We are now in Peterborough which we were supposed to get to yesterday but the wind was so horrible that when we got through the lock at Whittlesey we moored up at some very convenient moorings there, next to the leisure centre and playing fields.
As it turned out it was just as well because we took a walk up the river to see what was ahead and there were two right-angled bends - the second of which being through a bridge with lots of concrete at the base and narrowing to a ridiculous widtth! If we had gone through with the bikes on the back (they weren't on the roof because of the very low bridges) they would have been totally mangled. So bikes went back on the roof and we settled down for a quiet evening.
We decided that if the wind were still bad we would wait another day on the moorings as John didn't think we would get round the corners with the wind against us. We had already lost one slot getting through the lock at Stanground that would take us onto the Nene and was thankfully attended because of the fact it's a sluice as well, and tentatively booked a slot at midday with the proviso that if it was windy we would put it off until Sunday.
After a night of wondering how we were going to get around the bend - despite the book saying that a 70' boat had negotiated it in the past - we wpke to calm and after a quick walk with Paddy to check we decided to make a run for it and rang the lock-keeper AGAIN to say that we were going to be early!
The bends were a piece of cake and we got around them fairly easily and then once we had done it the wind started again so we breathed a sigh of relief and continued our journey!
All the swans are now nesting and we are seeing lots of them - Paddy barks at each and every one of them!
This is the empty lock at Stanground - a lovely young lady lock-keeper who is apparently the 3rd generation in the family at the lock saw us through safely.
This was the lock just before we left - quite a difference - and then we were on the Nene!
This is the Cathedral from our window! We went and had a look around it and it's a stunning building. Not going to be a quite mooring here, unlike last night - there appears to be a fair just behind us across the river! Mind you the good news is that there is a free pump-out here, plus water and somewhere to dump our rubbish so we are happy boaters. It doesn't take much really.
An early start and on to fight the locks!
No comments:
Post a Comment