Shown on map as 12 foot wide. Matilda is 12 foot too. We had done a “recce” early last year to check if we could pass under this bridge and Tony was optomistic.
Scraping the side
Made it but a few scrapes!
This one was even worse!
Cruising Adventures
Weedon Bec proved very interesting once away from major roads. We visited the Royal Ordnance Depot where the old buildings are now used for a variety of businessess from car repairs, antiques and antiquarian books! It began in 1803 with an Act of Parliament to purchase 53 acres of land.
It was laid out with a canal running along the centre with buildings either side
The old fire engine
Road tunnel below the canal and steps down from the canal
The village information point
Church and interesting notice
Braunston tunnel took 33 minutes
and to Braunston and its brilliant butchers!
The marina and Gongoozler floating cafe and windmill
One of several large and beautiful marinas
In the porch of the Boat Inn was this little stall.
And so on towards Stockton locks and Blue Lias Bridge which at 12 feet wide and very low had been giving me nightmares for days!
The entrance to Stowe Hill Marina is quite a tight turn followed by a dirt road with bends. Unfortunately the Stowe Hill crane can not lift Matilda who is 32 tonnes so Tuckeys, who provided the road transport, also provided a 97 tonne crane. This is a real marvel and cost three quarters of a million GBP. It is linked to the manufacturers HQ in Germany so its every movement can be monitored!
The canal access is very limited between the Stowe Hill crane and the next door workshop and Matilda needed to be turned for the journey to Leamington Spa. The crane driver and the crew were so skilled and made it look effortless. No wonder Tuckeys have a reputation of being the best!
Crane and lorry due at 12.30pm. The sequence of events follows.
No, We didn’t meet the man with seven wives!
On our recce in March we had actually measured the width of this lock to determine if it was wide enough for Matilda and it was! However what we hadn’t bargained for was the little kink in the entry to the lock and Matilda got herself stuck – diagonal corners just under the guillotine and unable to reverse! What to do?
Happily a lovely couple and another guy helped by taking ropes and tugging whilst I let water into the lock and so she became free. But what to do next? No moorings.
The couple kindly rang the owner of Jones Boatyard explained our predicament and we were able to moor for the night. Thank you to them and everyone who helped.
Jones Boatyard Marina is to be highly recommended and has excellent, and I mean really excellent, facilities. It’s easy to see why its always full and why they are developing a new marina
So Monday morning we were able to visit Tony’s relative Sheila as planned. We had a lovely visit and Tony was happy to be able to catch up with and swap family news and add to the famly tree.
St Ives itself is a lovely little market town and well worth a visit. It has a traditional market on Mondays and Fridays..
The river has boat moored for a considerable length with no apparent visitor mooring so we hoped that the visitor mooring at Jesus Lock would have a space long enough for Matilda otherwise it would be turn around and retrace our steps. Luck was on our side and there was one spot left!
An easy walk across Jesus Green to the town centre
We went to choral evensong at Kings College Quite an experinece sitting in the choir stalls next to the choir of some 16 young men.
Punting and rowers
Boathouses line the river towards Jesus Lock. By looking at the colours on the oars you can identify which college is out practising. The coach is either running or cycling alongside.
An excellent wisteria adorns one of the colleges
We climbed the castle mound for the view
An intriguing clock – the blue flashes indicate the hour minute and second
A little culture at the Fitzwilliam and Museum of Cambridge
My favourite item in the Museum of Cambridge:
Mooring is only allowed for 48 hours with no return for 14 days so our visit came to and end
We came across this novel idea. Instead of a normal pontoon along the bank this one was built out to fit exactly around the stern of the boat making a huge seating area.
Welcome to Ely
Riverside moorings complete with swans nest
We visited Oliver Cromwells house Note the interesting statistics
Saturday was the start of the three day Eel Festival (food and drink) with procession through the town and stall on the park
Frivolous and serious
Town crier
Local tuktuk – a bit smarter than those I used in Calcutta!
So, out to sea…
Consulting the charts
And here is the Satnav. It shows a car in the middle of the sea!
Patrol boat and Pilot boat passing by
Channel into Kings LynnChannel marker buoy
Passed by Kings Lynn and arrived at Denver sluice at 5.00pm
Said Goodbye to Daryl at Denver sluice. Contact him on 07909 880071if you want to make this crossing.
After a meal at the Jenyns Arms and a brief sunset stroll it was off to bed for a well earned rest after an exciting and exhausting day!
Thank you John for your welcome muscle and Hilary for the photographs.
A once in a lifetime experience.