St Ives to Godmanchester
6.25 miles, 3 locks
We had to wait for Smiths to open at 10am to get the paper, so no chance of missing the heat of the day or, as it turned out, the crowds. It did mean that Monty and I could go for a good long walk along the delightfully shady Ouse Way
The only thing that grates about this walk is some mindless person has seen fit to deface the pathway with messages declaring that he/she 'misses love', heart signs
and one larger message that we think is supposed to say 'Cherish what you have'! There is an 'h' at the end, but the 'r' is definitely missing!
I digress, back to the boat, Chris was back from town and we were off. There was no regatta this week but there were still rowers and trainers all over the place
When we arrived at Hemmingford Lock we were there on our own with one small boat in the lock coming down. We were soon joined by two cruisers
we managed to all squeeze in
with Monty, as ever, seeking out the shade to supervise from a safe distance
As we left there was a flotilla waiting to go down the lock - a sign of what was to become normal for the day
We pulled in very briefly at Hemmingford Grey for me to dump a couple of bags of rubbish. Once back on board I was busy watching the bow as Chris maneuvered round a moored boat. Monty squeaked, I looked down ready to tell him to be quiet and then realised what he was trying to tell me! He does not usually 'wear' the bow rope!
There were boats large and small all over the place today. We had to stop whilst these two small boats tried to get themselves under control and into a safe place.
And then Houghton Lock hove into view - no chance of no gongoozlers today!
There were four boats waiting to come down - oh it was mayhem, but fun to watch!
Two in, albeit one facing the wrong way
No three joined them and eventually got in on the right behind the boat going backwards
They were finally joined by a cruiser who knew what they were doing.
One out, number two turned round and left to be followed by the other two- all great fun and I hope added to their day out on the river.
Our turn next - cruiser one in
then us
then this one squeezed in and wriggled round into the 'D' - we have been calling it 'the cut out', but 'D' seems to be the correct terminology in these parts
They made it in and got another one behind us - I was too busy hanging on to the bow rope for all I was worth to take any more photos, but we made it through unscathed and on the other side was a mother duck with her ducklings taking a rest on a plank of wood
So one more lock to go at Godmanchester - would it be as busy - er Yes!
Once again we got four into the lock, so preserving as much water as possible
Whilst we were waiting to get into Godmanchester lock I had looked down the back water and found a space just big enough for us with some very welcome shade
It is a bit of a tight fit,
but just big enough
with a pretty good view from the sidehatch
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