Scholar Gypsy

My personal view: 1. Wicken Lode 2. Wissey 3. Little Ouse (you could choose to stop at the siphon at Lakenheath) 4. Lark, though the top half is more interesting. Also the museum at Prickwillow is well worth a visit (check opening hours) 5. Relief channel

That is further than I managed. When I last did this I got stuck at the island a bit further downstream. One side was blocked by trees but looked as though it had a decent depth. The other side had no trees, but lots of shoaling. Looks like someone has got the saw out.

The trip boat (ca 60 x 10) goes up there and may be able to advise. I've been as far as here https://www.streetmap.co.uk/map?x=502642&y=247887&z=115&sv=502642,247887&st=4&ar=y&mapp=map&searchp=ids&dn=703&ax=502642&ay=247887&lm=0

Convenient pump at Buckland, on the main channel just below Offord lock. And the marina in Bedford also has a convenient pump. The Bedford bridges will be fine, as you got under the low bridges on the ML. It's worth going up to Kempston which is a mile or two above the EA's formal head of navigation.

It's worth walking to Aldreth, along the causeway used by Hereward the Wake until he was defeated by William the Conqueror in 1074. My favourite mooring is on the backwater 1/2 mile above Great Barford

Our insurers also required a pilot - mainly for advice on weather, like you I was confident I would not get lost. We had quite a strong NNE wind, hence the dog leg in our course (B to E) to avoid the wind and waves being beam on. Once we turned at point D it all got a lot calmer..

I'm expecting to be heading down the Nene in the second half of August, so this timing works well for me. Here I am 10 days ago, with 31 boats following !

Thanks for that, I was trying to work out why boats were not being allowed through, with the gate sitting on the bed of the river.

And a bit later on Sunday I had some fun going through Kingston and Hampton. In places I reckoned I was keeping an eye on 50 plus people in the water, all having a lovely time.

A good example of measure three times, cut once. It was pretty clear they were reusing the existing abutments.

The new bridge. Photo taken this morning by David L on the way back from SPCC tideway cruise

I think those signs are from the kayak hire company, you padlock your kayak to a designated section of the pontoon at the end of your trip.

NB I think Whiston is still closed. It's a lovely river. This is the most up to date guide to facilities etc https://www.oundlecruisingclub.co.uk/river_nene_moorings.php Referred to in https://goba.org.uk/a-guide-for-visitors-to-the-east/ I prefer going upstream, just go straight into the lock. Some of the landing stages above the lock are quite tricky to stop at, when heading downstream, but easier to stop at when leaving the lock going upstream (eg to pick up your crew) - provided the cross wind is in the right direction!

Thank you. I had a nice chat with James about his noisy engine! Sadly the viewer doesn't get a full demonstration of my rather elaborate rope system when going uphill in wide locks....

No a weekday. I suspect the bulk of the tonnage is further down river ?

Problem fixed. I then discovered the bilge pump wasn't working, tracked that down to the fuse holder on the negative return. Aren't boats fun

This is a displacement activity for what I should be doing now, which is cleaning the contacts on my wiring loom. Briefly yesterday my engine refused to stop. It's working OK now, but I should give the connectors a clean. Signing off for an hour now!

Here's a sample from the standard Trent chart (not a normal Admiralty style chart). Pretty easy to follow, and especially if you buy it before you arrive at Cromwell lock (where the tidal section starts). It is handy to have one person who is reading the chart and giving you advance warning of what to do next, enabling you to keep your head up and spot eg any floating rubbish, or ducks that appear to be standing up (never a good sign!). Good luck!

I would encourage you not to give up. The first part of the trip is on tame canals and a good place to learn. You don't say if you are single handed. At least for a first trip I would encourage you to have crew, as single handing does add complications. For the Trent, you have made a major step in asking for advice. The foolhardy thing is to just go without any prior planning. There is lots of advice and support available on the Trentlink group (earlier link and the associated Facebook page) . That page can also be used to arrange buddying - it's a good idea to go with another boat - and there are locals who may be able to crew for you for a pint and a minicab fare. Also, some boatmovers will offer paid support. For example Conor has just advertised this service https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=pfbid0mmrBo4oNDLD12N19HfDPBrz6xk5RxGHJrizePT6DheBL5Bkjy2ZwTBGHKLSFDTxdl&id=100063551203425 Finally there is now (hurrah) some commercial traffic on the NE waterways up to Leeds. Just keep an eye out. Another reason for getting VHF, which is not that expensive.

I agree. Sadly there is rather less traffic now, on our 2021 trip down to Hull we didn't see a single ship moving, nor hear a single bit of traffic info on the radio.

Thank you, I was just about to plug that bit of guidance....

As designed and built (1960) the cutoff channel was for drainage, though some extra sluices at Denver were added (1972) so that the water could flow backwards and then be pumped to Essex. And ten years after that a lock was added to make the relief channel navigable most of the way to Kings Lynn. https://greatbradley.weebly.com/water-transfer-scheme.html Anyway here we are punching the tide at Denver yesterday. There was so much fresh water coming off the Ouse washes that Denver sluice cannot drain by gravity.

Some bits had, eg the Great Ouse between Ely and Littleport, built in C19th.

This is strange. In both 2022 and 2023 it took an hour (in total) between the email arriving and the finished licence coming out of my laminator. I think I may have rung them to make the payment. And it may be that a repeat licence is faster than a new one. The EA have a project to deliver a properly online system, but it will not be quick....

Absolutely, the 1,000 year old tree trunks are quite something. Not for those afraid of heights.. https://nbsg.files.wordpress.com/2019/07/dsc_5359.jpg