The Middle Levels - 21-23 August 2018

Tuesday 21st August 2018
Salter's Lode to March
19.25 miles, 1 lock

The Middle Levels are real Fen Land - flat! In addition to draining the low-lying Fen Land they also provide a connection between the River Great Ouse and the River Nene.  Sadly there is nothing that exciting about them, but it is that or back across the Wash, so it has to be done.  I have to say that a lot of what there might have been to see passed me by this time.

Before we set off on Tuesday I took Monty for a walk along the river bank.  I tend to walk for a mile and then head back.  On my return journey I met a lady with a rather handsome standard poodle.  The dogs said 'hello' as did the lady and I.  We passed each other and she then called her dog and being a very good boy he obeyed by swinging round at speed to follow her.  Unfortunately my knee got in the way and of course it had to be the one that gives me trouble every now and then.  The lady did apologise, but it was not her fault - just one of those things. I was then faced with a good two thirds of a mile 'hobble'!  I made it to where I could see the boats and then told Monty to 'go and fetch Chris'.  I really did not think he would, but he did.  Chris brought me a walking pole to help me the last 300 yards or so.

I spent most of the day in the bow and you never see as much from down there.  That or I was just not in a 'looking mode'.  As it turned out it was a very good job I was in the bow as I was able to avert a potential crash.  About two miles from Salter's Lode you pass under Nordolph bridge. This is the view as you approach.  It looks innocuous enough, but those willow trees completely obscure the view of the bridge.

Looking back at Cleddau coming through you can see you can see the arch you need to go through.  From the helm it is impossible to see.  Chris had moved over to avoid the trees and we were heading for the red arrow!!  Had I not been in the bow we would have hit the bridge.  Cleddau was able to follow our line.

I did call the Middle Level Commissioners and was told 'yes we know about those willows - they have been cut several times over the years and we will add them to the winter cutting programme'.  So if you are coming this way - watch out and send someone to the bow to act as look out.

There is a lot of this

One aqueduct to add some interest

over the Middle Level Main Drain

On then through Outwell and Upwell.  Four years ago we moored in Upwell which is lovely.  I had to walk a long way to Outwell when I decided I desperately needed a haircut.  Had I been in need this time there is now a hairdresser in the main street in Upwell!

Chris and I did stop briefly on the town moorings to use the water point, but you have to go and get a key from the butcher or the pub.  We were not that desperate, so we went on.  They are very pretty moorings run by the Well Creek Trust.  We were supposed to be here yesterday (Monday), but with the delay at Salter's Lode yesterday we decided to play catch up and go all the way to March.

There are a couple of rather low bridges to contend with

This one is by the The Five Bells and the church in Upwell.

Just the one lock today at Marmont Priory - the lock keeper there is a lady who we think is in her 80's. She likes people to phone before they arrive, however, we were told she was on holiday, so no need to phone this time.  Sue and Ken very kindly worked us through as I was a wounded soldier.

We pulled over, tied up and Chris went back to help Ken get Sue through

The approach to March is quite pretty

Sue and Ken found a mooring by the main part of town.  We went under the town bridge and ended up mooring opposite the sanitary station.  The bollards are too low to be of much use, but a couple of pins and we were secure.  To be honest it is not the best mooring - there is a much used pedestrian crossing nearby.  To start with we both wondered why someone kept starting their engine - then the penny dropped.  It is quiet at night, but pretty incessant during the day.  Still we were safe and just needed to stop.

I am fairly certain there are things to explore in March, but not for me this trip.  Chris popped to the Tesco Express to get something easy for dinner and I retired for a much needed nap.

Wednesday 22nd August 2018
March to Ashline Lock
4.5 miles, 1 lock

Fortunately for Monty & I there was a wonderful park very close to our mooring in March.  Chris went for the paper and I took my trusty walking pole and escorted Monty to the park with the ball and chucker.   A game he loves that gets rid of a lot of his energy and gentle exercise for me - the knee had benefited from the day of light duties.

I do love seeing what people do with their gardens that back onto waterways.  This one looks as though it is a work in progress

Whereas the neighbours are looking very smart

This it would appear is 'Grandad's Shed' - nothing that special, but I just love

his weather stone.  It is this sort of thing that you would never see other than from the water and it really does add to the charm of boating.

Cleddau pulled in to the Fox Hire Boat Basin to buy gas.  As we went past we could see them in there with a boat about to come out.  What we could not understand (and still can't) is why the lady had a stick in her hand.

We crossed the Greenwich Meridian at 11:20, so were now back in the west.

On we went past this veritable mountain

where there had been a bit of a collapse in the middle

There was a lot more of this

We only passed two boats en route.  We had received a phone call from Cleddau to say that not one, but three boats had left the Fox boat yard and they were stuck behind them going very slowly.  Our instructions were to carry on and secure a mooring above Ashline Lock.

As we approached the lock our hearts sank as there was a boat on the lock landing with no signs that they were going up the lock.  As soon as they saw us the two men came out and it was all hands on deck to untie and move off.  One of them said we were only the second boat he had seen in three days and he was just having a lunchtime nap!

There are clear instructions at this lock to leave it empty with the bottom gates open.  Sadly it was full with all four gates shut.  It also has very usual paddle (or slackers as they are called round here) mechanism and your windlass ends up working horizontally

There are a lot of turns required - one of the top gates took 79!  We were nearly through when the first boat behind us arrived and imagine our surprise to find it was Cleddau

The other boats were all so slow they had managed to overtake them all.  We were sent to secure a mooring knowing that the three boats behind us would also need some space.  The mooring is quite short - it is just about long enough for 2, but we managed to get 5 in with a bit of juggling and some long lines to the bank.

The boat directly behind us was the one we saw emerging from the boatyard as we went past.  When we got chatting (as you do) we found out why it was all so slow - it was their very first time out on the cut and they were both rather nervous about it all.  They were lovely people and I hope they find their feet and are able to relax and enjoy their boating life.

Thursday 23rd August 2018
Ashline Lock to The Dog in a Doublet Lock, R Nene
8.75 miles, 1 lock

I was back to being able to walk Monty again today and as we were moored on a huge playing field he also got a game of ball, so he was a happy sailor.  We had walked back to the lock, went over the bridge and ahead of us was a level crossing with a green light and both gates shut.  I have not come across one like this before

I suspect it is a little used crossing. If you look left along the railway line you can see another crossing with automatic gates not far away.

Our initial target today was to get to Stanground lock in good time for our 12:30 booking (you have to call 24 hours before you require passage through this lock). Shortly after we set off we passed this sign

they weren't kidding!

On past a thatched cottage

with another turn at the end of a very narrow channel

With a pub (The Boat) high above us

On the outskirts there were yet more wonderful waterside gardens

This was the first inkling of what was coming next

It was a huge crane depot on the right.  It was mostly hidden behind large bushes, but there are some things that cannot be hidden.

And then on the left these look like bits of bridges - or possibly parts of a crane ready to transport.

We arrived at Stanground lock at 11:30 - an hour early.  Still better early than late.  We were lucky and we were waved through.

A large lock for times of flood, but the rise was not that much today.  It is operated by a lady who has lived in the lock cottage all her life. She took over the job from her Dad.  I wonder if she has any offspring to keep it in the family?

As we exited there was a boat waiting to go down

the sign writing sent me to Google to find out what ANRC stands for - Association of Nene River Clubs

Peterborough Boating Centre is not far from the lock - we wanted to fill up.  Would it be possible?  We needed to reverse in where the red arrow is.

It was a tricky reverse into a small space with cruisers to our right and left and we could only tie the stern on to the jetty.  However it was worth the effort as the base price was 86p a litre, which is very cheap on these waters.

It would not long before we entered the River Nene, but before we do what are my thoughts on the Middle Levels?  I would like to explore March a little more and would also want to stop in Upwell if we come this way again.  For the rest, well it just has to be done.  A lot is shallow and weedy.  The most common sights are

pillboxes

and wind turbines which stretch for miles over a very flat landscape

 As we entered the Nene wide deep water was very welcome

We turned right - our target the lock (The Dog-in-a-Doublet) that ends the non tidal River Nene - a new stretch of water for us all.  It is very long and very straight.  (More about the Dog-in-a-Doublet later).

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There was one sad sight en route - from this angle it looks as though someone has dumped a large box onto the boat that was too heavy and capsized it

but from the other side it is obvious that it is/was a boat undergoing modification.

As we neared the lock

we realised there was a cruiser on the moorings - would there be room in front of him?

There was - he really had left as much room as possible and also popped out to take a rope and help us moor.

After lunch and a rest the four of us escorted Monty to see if we could see the lock - we couldn't.  We had to walk along the edge of a busy road, but were able to skirt round to the back of the lock.  It is a pretty impressive structure.

 This is looking along the tidal Nene that goes to Wisbech

There are large sluice gates to control the water

We ended up by The Dog in a Doublet Pub, so it would have been rude not to go in and try to find out more about such an unusual name

There is this sign as you are about to enter

 The dog theme continued inside - even as far as the toilets which are named 'Dogs' and 'Bitches'

They even had a real life little dog called Rachel - she is sitting on a sofa with a basket behind her containing something very important to her

  Her two two week old puppies

So did we learn more about the pub name - no, but the landlord did tell us that the pub pre-dates the lock as it dates back to the early 1600's.  The sea used to come up here.  The pub is in Whittlesey that we left this morning and it used to be Whittle on Sea.  The road outside the pub is flooded occasionally at high tide, but the pub never floods and there is road access in and out from behind the pub.  We gather from internet research and something Chris read somewhere that in times gone by the pub dog took a dip in the river and lost all its coat, so the landlady knitted it a doublet.  The locals would say they had been to a pub with a dog in a doublet and the name stuck.

We made our way back to the moorings, with still flat land around us dominated by chimneys and wind turbines, to settle down for what turned out to be quite a wet, wild and windy evening.  The mooring is safe, but the traffic is noisy.  The other big down side for us is that there is nowhere to take Monty for a long walk, but we are moving on soon (Friday), so he will get his walk later.