Cruising on the River Nene!

What an absolutely amazing couple of weeks we have had on the River Nene.

We left for the Northampton Arm on Friday 2nd August and did the 17 lock flight in one fell swoop. This took just under six hours and we arrived at Northampton embankment mid afternoon. Once there, we walked over to the marina to purchase an Environment Agency licence for the river and also a specialist key to operate the river locks. We then had another day and night at Northampton so that I could get all the bedding and towels washed and Paul set off in search of some engine fuel filters as Daisy was due an engine service – something you should do after every 250 cruising hours.

Before we left Northampton, we also got out the anchor (in case of a breakdown or emergency on the river) and we put the life ring within easy reach of the stern (in case of a man over board situation).

The River Nene flows through the east of England and into the North Sea via The Wash. It is the 10th longest river in the UK and from Northampton to Peterborough, it is a total of 60 miles and 37 locks.

We thought it would take around a week to do there and back but once again we had underestimated the vastness of the river. The journey there and back actually took us 2 weeks in total!

Travelling on a river takes much more planning than travelling on a canal for the following reasons:

• You cannot easily moor up on river banks and so need to search out designated mooring spots. Usually a floating pontoon which rises and falls with the height of the river.
• Water and Elsen points are much fewer and far between.
• Weather can significantly impact the river’s current and height.
• You can go for miles without seeing another person and so you need to know what to do and who to call in an emergency.
• You need to make sure supplies are plentiful.

The locks on a river all also different from those on a canal, as they have to hold much more water. The locks on the Nene are all double locks and a large proportion of them are guillotine locks. This means that the top of the lock is the usual two gates that you open with a windlass, but the bottom gate is a super thick piece of metal that is lowered into the water via either a button you press, or a wheel that you have to turn.

The lock in the picture below is a button operated one and you can see that we need to raise the guillotine slowly to allow the water out so that the boat is lowered to the same height as the river below. The wheel locks were especially difficult to use as they are heavy and take forever to use!

The weather during our two weeks on the river was absolutely stunning and we were lucky enough to see lots of wildlife, including a deer, and beautiful farm animals who would come to cool themselves off in the river.

When cruising on a river you need to keep an eye out for direction signs as quite often there will be a fork and you need to know which way you need to go. Sometimes the signs are hidden by overgrown plants or trees and so I always have my navigation app open. On the Nene there were also some tricky bridges to navigate, including the one in the video below.

To ensure that we had more mooring opportunities, we joined ‘Friends of the River Nene’, which cost £12 and gave us an additional 12 mooring spots along the way. Mostly private land, beautiful and remote.

One spot, called Peartree Farm, looked like a super cool island with picnic tables and a fire pit. We pulled up for a night but then, when we saw the trees which were absolutely covered in webs, we beat a hasty retreat. There was no way we wanted to be invaded by millions of spiders! It turns out that the webs were actually made by caterpillars which protect their homes in the tree by webbing themselves in so that predators , such as wasp larvae, can’t get them. Zoom in below!

We stayed at some really nice mooring spots, but our favourite had to be right next to the remains of Fotheringhay Castle. This was also the place where I tried some wild water swimming.

When we got to Peterborough, we met up with Amie, Dec & Lily and we also had a fun night out with Dec’s parents who live in a nearby village. A good time was had by all.

We also made some new friends along the way (Pete & Karen on Tregantle) and visited lots of small towns, villages and pubs.

Zak went overboard into the river as we were pulling into a lock but, once again, his harness saved him as Paul was able to haul him back on board. We also experienced a broken lock and had to call out the Environment Agency who had it fixed and back up and running within a couple of hours.

We were blessed with some wonderful sunsets and we chose to rise at 5am some mornings so that we could enjoy the sunrises too. There really isn’t a more beautiful place on earth to be.

And of course let’s not forget Paul’s birthday which we celebrated with a picnic lunch and a wonderful meal onboard.

We are both glad to be back on the canals but thoroughly enjoyed our time on the beautiful Nene.

Before we go, here is a fun fact – Those in the north of the county pronounce it Neen and those in the south pronounce it Nen. Each year there is a bowls match between the north and the south and whoever wins gets to set the pronunciation for the year.

We are now making our way down south, past Milton Keynes and Tring and out onto the River Thames so that we can get to see Katie & Ryan in Surrey. Don’t forget to view the gallery page for all the latest photos and to see where we are!

Love to all,

Jo & Paul xxx