for those of you on or visiting the nene

[gazza]

Be aware that the Kings Head, Wadenhoe are now charging £20 for overnight mooring on their river bank.

 

See website for details

http://www.wadenhoekingshead.co.uk

 

If you want pubs but you don't want to get stung moor at 48 hour mooring at nine arches Thrapston or the 48 hour mooring at Middle Nene Sailing Club. Short walk to pubs with good food from either mooring.

Edited May 12, 2014 by gazza

[FadeToScarlet]

Be aware that the Kings Head, Wadenhoe are now charging £20 for overnight mooring on their river bank.

See website for detailshttp://www.wadenhoekingshead.co.uk

If you want pubs but you don't want to get stung moor at 48 hour mooring at nine arches Thrapston or the 48 hour mooring at Middle Nene Sailing Club. Short walk to pubs with good food from either mooring.

Isn't it free for patrons if you buy a meal? Only saw the sign briefly in passing, though.

[gazza]

No mention of free for patrons on their website

 

We are moored at MNCC, for various reasons we have stopped using the Kings Head.

Knowing the people managing the pub it would be a fair guess its £20 for patrons. A call to the pub by those wishing to stay overnight would clarify the situation.

 

After the floods ferry nonsense I'm not volunteering... :-)

On top of the above, the woolpack inn at Islip adjacent to the nine arches mooring is also currently closed.

 

See http://www.thewoolpackinn.com for details.

[ditchcrawler]

That is a pity, that was a nice mooring and the food was good as well when we used it. They even had free Wifi which I cold get on the boat.

[gazza]

Over the last year or so our experience there has been very mediocre.

 

Fortunately there are several good pubs in Elton, nassington, warmington and alwalton that make up for it.

 

Wadenhoe being about the middle of the river meant it was a popular overnight halt, but £20 is savage in the extreme.

 

The EA water point will be popular :-)

[starman]

We had a fairly average meal there a couple of months back too (but mooring was free). The village is worth a visit tho and there are quite adequate 'rough moorings' about a hundred yards upstream of the pub at the bottom of the hill that leads up to the church.

[ditchcrawler]

 

 

The EA water point will be popular :-)

I had forgotten that

We had a fairly average meal there a couple of months back too (but mooring was free). The village is worth a visit tho and there are quite adequate 'rough moorings' about a hundred yards upstream of the pub at the bottom of the hill that leads up to the church.

And wake up looking at the cows. Has the pub changed hands since we left the area?

[Traveller]

That pub was one of our fave haunts and it was the first pub we stopped at when bringing home our first narrowboat. How things change! I guess we have moved on and so has the pub :-(

[gazza]

We had a fairly average meal there a couple of months back too (but mooring was free). The village is worth a visit tho and there are quite adequate 'rough moorings' about a hundred yards upstream of the pub at the bottom of the hill that leads up to the church.

The rough moorings are very popular, some from our club only cruise as far as that!

 

Another option is to moor on the water meadow downstream and to the left of the Lock. Its a bit of a treck across the meadow past the mill and into the village, and its obviously unlit.

 

Lot of faffing about to avoid paying £20 at an average pub.

Its a shame as the location is excellent. But we have heard this sort of thing before...

 

Oundle (nee barnwell) mill were talking about charging £5 to tie up in the mill race. It was pointed out to them they don't charge residents and guests to park in the car park. Last I heard they had dropped the idea.

Edited May 12, 2014 by gazza

[Top cat]

We have stopped there in the past and noticed it was going up market, maybe they have decided they don't want boaters in their pub. A £20 charge for mooring will certainly keep us out of there.

 

TC

[gazza]

I had forgotten that

 

And wake up looking at the cows. Has the pub changed hands since we left the area?

No, Curly and the South African Lady are still in charge.They have been running it for several years now.

We have stopped there in the past and noticed it was going up market, maybe they have decided they don't want boaters in their pub. A £20 charge for mooring will certainly keep us out of there.

 

TC

I don't know about going upmarket. They have papered the corridor by the toilets...

[Top cat]

The meal prices went up a lot in the two years between our visits.

 

TC

[gazza]

The meal prices went up a lot in the two years between our visits.

 

TC

And the quality had fallen.

 

The last meal we had followed a good run from alwalton.

 

The previous night we had an excellent meal in the cuckoo at alwalton, £10 for the best homemade wild boar burger and hand cut chips I have had.

 

Stopped at Kings Head as we were famished. £10 got you a poor burger, frozen chips and a wilted salad dressing. The difference between the two pubs was pretty stark!

[Keeping Up]

I never object to paying a mooring fee, on a pub mooring, where it is fully refundable against purchases at the bar. I'm sure it's easy enough to spend £20 at the Kings Head, especially if there are 2 of you.

 

It's better than the all-too-common alternative of being unable to moor at a pub because all the moorings have long-term residents on them.

[Top cat]

It seems that the Nene is getting less friendly

You can no longer moor at Cogenhoe, the Kings Head no longer want our custom, there is another pub further down that charges £15 (can't remember the name) . The moorings by Ruston and Diamond football club no longer has facilities. You now have to pay for pumpout at Ea stations.

So despite claims that the EA and businesses are trying to promote use of the river the reality is it's being made more expensive and less welcoming.

I will be a lot less keen on coming back .

 

TC

[Traveller]

I never object to paying a mooring fee, on a pub mooring, where it is fully refundable against purchases at the bar. I'm sure it's easy enough to spend £20 at the Kings Head, especially if there are 2 of you.

 

It's better than the all-too-common alternative of being unable to moor at a pub because all the moorings have long-term residents on them.

That is a very fair comment. I can remember, back in the day, when the mooring at the Kings Head used to be used on a pretty much permanent basis by a Seamaster who's owners were to all intents and purposes "summer" live-a-boards.

[Scholar Gypsy]

It seems that the Nene is getting less friendly

You can no longer moor at Cogenhoe, the Kings Head no longer want our custom, there is another pub further down that charges £15 (can't remember the name) . The moorings by Ruston and Diamond football club no longer has facilities. You now have to pay for pumpout at Ea stations.

So despite claims that the EA and businesses are trying to promote use of the river the reality is it's being made more expensive and less welcoming.

I will be a lot less keen on coming back .

 

TC

 

I am not sure I would personally agree with the conclusion reached here, but of course that's rather irrelevant. The first sentence is certainly true.

 

Here's another personal opinion: for me, the test for whether C&RT should take over the managment of this navgation hinges on whether they can find a way to make more moorings available, and get the other facilities improved (a bit). That is of course much harder on a river than a canal, given the land ownership issues, but the work of GOBA (a rather larger number of boats, I think?) offers an interesting model.

 

I say this because in my experience the locks (brickwork, gates, guillotines, paddles, landing stages) on the Nene are in a very good and easy to operate state - they have to be to survive the floods. It would be nice if some of the bridges could be raised a bit, and there is still a shoal at Awalton, but the focus should I think be on some of the ancillary services that need the most improvement.

[gazza]

The ANRC have been trying for years to get more moorings on the Nene. The have succeeded in getting some bankside between Cotterstock lock and Tansor road bridge. No facilities or pubs in walking distance.

 

They have drawn a blank with the EA despite a lot of hard work and effort.

 

The GOBA model will never work on the Nene. The boat clubs on the Nene pay an affiliation to the ANRC, individuals are not compelled to pay a membership in the style of GOBA as there is no return on their membership.

Not enough land owners are willing to install moorings.

There is not enough through traffic to encourage development of the river or for boaters from the canal network to take up membership, especially when you consider the lack of facilities on the river.

On top of all that, getting anyone to step up at committee level to operate an association with the sort of remit goba has would be nigh on impossible. The ANRC struggle to get willing volunteers with their current set up.

 

Goba was a product of a fortunate and unique set of circumstances and was lucky to have some very talented and dedicated people at its inception. This is not to denigrate the good work the ANRC does.

It just highlights that the Nene is a totally different beast to the Ouse and unlikely to ever enjoy the benefits the Ouse does from the existence of an organisation like Goba.

Edited May 13, 2014 by gazza

[Cheshire cat]

On the home page of the website you have linked to it states £10 for mooring overnight with a £10 voucher to spend in the pub!

 

Has there been a quick change of heart?

[gazza]

On the home page of the website you have linked to it states £10 for mooring overnight with a £10 voucher to spend in the pub!

 

Has there been a quick change of heart?

It would appear so!

 

It was 100% stated as £20 overnight with no concessions as to whether you used the pub or not.

 

It doesn't surprise me though.

[Traveller]

All's well that ends well eh

[gazza]

Indeed,

 

Whether this thread has anything to do with it or they have come to their senses I know not!

 

As no problem pointed out, a refundable fee when using their bar or restaurant is fair enough. Will hopefully stop some of those who have took the P hogging the space for weeks on end.

[ditchcrawler]

It would appear so!

 

It was 100% stated as £20 overnight with no concessions as to whether you used the pub or not.

 

It doesn't surprise me though.

That is what it was when I looked.

[Victor Vectis]

Result!

 

[nbfiresprite]

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