19th July 2017
This morning, I got the young 'uns up far earlier than they would have liked, and sent them off to see the cathedral, bearing in mind that we had to be off the mooring and away by 1pm at the latest. This magnificent building is called "the Great Ship Of The Fens," and it is easy to see why, especially from a distance on the river, as this mighty edifice is situated on the only hill for miles around, and dominates the countryside by virtue of its higher location. Apart from the magnificent cathedral itself, well worth a visit is Prior Crauden's Chapel, now a part of the neighbouring King's School. You need to ask at the cathedral desk for the key, and then wander round the back of the cathedral and down a mews, and turn up a narrow dark staircase to the locked door. Once, inside all is light, The tiny building has a few rows of chairs and a small altar, under which is a beautifully preserved mediaeval tiled floor with Adam and Eve and the serpent depicted. The walls have the remains of brightly coloured paintings.
Back at the boat, we were preparing for departure, and it was getting very hot. Off the mooring and down to the water point to fill up, we had to turn in the river, which luckily is easy in a smaller lighter boat like ours. Then we headed down the river, and found diesel at the Bridge Marina at £1.05 / l, fully 15p a litre less than the other place, so filled up. At the Hermitage Lock, the river becomes tidal again for quite a few miles, as the two artificial channels of the "Old Bedford River" and the "New Bedford River" (or 100 Foot Drain) join the Great Ouse at this point, and they are tidal from the Salters Lode and Denver lock complex. Apparently the river can be pretty lively here, but with very little rain, neap tides, high pressure and 34C temperatures, the water is "pushed down" so to speak, and there was very little tidal movement.
As we made our way along the river, there were, as there have been all summer so far, hundreds of dragonflies and damselflies of all sorts, the most frequently sighted being the beautiful iridescent Common Blue Damselfly. The water was particularly clear too, and beneath the boat we could see many fish, sizes from 1cm long in vast shoals to much larger specimens that would have made a nice meal, one each. Joel and Shannon both had spells driving, and did very well - we didn't hit anything!
We chose to stop for the night at an EA mooring near the small town of Earith, which had a water point and pump out. Being tidal still, the whole mooring and service pontoon was able to float up and down, tethered to massive steel piles, with a gangplank to the bank. There was a public footpath through a campsite and small marina to the nearest road. For your information - WARNING: West View Marina. Shannon took Koko out for a walk after we arrived, and was immediately accosted by the garrulous owner of the site on the subject of picking up mess. She even had the bags in her hand! We had a light dinner, and I went back to get the van from Ely, due to the parking restrictions there. I wheeled my little moped up the ramp, and pushed Tidal Great Ouse, it through the campsite so as not to disturb anyone. This time, I was accosted by the owner, who told me not to make a noise and disturb the residents, and I couldn't ride the bike through there anyway. I wasn't going to stand for this, so I told him a) as I was walking it through quietly with the engine off at 7pm, I was hardly going to tear through like a lunatic on my way back at 9pm, was I? b) a moped by law is treated as a bicycle when the engine is off, and you can legally walk bicycles down public footpaths. He told me "not to get sarcastic with him." I told him that he had just lost the sale of a tank of diesel and 3 ice creams, possibly a gas bottle and some chandlery, and to stop harassing potential customers. He shut up and let me through. It was still very hot, and wearing all my bike clothing is distinctly unpleasant in these temperatures, but I would rather be a "boil in the bag" than get my skin peeled off if I have a spill on the bike. I retrieved the van, parked it in a quiet side road a the edge of town, and pootled back on the bike. It was 28C when I went to bed at 9:30!
This morning, I got the young 'uns up far earlier than they would have liked, and sent them off to see the cathedral, bearing in mind that we had to be off the mooring and away by 1pm at the latest. This magnificent building is called "the Great Ship Of The Fens," and it is easy to see why, especially from a distance on the river, as this mighty edifice is situated on the only hill for miles around, and dominates the countryside by virtue of its higher location. Apart from the magnificent cathedral itself, well worth a visit is Prior Crauden's Chapel, now a part of the neighbouring King's School. You need to ask at the cathedral desk for the key, and then wander round the back of the cathedral and down a mews, and turn up a narrow dark staircase to the locked door. Once, inside all is light, The tiny building has a few rows of chairs and a small altar, under which is a beautifully preserved mediaeval tiled floor with Adam and Eve and the serpent depicted. The walls have the remains of brightly coloured paintings.
Back at the boat, we were preparing for departure, and it was getting very hot. Off the mooring and down to the water point to fill up, we had to turn in the river, which luckily is easy in a smaller lighter boat like ours. Then we headed down the river, and found diesel at the Bridge Marina at £1.05 / l, fully 15p a litre less than the other place, so filled up. At the Hermitage Lock, the river becomes tidal again for quite a few miles, as the two artificial channels of the "Old Bedford River" and the "New Bedford River" (or 100 Foot Drain) join the Great Ouse at this point, and they are tidal from the Salters Lode and Denver lock complex. Apparently the river can be pretty lively here, but with very little rain, neap tides, high pressure and 34C temperatures, the water is "pushed down" so to speak, and there was very little tidal movement.
As we made our way along the river, there were, as there have been all summer so far, hundreds of dragonflies and damselflies of all sorts, the most frequently sighted being the beautiful iridescent Common Blue Damselfly. The water was particularly clear too, and beneath the boat we could see many fish, sizes from 1cm long in vast shoals to much larger specimens that would have made a nice meal, one each. Joel and Shannon both had spells driving, and did very well - we didn't hit anything!
We chose to stop for the night at an EA mooring near the small town of Earith, which had a water point and pump out. Being tidal still, the whole mooring and service pontoon was able to float up and down, tethered to massive steel piles, with a gangplank to the bank. There was a public footpath through a campsite and small marina to the nearest road. For your information - WARNING: West View Marina. Shannon took Koko out for a walk after we arrived, and was immediately accosted by the garrulous owner of the site on the subject of picking up mess. She even had the bags in her hand! We had a light dinner, and I went back to get the van from Ely, due to the parking restrictions there. I wheeled my little moped up the ramp, and pushed Tidal Great Ouse, it through the campsite so as not to disturb anyone. This time, I was accosted by the owner, who told me not to make a noise and disturb the residents, and I couldn't ride the bike through there anyway. I wasn't going to stand for this, so I told him a) as I was walking it through quietly with the engine off at 7pm, I was hardly going to tear through like a lunatic on my way back at 9pm, was I? b) a moped by law is treated as a bicycle when the engine is off, and you can legally walk bicycles down public footpaths. He told me "not to get sarcastic with him." I told him that he had just lost the sale of a tank of diesel and 3 ice creams, possibly a gas bottle and some chandlery, and to stop harassing potential customers. He shut up and let me through. It was still very hot, and wearing all my bike clothing is distinctly unpleasant in these temperatures, but I would rather be a "boil in the bag" than get my skin peeled off if I have a spill on the bike. I retrieved the van, parked it in a quiet side road a the edge of town, and pootled back on the bike. It was 28C when I went to bed at 9:30!
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