Moorings in Cambridgeshire

[Bettyblue]

Thankyou for accepting me into this group. I am a complete novice to this world . I am hoping to return to the Cambridgeshire area where I was born and where my family are, having lived overseas for many years.

I understand that Cambridgeshire is not known for its canals, and this is probably a silly question , so please forgive my ignorance!

if I was to moor in a marina outside Cambridge say in Upware, Ely etc which are rivers can I still get access to the canal network? Are the rivers connected?

Aldo does anyone have any recommendations or personal experience of marinas around Cambridgeshire? I would like rural but with some amenities like a shop and a pub😀I have really missed Real English Ale

All advice gratefully received, it is a Narrowboat I am looking at, a live aboard with residential mooring. I would like to be in a marina that has more Narrowboats than cruiser type boats . I would have to have some public transport into Cambridge for my daughter who doesn’t drive yet. 
Thsnkyou everyone 😀

[ditchcrawler]

I would suggest Ely would be your best bet for transport to Cambridge

[Jen-in-Wellies]

30 minutes ago, Bettyblue said:

if I was to moor in a marina outside Cambridge say in Upware, Ely etc which are rivers can I still get access to the canal network? Are the rivers connected?

Welcome to the forum. They are connected to a varying extent. Different navigation authorities on various sections, so need different licenses, or a gold license to do the trip. Environment Agency, Middle Levels Commissioners, Canal River Trust, possibly the Cambridge navigation people too. You can reach the wider canal network via the Northampton Flight, but need a narrow beam (maximum 7' wide) boat. See this and many other maps.

https://waterways.org.uk/waterways/uk-canal-map

Note that this map shows a connection from Milton Keynes to Bedford in green. This is a proposal, not an existing waterway and is highly unlikely to ever get dug, so use the map with care. There are restrictions on draft and air draft (height below and above the waterline), as well as beam (width) and length of boat at various places too.

I've not boated in the area, other than a bit of the River Nene, so can't answer any other of your questions.

[pearley]

Don't ask for residential, not many marinas on Great Ouse accept that term although they all have liveaboards.

There is a marina at Upware next to the 5 Miles from Anywhere pub that looks mainly widebeams and narrowboats.

Cathedral Marina at Ely website states non residential but plenty of liveaboards. Not the cheapest of marinas. Bridge Boats at Ely have moorings but couple of months ago was told no chance. No facilities other than water anyway.

Shrubbs and Tiptree Marina on the Cam above Upware are mainly GRP although both have a handful of narrowboats. Tiptree appears to have few facilities.

There is a small mooring basin above Bottisham Lock but you will need a Cam licence there 

Fish & Duck Marina has a 50/50 mix of GRP and steel boats with all facilities other than pump out.

Lots of steel boats moored at Stretham Old Engine with water and power although a bit overgrown. Think the site is operated by Fenland Moorings who also have moorings on the Lark.

Lazy Otter has lots of moorings although the pub is no more. Operated by Annesdale?

Twenty Pence Marina has a couple of narrowboats but mainly GRP 

Hermitage Marina, operated by Cathedral at Ely is very weedy and appears to be having a bit if work done judging by the excavators in site.

Westview is on the tidal part of the river with GRPs inside and steel on the outside. You would need to change your anodes. Managed by Marie but up for sale currently.

Fish & Duck is all GRPs as is Jones at St Ives.

Wyton Moorings is a bit of a s*******

Hartford is 60% steel although steel and GRPs kept well apart. Wide, full length pontoons and all facilities. Pub on the site with real ale. Hourly bus to Cambridge from outside the marina.

Huntingdon Boat Haven are just building some more moorings on the river so you may be lucky if you get in quick. Very good hotel opposite with 3 local real ales. Also the Falcon in the market Square with 13 handpumps.

Moving upriver is Buckden Marina (Aquavista) with a mix of boats. Eaton Socon has steel boats but small. Priory (Aquavista) at Bedford has lots of steel boats.

There is also Isleham Marina up the Lark plus a lot of bankside moorings along the river.

There are others but best to get the Imray guide to the river which gives all the details.

Edited October 19, 2023 by pearley

[Bettyblue]

Thankyou for all that very helpful information. Can I ask what GRP means?

[Jen-in-Wellies]

1 minute ago, Bettyblue said:

Can I ask what GRP means?

You certainly can. Glass Reinforced Polymer, AKA fibreglass. What some boats are made out of. Sometimes known as tupperware boats, as opposed to canal style narrowboats, which are known as sewer tubes. 😀

[pearley]

2 minutes ago, Bettyblue said:

Thankyou for all that very helpful information. Can I ask what GRP means?

Glass Reinforced Plastic or fibreglass so cruisers.

1 minute ago, Jen-in-Wellies said:

You certainly can. Glass Reinforced Polymer, AKA fibreglass. What some boats are made out of. Sometimes known as tupperware boats, as opposed to canal style narrowboats, which are known as sewer tubes. 😀

Do not call them Tupperware if you do come here. There is enough animosity between cruisers and narrowboaters as it is.

[cuthound]

7 minutes ago, pearley said:

Do not call them Tupperware if you do come here. There is enough animosity between cruisers and narrowboaters as it is.

 

Is it OK to call them splitters?  

 

[Bettyblue]

Should I use the term live aboard instead of residential moorings?

[David Mack]

Just now, Bettyblue said:

Should I use the term live aboard instead of residential moorings?

No. Don't even mention it. It just happens that you will spend quite a lot of time on the boat at the mooring. Helps if you go out occasionally too.

[pearley]

3 minutes ago, Bettyblue said:

Should I use the term live aboard instead of residential moorings?

If you want full residential then Buckden, Priory and Huntingdon Boat Haven offer them. 

Certainly here at Hartford they accept liveaboards but not residential in that you are supposed to have a home address (We use our sons) not supposed to have mail delivered here (some do but could cause trouble if the council come checking) and are supposed to leave the marina for at least 1 month of the year (except we have a number of 12' 6" widebeams that can't get through the locks)

[Bettyblue]

Thankyou what do you mean by steel? Do you mean steel Narrowboats?

Where do I find The Imray Guide to the river as mentioned please?

[MrsM]

You probably shouldn't call them (GRP boats) yoghurt pots either.

[enigmatic]

More general info

 

Cambridgeshire's navigable river system is the River Great Ouse. The end of this connects to the Middle Level (partly navigable fen drains) which connects to the River Nene at Peterborough. 37 locks upstream the Nene connects to the canal network in Northampton via a flight of 18 locks up to the Grand Union. Transiting the Nene takes about a week (quicker is possible, but it's hard work and places to stop are very pretty!), the Middle Level is usually crossed in a day and a half, so if you wanted to go and visit canals, it'd be 10ish days each way... maybe if you want a longer holiday? Also lots of marinas on the Nene and on canals in Northamptonshire which might still work for being nearish friends and family, but the public transport won't go to Cambridge.

 

The river itself is really and has three broad section:

• The Bedford Ouse runs from Bedford through St Neots, Huntington and St Ives through pretty meadows and small towns and a few slow electronically operated locks. The towns all have a good selection of pubs too. This is the nicest bit for actually boating and has a lot of marinas.
• The Ely Ouse is a big, wide lock-free stretch through empty fenland, which connects Cambridge's River Cam to the sea. Ely is great, Littleport is fine, Cambridge is full, everywhere else feels like the middle of nowhere. There's a reason why Upware's pub is called Five Miles from Anywhere! A couple of tributaries out towards Norfolk have pleasant, very rural moorings you need a car to access too
• The Old West River north of Cambridge connects the two. Really more of a tiny fenland drainage channel that feels a bit like a canal and passes only a couple of tiny villages, some trees and the occasional cow. There are quite a few narrow boats here, but it's further from Cambridge then it looks on the map, especially if you're hoping for a bus.

 

Public transport from Huntingdon, St Ives and St Neots into Cambridge should be good, and Ely and Littleport has a rail link. I think Buckden Marina would need a connecting bus, and have no idea what the buses are from places like Upware or Pike and Eel or Fish and Duck Marina but suspect the answer is "not good" or "none". Based on what you've said about wanting public transport access to Cambridge and a pub, I'd probably go for Hartford or Huntington Boathaven or one of the ones in Ely or littleport. Rivermill Marina in Saint Neots is a cracking location too but no idea how to get in touch with them and doubt they have space (other St Neots marinas unlikely to have space for a liveaboard narrowboat either)

 

 

 

P.S. It sounds like you're quite early in your search, but just in case you happen to be actively looking to buy a narrowboat, I'm in the process of moving my narrowboat out of Cambridgeshire to sell it - let me know if you'd be interested in a look before I do that!

 

[magpie patrick]

46 minutes ago, MrsM said:

You probably shouldn't call them (GRP boats) yoghurt pots either.

As the proud owner of a tupperware yoghurt pot I can live with it... 😄

[pearley]

1 hour ago, Bettyblue said:

Thankyou what do you mean by steel? Do you mean steel Narrowboats?

Where do I find The Imray Guide to the river as mentioned please?

https://www.imray.com/product/The-River-Great-Ouse-and-its-tributaries-including-the-Rivers-Cam-Lark-Little-Ouse-and-Wissey-Hundred-Foot-River-Relief-Channel/IB0212-2/

Edited October 19, 2023 by pearley

[David Mack]

Rather further from Cambridge, but on the main CRT network, have you considered the River Stort at Bishops Stortford or the Grand Union Canal at Milton Keynes?

[Alan de Enfield]

3 hours ago, pearley said:

Hermitage Marina, operated by Cathedral at Ely is very weedy and appears to be having a bit if work done judging by the excavators in site.

 

A few years ago, Very, VERY nearly bought that marina, got everything in place but then the "due diligence" revealed some problems - add that to the claim that it was 'a profitable marina' (it was a few pennies over break even) and we decided that we'd be better of with a Marina on the 'main track'.

 

 

[Scholar Gypsy]

This website provides some practical advice on how to get there from the canal system at Northampton. It includes links to various guides and websites. 

There's a great list of moorings above, I am moored at Cathedral in Ely.  

https://goba.org.uk/a-guide-for-visitors-to-the-east/ 

PS you can also get to the rest of the system by crossing the Wash to Boston and Lincoln. 

Edited October 19, 2023 by Scholar Gypsy

[pearley]

2 hours ago, Alan de Enfield said:

 

A few years ago, Very, VERY nearly bought that marina, got everything in place but then the "due diligence" revealed some problems - add that to the claim that it was 'a profitable marina' (it was a few pennies over break even) and we decided that we'd be better of with a Marina on the 'main track'.

 

 

Whenever we go past it does look like just breaking even, or not.

[Alan de Enfield]

1 hour ago, pearley said:

Whenever we go past it does look like just breaking even, or not.

 

It was being sold as suitable for a single owner operator (ie it was not 'big enough'  to pay any employees wages) commonly called a 'lifestyle business'.

[harrybsmith]

I got to know the owner of Hermitage relatively well about 6 years ago as I bought my boat off him and lived in his back garden for 2 months. Interesting place, I'd moor there without concerns.

 

"Stayalot" is their code word for live aboard