Fox Boats, Middle level, Great Ouse etc

[Naughty Cal]

We plan to cruise the Great Ouse and a few of its tributaries next July for our two week summer cruise so any suggestions of good places to moor, good pubs and good shops (butchers, bakers and green grocers or farm shops, etc.) are more than welcome to help us plan our trip. Also places best avoided as well as we really don't know the area at all.

[Athy]

Ely is gorgeous - historic and with a wide range of shops including quite a few individual, rather than chain, stores, plenty of pubs and restaurants, imposing big stone churchy thing, also a large and well-stocked antiques warehouse near the river. The stiff walk up to the city centre from the river will prepare you for a stiff drink when you get up there.

 

Get to Ely early if you want a mooring anywhere near it, though - it is understandably popular with boaters, who tend to flock to the waterside Cutter Inn.

Edited December 8, 2014 by Athy

[Naughty Cal]

Thanks. Ely was high on the list. Dont suppose you know the time limits on the moorings there as we would like to stay for a couple of days if at all possible. We would probably get to Ely mid week so will avoid the weekend boaters and we will be before the kids break up for the summer holidays so it might not be as busy. Or this could be wishful thinking.

[Scholar Gypsy]

ely, like most EA sites, is 48 hours.

 

ETA: Ely moorings belong to City Council, but still 48 hrs.

Edited December 8, 2014 by Scholar Gypsy

[Naughty Cal]

Thank you.

[ditchcrawler]

Never had a bad meal at the Lazy Otter, Suggest you join GOBA so you can also use their moorings.

[Naughty Cal]

Never had a bad meal at the Lazy Otter, Suggest you join GOBA so you can also use their moorings.

Cheers. I will look into that.

[ditchcrawler]

Cheers. I will look into that.

http://www.goba.org.uk/

[Naughty Cal]

Thanks. I had already found the site. We will definately join for what little it costs and the extra moorings it opens up

[Scholar Gypsy]

Thanks. I had already found the site. We will definately join for what little it costs and the extra moorings it opens up

 

GOBA is very good value.

 

Beware, they may ask you to write an article for their excellent magazine. Here's my effort...

[Naughty Cal]

 

GOBA is very good value.

 

Beware, they may ask you to write an article for their excellent magazine. Here's my effort...

 

Good article

[Black Ibis]

As it happens, I just wrote a piece on my blog about my favourite places to moor in the Fens http://severnerwillow.wordpress.com/2014/12/09/our-top-5-places-to-moor-in-the-fens/

[Naughty Cal]

Have just seen it thanks. We will certainly be making a stop at the Ship Inn and the mooring at Lakenheath looks lovely.

[Traveller]

I certainly "second" the Ship Inn.

[by'eck]

The Ship Inn pub at Brandon Creek has good food and beer, its own moorings and EA ones adjacent, and just a couple of hours from Ely on the Great Ouse. Its location at the start of the Little Ouse allows a half mile trip along same to farm based Little Ouse moorings. Red diesel is sold here at any split you like. Debit but not credit cards are accepted. You can wind a 60 ft boat there to return to Great Ouse although its a struggle unless there's plenty of water.

 

On the return journey to Ely you could stop at the Swan on the River pub at Littleport, again having its own and adjacent EA moorings.

 

TBH I find mooring opportunities less of an issue than on some canals.

[Traveller]

The Swan is unreliable re its opening hours, or has been in our experience. I understand it is up for sale but cannot confirm that.

 

It is a nicely situated pub/restaurant though.

Edited December 9, 2014 by Traveller

[Naughty Cal]

Sounds like this trip might turn into one big pub crawl

 

On a separate note, do you think 7 days is going to be enough to do the area justice?

 

We will have 2 weeks off work but need to get there and back and we want to spend some time in Kings Lynn and the Wash if the weather is fair enough.

[Scholar Gypsy]

Sounds like this trip might turn into one big pub crawl

 

On a separate note, do you think 7 days is going to be enough to do the area justice?

 

We will have 2 weeks off work but need to get there and back and we want to spend some time in Kings Lynn and the Wash if the weather is fair enough.

 

There aren't that many pubs, which is why the ones that are there have to be visited. What's your headroom, with all the moveable bits folded down?

 

NB you might want to use the New Bedford River which will save some time...

[Naughty Cal]

Our air draft with everything up is a shade under 10', with the nav bar taken off it goes down to a tad under 9' but with everything folded down we can get down to 6'5".

[Phil Ambrose]

Be prepared to drop the lot if you venture down the Ouse tributaries , Hilgay on the Wissey air draft 2.6m,down the lake the pipe bridge is 2.5m on Brandon Creek the rail bridge just before Brandon Lock is 2.7m same as the head room on the lock. The Isleham Lock has 2.65 headroom.

Elsewhere headroom is usually 3.m plus.

Phil

[Scholar Gypsy]

Be prepared to drop the lot if you venture down the Ouse tributaries , Hilgay on the Wissey air draft 2.6m,down the lake the pipe bridge is 2.5m on Brandon Creek the rail bridge just before Brandon Lock is 2.7m same as the head room on the lock. The Isleham Lock has 2.65 headroom.

Elsewhere headroom is usually 3.m plus.

Phil

 

And NC will need to load up with beer and donuts if they fancy a crack at the last mile of the Ouse above Bedford - I think the railway bridges are a nominal 2m?

Edited December 10, 2014 by Scholar Gypsy

[Naughty Cal]

Be prepared to drop the lot if you venture down the Ouse tributaries , Hilgay on the Wissey air draft 2.6m,down the lake the pipe bridge is 2.5m on Brandon Creek the rail bridge just before Brandon Lock is 2.7m same as the head room on the lock. The Isleham Lock has 2.65 headroom.

Elsewhere headroom is usually 3.m plus.

Phil

Yeah, we suspected we would have too at some points. It isn't a problem as it's a quick enough job.

 

Hopefully the sun will be shining, it will be scorching hot and we can leave it down for the duration

[Black Ibis]

I'd have thought that 7 days would be enough to get a feel for it. What you prioritise depends what you enjoy really. ANd by next year a River Cam visitor licence will be at 3% of the annual one (down from 10% 2 years ago and 5% this year) rendering it vaguely reasonable. £13.80 for a 30ft boat, £27 for a 50ft boat.

[Texasboater]

The Pike & Eel in Needingworth used to have a nice restaurant. Haven't been there in years though.