow for the night and we wanted to get at least 3 hours cruising in. We saw more boats around today than we have seen all week and it took us just two hours to reach the mouth of the river Lark.
As we turned into the Lark a cruiser coming down stream turned in behind us.so I pulled well over to let him pass, needless to say when we reached Prickwillow he was moored right where we wanted to be and like most cruisers, there were 4 moored in Prickwillow, they all scurried off home at about 4 pm.
Now a moan, cruisers complain that us Narrowboats take up a lot of mooring space. In these parts the EA have put in some very nice visitor mooring, all with mooring posts, they keep the grass well cut and are a pleasure to use. Today every cruiser we have seen has been moored using the second mooring post from the end and in one case two cruisers were moored each end of a mooring, both one post in so as not to leave room for a third boat in the middle and they say we are inconsiderate.
Coming up the Lark I saw another Cuckoo flying by and then we saw a very large bird of pray, I think it may have been a Harrier but it was too far off to be sure, then as we rounded a slight bend it jumped up and flew off with something in its talons, again taking us by surprise but I did manage a photograph of it.

We arrived at Prickwillow to find a cruiser moored on the first moorings as described above, but we planned to use the second lot of moorings on the left. There we found 2 cruisers moored as described above so we backed up to the first, going right back against the stern of the cruised to leave the water point free. Before I had stopped the engine after mooring the said cruised had filled us with petrol fumes and left, so I went back to the end of the moorings, which was just as well as we were later joined by yet another cruiser. We moored at 1 pm. and all the cruisers mentioned above departed by 5 pm. A little after 6 pm a Wilderness Beaver turned up and moored ahead of us called “Five” The lady had owned it for 35 years from new and still enjoys her time on it.

Since we have been moored up I have treated yet more rust, this time on the cabin side as well as the roof.
We have also fitted smoked film to the glass in the pigeon box to reduce the heat of the sun coming in.

Tuesday 19 June 2012

Last night as expected was quite a disturbed night with the heavy lorries trundling over the adjacent road bridge all night that is the start of the Stoke Ferry bypass.

This morning was like summer, the sun was shining and the breeze light. We slipped our moorings at quarter past ten and made our way upstream, normally we would wind at the junction about a quarter of a mile above the caravan site, but today we were going to continue up as far as we could, passing an old dilapidated pumping station.

The rive was surprisingly clear of weed and deep, I took it very slowly as I didn’t know what to expect, the first half mile or so was easy with cows grazing the flood meadows, but then it started to get a bit more twisty. We passed a spot that I thought we may be able to wind in to come back down where a narrow channel joined the river on our right.
By now some of the bends were getting a bit tight with one of them being greater than 90° and with my slow speed and the flow against us it wasn’t easy to always get the bow round in one.  I wouldn’t want to try to get much over a 60 foot boat up here. Eventually we came to the trees and after the second bend on the tree lined section our adventure came to an end, thanks to a tree down right across the river.
There was only one thing to do and that was to retrace our steps backwards to the spot I had earmarked to wind. It was quite easy going back as not only did I know what to expect but the flow helped the bow to swing out round the bends. When we reached the channel I dropped past and put the bows in, but unfortunately it was too shallow, I needed to be able to get in at least another 18” to get the stern round, so we did the whole mile and a third backwards, past the old pump house to wind in the wide junction where we normally turn.
Between the junction and the Caravan Site there are several private houses, some with their own moorings mainly laid to grass but this one had a vegetable garden and had Meercats on the top of the canes as well as a few CD to keep the birds away.
Passing last night moorings the round trip had taken us exactly 2 hours. We headed down stream under the flood gate and round the red marker buoys for whatever that are doing  for the River Dove. I do hope they never want to lower this in a hurry as it looks as if there are a pair of supports bolted to the frame beneath the actual gate.

It may be possible to moor upstream of the Sugar beet factory  where the river is quite wide on the left hand bank, I couldn’t see any “No Mooring” signs like in the lake section that is obviously controlled by British Sugar.

We considered stopping at Hilgay for the night  and visiting the pub there for a meal, but decided that due to their conflicting information and erratic opening hours to push on to The Ship at Brandon Creek.
We re-joined the Gt.Ouse and turned left towards Brandon Creek, on the right bank as well as several fishermen there was a gaggle of 20 geese on the top of the bank/road and each car or van that came along the road had to stop for them. We pulled over and filled with water on the EA moorings by Hilgay Toll Bridge, is is a handy point because it is also a BT Hotspot, so I was able to update the map and download my emails while we filled up with water. Once full we carried on to The Ship arriving about 4 30 pm.