We had to drop our anchor ...

… and it did NOT hold.  But I'll start at the beginning of this exciting day.

My alarm went off at 0459 so I would be sure of a 0600 getaway.  This was the time suggested by others in our little convoy; I had wanted a later start so we would meet the tide further up the river, but I went along with the prevailing opinion.  It later transpired that the later start might have been better, but that's water under the bridge (literally).

At 0620 we passed under the road bridge marking the start of the New Bedford River or One Hundred Foot Drain.

There were six boats in our convoy: two in front ...

and three behind.

Everything was going well. I had cranked up our revs to about 1400 rpm (300 more than our usual cruising speed) and we were making about 5 mph.

Until, that is, we entered a narrow section.

Our speed reduced and the boats were churning up the mud. The engine must have been labouring because the over-temperature alarm went off. We reduced speed and opened the hot taps to drain off some of the heat. After a couple of minutes the alarm stopped and we gingerly increased speed again. This happened two or three times.

Around the same time we met the incoming tide, bringing with it lots of weed.

Our speed dropped even more until we stopped making any forward progress.

When we started going backwards we struggled against the tide for five minutes before I decided it would be sensible to drop the anchor so we would stop going backwards. We could also cut the engine and let it cool down.

So I lowered the anchor over the side and into the water. This was the first time it would be tested. As soon as the anchor touched the bottom it pulled hard on the chain and the warp (the nylon rope) connected to it. I was not expecting the force of the pull; consequently the warp tangled and formed a knot shortening it by a few feet. The end was (of course) already attached to the T stud on the boat, and everything immediately went taut.

What really surprised me was the realisation that the anchor - a really heavy one - was dragging along the bottom. Who knew? I thought the whole point of an anchor was to secure the boat in an emergency, but this was not working. It did, at least, considerably slow our backward progress, so we switched off the engine and suggested to Bob on Bimble, who was also going backwards, that he tie up to us. This he did, and he dropped his own anchor.

We were still going backwards but after a while we stopped moving. The anchors must have just been sliding along the mud until the flow lessened.  I estimate the flow was about 6 mph at its peak.

I made coffee and had a look down the weed hatch. There was a considerable amount of weed round the prop and the top of the rudder.

After about 45 minutes we thought we should try to get going again, so I pulled Bob, who was single handing, forward on his centre line so he could weigh his anchor. Then he was off.

We motored forward and I pulled up our anchor. It came up easily, which was a relief. Then we got under way and were surprised that we were very soon able to make 5 mph at about 1200 rpm. The tide had evidently turned quickly. I phoned the lock keeper at Salter's Lode again when we were approaching Denver (we had phoned him when we were stuck). We had seen Bimble ahead of us reverse onto the pontoon by Denver Lock; Paul at Salters Lode said we could come straight to his lock. So we kept going and turned into the lock entrance as a boat in front was just going into the lock.

I won't go into details about any perceived queue jumping. We continued on the Middle Level to March, where, at gone 1830, we tied up against a friendly hire boat.

The end of a long, interesting day!  Oh yes, if we'd left Earith later we would have met the tide when it had come further along the drain.  Then it would have had less effect and we might have been able to push against it.

Preparing for tomorrow's tidal journey

I was ready with the camera for the view of the church as we left our mooring at Hemingford Grey this morning.

We had plenty of time today as we only had to get to Earith, about four hours' cruise. We decided to stop, therefore, at St Ives on the way. As we approached we had this sight of the town over the flood plain. I don't think the sky was really as dark as this - I must have misadjusted the camera.

We turned into the backwater at St Ives for water, then winded at the marked turning point before tying up for coffee. We got round all right, but anything much more than our 55 feet would have had problems.  Coffee turned into lunch after some shopping in the town.

The reach below St Ives Lock was very rural, as most of the river is, and we saw two or three kingfishers. This one obligingly stayed in place on a branch as we went by; this blurred effort was the best photo I could get.

I'm sure these heiffers (if that's what they are) were in the same place when we came upstream a couple of weeks ago.

Having descended Brownshill Lock with another (50') narrowboat we soon arrived at Earith and the 48 hour moorings at Westview Marina. I had previously noted the existence of a curry house/pub combo in the village so I walked up to check it was open. Having done that, and obtained a menu, I came back and organised a drinks party on the pontoon for the five boats including us who are going down the New Bedford River tomorrow. The crews of two of the boats didn't join us so here are Marjorie (nb Constable), Jan, Dave (nb Constable), Stephen and Gwyneth (both nb Chyandour).

Drinks over, we all went to the Crown as previously recce'd and enjoyed a decent curry.

Tomorrow we all have an early start as we need to be at Salters Lode Lock around the time of high tide there, which is 1030. Salters Lode is more than 20 miles downstream, so Stephen has calculated we need to leave here at 0600to be sure of being able to pass through Salters Lode on the level, i.e. with the gates open at each end of the lock. I think 0600 is too early, not because I want a lie-in, but because I don't want to meet the incoming tide too late in the journey when the flow will be large. We are always one of the slowest boats on the river as I don't feel the need to push the engine too hard, so I am expecting to drop behind the convoy. We will see what happens. I am looking forward to the excitement, despite people's dire warnings about the boredom of mile after mile of dead straight river with banks too high to see anything beyond.

Watch this space tomorrow to find out how we got on. Now I have to tear myself away from Bach's Well Tempered Clavier Book 2 which is tonight's Prom concert and get some sleep.

Three into one does go

We got to St Neots Lock exactly at 0930, our booked time there, and found EA staff opening the lock for us to go straight in. A good start. At subsequent locks, though, we found other boats in front, but with no great delays.

Steaming towards us on one reach was this, er, steamer.

At lunchtime we stopped just downstream of the old bridge at Huntingdon, the same mooring we used on our way upstream a couple of weeks ago. After a light meal we walked into Huntingdon and found it a pleasant place. Much of the High Street is pedestrianised. The Falcon coaching inn has an inviting presence …

… and an aeroplane seems to have missed the runway.

We called in to Hartford Marina for diesel, not having had any telephone response from Westview Marina where I had originally planned to fill up.

At Houghton Lock we caught up with nb Annie and Walt and waited for a couple of boats to go down. Just before the lock was ready for us to go in another narrowboat arrived, so we shuffled across to the "D" part of the lock and waved them in.

The photo proves that three narrowboats (two at 55' and one at 58') can fit into this lock.

Not much further on we stopped at Hemingford Grey where we tied up on the visitor moorings. While Jan was finishing cooking the tea I walked into the village, which has a good number of interesting old houses.

The church was open so I had a quick look round before returning to the boat. After tea we both walked round the village and the church - still open for a music group rehearsal. Then my cousin Victoria and her husband David met us at the boat before we went to the Cock pub for a drink. It was good to see them again, especially as I'd given them almost zero notice of our impending arrival in their area.

Now the exertions of the festival are beginning to take their toll and I must to bed.

Wet day at St Neots IWA Festival ends with a bang

No post yesterday for technical reasons, sorry. What did happen yesterday? Ah yes. There were several unexpected heavy showers of rain and one of hail. Still, there seemed to be good numbers of people around for the first day of the IWA Festival of Water at St Neots, Cambridgeshire, on the River Great Ouse. I helped out on the rope throwing activity as I did last year at Ilkeston. I also did a couple of stints serving behind the bar.

Today rain was forecast and it certainly came - on a strongish breeze. This drove the crowds away, together with most of the stall holders. I watched the F1 Grand Prix on board, returning to the festival site at 1600 to find it almost deserted save for the entertainments marquee.

This evening we went for a curry with David and Mary at the Nawab Lounge, enjoying their superb value "banquet night" meal for £12.95 each. (Starter, main, side and rice/naan.) The food was very good but the service was a bit slow. We were wanting to see the illuminated boat procession and time was running short. Fortunately we finished just in time to see the boats, some of which had been festooned with hundreds of lights.

This was one of the best.

Crowds of people looked on from the bridge as the boats winded just below it. Other boats sounded their horns and klaxons.

With precision timing, as soon as the procession was over the firework show began.

The blustery weather had been easing off during the evening; by the time of the procession the rain had stopped and the wind had died down, leading to perfect viewing conditions. The forecast tomorrow is dry, so perhaps the crowds will return.

Testing the depth of the river

David and Mary joined us on Jubilee today to stay for the festival. This is one of the few IWA festivals they have attended without Kew. David being David, he dived straight in.

As he demonstrated, the River Great Ouse is not very deep here, even in the middle of the channel.

A vehicle familiar to me from my work days, a satellite truck, appeared on site near our boat in the afternoon. There was to be a live transmission as part of Look East. I didn't know the reporter, who had joined after I left, but it was good to see Steve Hubbard, the cameraman, again. There were two interviews as part of the live: one with someone from the IWA and the second with Alison Smedley. Alison talked about their historic boat Sandbach, but from inside a modern boat. Unfortunately no pictures of Sandbach were floated over the interview, so viewers would have been given a bit of a wrong impression. Oh well. It was three minutes of publicity for the IWA and St Neots Festival of Water.

In the evening we took part in the traditional quiz, compered as always by Martin Ludgate.

We came third equal out of about 20 teams, not a bad result.

Getting ready to get ready for the festival

This morning we travelled the short distance to the water point just downstream of St Neots Bridge and topped up, then we tied up third boat out at the IWA festival moorings (moving Paws 4 Thought to our outside as they are moving off tomorrow). Yes, we're early, but we shall be helping set up from Tuesday. Meanwhile we have now come home for a couple of days.

A blog post is not complete without a photo or two, so here are two from our walk at Great Barford the other day.

This flock of geese wouldn't fly into the sunset, so the sky behind is rather dull.

That's all for now.

Return to St Neots

I managed to get a better photo of the entrance to the abandoned River Ivel Navigation as we made our way downstream from Great Barford to St Neots.

The bridge has a No Entry sign, but I guess kayaks etc. would ignore that and be able to explore at will. Larger craft would be stopped anyway by the shallowness (in current conditions).

Surprisingly - well, it surprised me - that was the only photo I took today. So here's one I took yesterday as we passed Barford Old Mill Lock. I believe this is the abandoned lock chamber.

We tied up on the 24 hour mooring under a footbridge just south of St Neots Bridge. The footbridge is very noisy when people cycle or scoot over it. The bridge deck is a steel arch - it sounds like thunder. I cycled against a stiff breeze back to Great Barford for the car; when I got back we moved the boat to a space which had appeared opposite. We are now slightly further from the bridge so should not be disturbed too much.

A Danish camp on the Great Ouse

We delayed leaving Bedford until the rain stopped this morning, getting going at about 1030. The rain didn't return, giving us a fine trip to Great Barford. At Cardington Lock EA staff were installing security cameras in an attempt to counter recent vandalism there. More immediately useful to boaters is the presence of an Elsan point which doesn't appear on every (any?) waterways guide.

It's actually in a car park near the lock. I have sent Paul Balmer the details so he can add it to his Waterway Routes maps. These essential facilities are in short supply upstream of Ely. As far as I can tell this is the only free one; the others are at boatyards which, I assume, charge for their use. And Cardington Lock is something like 21 hours from Ely.

Update:  Simon comments that this Elsan point is intended for use by campervans at Priory Park, not by boaters; Paul has made the same observation.  I was merely passing on a tip from another boater.  You'll have to try to forget that I told you.

At Willington we passed the "Danish Camp", an attractive-looking place with an outside bar and wooden buildings. I cycled past it later, on the dismantled Oxford-Cambridge railway line, and saw that it does cycle hire and food.

In the evening we went for a walk, south along the west bank, crossing the river at the site of Barford Old Mill Lock and returning along the old railway line. Shortly after starting I took this shot of Barford Bridge.

We shall move on to St Neots tomorrow.

(updated to include disclaimer regarding the Elsan point)

Bedford: Bridges, Bunyan and Boathouses

We decided to explore the "other" end of the waterway above Bedford Town Lock: the eastern end. On the way we passed two fine boathouses, this one still very much in operation, and another all fenced off.

We also passed under a few more bridges: a road bridge first, then two suspension foot bridges. This one was built in 1888 ...

… and the second in 1998.

This looks much more spectacular from the ends, and shows why it is called the "butterfly bridge".

Not far along The Embankment we reached a slightly wider section, marked as a boat turning point, beyond which it got shallow and weedy.

We winded here, dropped through the lock and tied up on a long run of bollards.

Back in the town once more we looked round the John Bunyan Museum and his church, although in his time (mid 1600s) it was called "Bedford Meeting". It wasn't allowed to be called a church as it was independent from the established Church of England.

One of the stained glass windows depicts Bunyan in his prison cell writing The Pilgrim's Progress. He spent 12 years in Bedford Gaol for preaching without a licence. A postcard of this window was famously sent to hostage Terry Waite. It was reputedly the only post Waite received during his incarceration and buoyed him up (along with the BBC World Service).

Later I spotted the John Bunyan trip boat, operated by the Bedford-Milton Keynes Waterway Trust, coming along the same section we covered in the morning.

Which reminds me. We have seen very few powered boats in Bedford. Plenty of rowing boats, kayaks and canoes, but just three other narrowboats, the John Bunyan trip boat and two small cruisers. It's time for us to move on, so tomorrow we shall go down to Great Barford on our way to St Neots.

Canoe polo, or Spot the Ball

Our view from the side hatch in Bedford this evening.

Now we know what the lines strung over the water (and our boat) are for: suspending the goals. We had a knock on the boat as we were eating tea. A man asked if we were aware that canoe polo is played on Tuesday and Wednesday evenings as well as Saturday afternoon (if I remember correctly). We said no; he suggested very nicely that we might like to move the boat along a bit to avoid getting splashed. We complied, as did nb Lordy Lordy who had joined us during the day, and watched a bit of the action.

The ball is easy to spot in my picture, but if someone cleverer than I had painted it out the photo might have made a good Spot the Ball competition. Have those disappeared now? Is it a case of Spot the Spot the Ball? I'm trying to remember where I used to see them. Were they in comics (it does seem a very long time ago)?

The boat stayed put in Bedford today while I had to go to Birmingham in the morning. Jan explored the town; when I got back we both walked round. We went for another walk in the evening, along the branch which extends east above the lock.

As far as we could get up the Great Ouse

We heard from the neighbouring boat at Great Barford that the obstruction above Willington Lock should be removed by 1400, so after lunch we set off. When we got to Willington Lock we found that a boat which had passed us at Great Barford earlier was just exiting the lock, it having been unchained only a few minutes earlier.

Our way was now clear to reach the head of navigation, provided we could get under the low bridges.

Before Castle Mill Lock we passed under another oft-travelled road, the A421.

Of course, driving over the bridge one has no idea it is really a viaduct, and an impressive one.

I shall have to try to get a better shot on the way back.

Castle Mill Lock is the one clearly visible from the A421 and is probably the deepest we encountered on the Great Ouse. The paddle gear, here called penstocks, are positioned half way along the lock side and allow water in and presumably out in the centre too.

On the final approach to Bedford we were surprised by this pyramid.

Having squeezed under the first of several low bridges we entered the last lock of our Great Ouse journey upstream.

The plaque commemorates the restoration of navigation of the Great Ouse in 1978.

Turning left out of the lock we travelled alongside the Embankment and found ourselves in rowing country (not that you can see any rowers in this photo).

But we weren't stopping yet, oh no. We were going as far as we could, which meant Kempston. The river got narrower and shallower … until suddenly the bow rose up as we hit the end of the road for us.

We were able to reverse off easily; we had gone up the right fork.

There was plenty of room for us to wind our 55' boat; we know a 60' boat has done it (because we met it at Cardington Lock) and I reckon a 65' boat might just be able to do so.

Back in Bedford here's one of those low bridges. And some rowers.

We tied up on the EA 48 hour mooring just back from the water point having completed a successful day's cruise.

If only the Bedford-Milton Keynes Waterway were built. Then we could nip back onto the canals in a day. As it is we will have to retrace our route down to Denver, across the Middle Level and up the Nene to Northampton.