Northampton

[robtheplod]

Hi All

 

As Aurora is moving to Gayton I'm just finding out about the local area - being close to Northampton I thought I'd ask about what its like along the canal there (especially mooring/stopping over/safety)? My wife comes from the area and is less than complimentary about Northampton but I wonder if the many years since she's lived near its improved??

[Victor Vectis]

I remember this from John Peel playing it years ago:

 

They Found Energy in Northampton

[ditchcrawler]

There are several safe moorings in Northampton, remember it is on a river

[GUMPY]

17 locks there.

And

17 locks back.

Good moorings in town, having said that we stop in the Marina if we stop in Northampton, 

http://www.friendsoftherivernene.co.uk/m.home.html 

Have an excellent selection of moorings further down the river

The river is a wonderful place, placid and beautiful, unless its on SSA......when it will bite you if you are not somewhere sensible.

I'm leaving the canals for the Nene this week, doubt I'll be back.

[john6767]

1 hour ago, robtheplod said:

Hi All

 

As Aurora is moving to Gayton I'm just finding out about the local area - being close to Northampton I thought I'd ask about what its like along the canal there (especially mooring/stopping over/safety)? My wife comes from the area and is less than complimentary about Northampton but I wonder if the many years since she's lived near its improved??

Are you meaning  mooring on the Nene in Northampton or on the GU Main Line around Gayton Junction?

[robtheplod]

11 hours ago, john6767 said:

Are you meaning  mooring on the Nene in Northampton or on the GU Main Line around Gayton Junction?

thinking about the GU in Northampton itself.... or is that not recommended?

[roland elsdon]

The long pounds between stoke and buck by are lovely. The locks down to Northampton start ok but deteriorate around the town. The nene is lovely.

When we are on our mooring it’s our biggest near town but I haven’t been into the town for 30 years. Maybe that says something about it, or maybe my attitude to towns.

[Guest]

I found the moorings just above the bottom canal lock (lock 17) fine for safety, overlooked by flats and no real sign of anti social behaviour. Not pretty but fine for a night or two.

[GUMPY]

1 hour ago, robtheplod said:

thinking about the GU in Northampton itself.... or is that not recommended?

We will be stoping just above lock 17 for a day or so this week as we don't want to go on to the river before the 1st as that's when our EA licence starts, our cart licence runs out at the end of March. Before that the only real place to stop is above the narrows between 13 &14. I wouldn't stop between 14 and 16 even if I could get near the bank.

as before the river is wonderful.

 

[john6767]

1 hour ago, robtheplod said:

thinking about the GU in Northampton itself.... or is that not recommended?

The GU main line does not go the Northampton.  The Northampton arm joins up with the Nene on the edge of Northampton.  It is possible to moor on the Northampton arm above the lock down onto the Nene, but it does not look like the most pleasant place to stop to me, but I guess you could stop there overnight.  Personally I would use the marina or push on down the Nene.

 

If what you are looking for is weekend trips from Gayton marina then I would say you would be going up and down the GU main line, the Northampton arm is quite hard work.

[Dave123]

There are some other places to moor on the Northampton arm before you go onto the Nene (or there were back in 2013)...by a small aqueduct in one of the longer pounds at the bottom and it can be possible to get in before the lock landing if you don't mind one end of the boat in the reeds...

[wandering snail]

9 hours ago, Loddon said:

We will be stoping just above lock 17 for a day or so this week as we don't want to go on to the river before the 1st as that's when our EA licence starts, our cart licence runs out at the end of March. Before that the only real place to stop is above the narrows between 13 &14. I wouldn't stop between 14 and 16 even if I could get near the bank.

as before the river is wonderful.

 

Be aware that there are still lock closures on the Nene at least until the 10th April!

[blackrose]

23 hours ago, Loddon said:

17 locks there.

And

17 locks back.

Good moorings in town, having said that we stop in the Marina if we stop in Northampton, 

http://www.friendsoftherivernene.co.uk/m.home.html 

Have an excellent selection of moorings further down the river

The river is a wonderful place, placid and beautiful, unless its on SSA......when it will bite you if you are not somewhere sensible.

I'm leaving the canals for the Nene this week, doubt I'll be back.

 

Give me a shout if you're passing Julian. I'm the first boat on the right at Cogenhoe mill steam heading downstream. You can't miss me.

 

Are you moving to a new mooring on the Nene or just cruising?

[Sea Dog]

While we're at it, is it the Nene pronounced like Nenn or like Neen?

[blackrose]

5 minutes ago, Sea Dog said:

While we're at it, is it the Nene pronounced like Nenn or like Neen?

I was told it's Nenn from Northampton as far as around Thrapston (I think?) and then Nene. 

 

I just call it Nene because I'm not a local and to me Nenn sounds like I'm trying too hard.

Edited March 25, 2019 by blackrose

[Sea Dog]

5 minutes ago, blackrose said:

I was told it's Nenn from Northampton as far as around Thrapston (I think?) and then Nene. 

 

I just call it Nene because I'm not a local and to me Nenn sounds like I'm trying too hard.

You're a great help, you are!

At least I now understand why I don't know... even if I still don't know!

 

[wandering snail]

19 minutes ago, blackrose said:

I was told it's Nenn from Northampton as far as around Thrapston (I think?) and then Nene. 

 

I just call it Nene because I'm not a local and to me Nenn sounds like I'm trying too hard.

Our doctor's surgery at Thrapston always answer the phone as Nenn Valley, if that helps?? Apparently Peterborough to Thrapston it's Nenn and from there to Northampton it's the Nene. Now you know!

[blackrose]

Ok I must have got it the wrong way around then. I was sure it was Nenn around here....

Edited March 25, 2019 by blackrose

[GUMPY]

12 hours ago, wandering snail said:

Be aware that there are still lock closures on the Nene at least until the 10th April!

Lower Ringstead is likely to be longer than that!

Earls Barton should be off on the 5th so we are staying in Northampton until that weekend.

11 hours ago, wandering snail said:

Our doctor's surgery at Thrapston always answer the phone as Nenn Valley, if that helps?? Apparently Peterborough to Thrapston it's Nenn and from there to Northampton it's the Nene. Now you know!

Never heard that!

Always to my knowledge has been Nen from source to Oundle, Nene from Oundle to the sea.

 

J 

[GUMPY]

11 hours ago, blackrose said:

 

Are you moving to a new mooring on the Nene or just cruising?

 

We are leaving the smelly ditches and moving to Blackthorn on the Nen. About time we took up the mooring there that we have been paying for since last June.

 

[Sea Dog]

11 hours ago, wandering snail said:

Our doctor's surgery at Thrapston always answer the phone as Nenn Valley, if that helps??

Your doctor's surgery answers the phone?  We get an answerphone message telling you where else you should go for various situations and by the time that's finished you've either lost the will to live or you can't remember why you rang in the first place!

[GUMPY]

Since Northants has strange pronounciation how should one say

Cogenhoe if you are not local.

There is also Bozeat, another logical place name

Edited March 26, 2019 by Loddon

[Athy]

1 hour ago, Loddon said:

 

Always to my knowledge has been Nen from source to Oundle, Nene from Oundle to the sea.

 

J 

Not sure where the exact cut-off point is, but that's the right way round. It's certainly the Old River "Neen" through Upwell.

[Scholar Gypsy]

Various confused theories about why the name change. The one I like best is that it reflects the boundary of Mercia, but I am not entirely sure where that was, when.

[GUMPY]

The one I heard was that the divide at Oundle was mooted by David Blagrove as a joke and there is no such set divide but it stuck.