WWW - Wet but Wonderful Wissey - 16th - 17th August

Thursday 16th August 2018
GOBA moorings River Wissey

So where was that uninvited guest?  By the time we woke it was on the soap container and Chris was tasked to evict it.

 Well the sky lied and the weathermen got it right.  We awoke to this

Monty and I went off for our very wet 2 mile walk - at least the rain was warm.  When we returned a telephone conversation with our neighbours just a few feet away was made and a decision was made to re-consider when we moved at 10:00 and then that became 11:00 at which point we decided to wimp out and stay put all day.  A lot of domestic duties and general tidying was done, so it was not a wasted day.

By mid afternoon the sun was out and Sue and I headed off along the top of the flood bank with Monty back towards the River Great Ouse.

It is certainly 'big sky country' with far reaching views 

At the railway bridge you have to climb down the bank to a gate which is the entrance to 

The cattle were much in evidence

including one youngster who had somehow got itself on the wrong side of the fence.

The highlight was spotting this hare - the second one we have seen this year, but the first I have managed to take a photo of.

The junction of the Wissey and the Great Ouse takes on a different perspective from the flood bank

There has certainly been no problem getting the harvest in this year

Then it was back to the boats - the boat in front of Cleddau with Boots and Ernie had left early afternoon, so we had moved forward to escape an overhanging tree

It was a glorious evening with plenty to look at in the sky and reflected in the water

  

Hopefully it boded well for the next day.

Friday 17th August 2018

GOBA moorings to Whittington and back again

18.75 miles, 0 locks

It was very wet underfoot on our early morning walk, but the sky was blue and the sun was out, so all was well with our world.

By the time we got back to the boats preparations were in hand to head off to Whittington - our target for the day

Yesterday dealt with the 'Wet Wissey', so now it was to the 'Wonderful Wissey'.  It really is a delight from the moment you turn off the Great Ouse.  For the most part it is narrow and very rural with many twists and turns.

There are moored boats at Hilgay and Stoke Ferry, some with rather famous names

and maybe even royal connections

There were a couple of 'reverses' required when we should have gone left rather than right

It really is a delight

The most prominent feature is the enormous sugar beet factory at Wissington which unlike the one we saw at Bardney (on the River Witham near Lincoln) is still in production.  There was not much sign of activity today, but then it is still the growing season for sugar beet, so I assume full production will start in the autumn.  There was definitely a sweet smell in the air and one small chimney had some steam or smoke rising from the top.  It is enormous, dominates the horizon and can be seen long before you get to it.

It started production in 1925, but was taken over by the Ministry of Agriculture in 1941 as sugar was such an important resource during the war.  At that time there were no roads to the factory - everything was transported in and out via the river or a private railway line.  Italian prisoners of war were tasked with renovating the factory and building roads.

On the opposite bank is a huge area of glass houses - we wonder whether they take waste heat from the factory?

There are certainly enough pipe bridges spanning the river at this point

Shortly after the factory you are awarded the thrill (I am easily pleased!) of joining a lake - a little bit out of the ordinary for us.  Tixall Wide is big, but this is bigger

looking back at the sugar factory

Unlike Tixall Wide there is no chance to moor to enjoy such splendid surroundings,

but it is well worth travelling through

There were several swan family groups

white doves at Hilgay

a solitary sheep

a small group of cows

and two very noisy dogs as we neared the head of the navigation

Signs warned of weedboats, however they were absent today

Apart from in Hilgay and Stoke Ferry, there are very few houses en route, but this one jumped out at us - from the river it appears to be in the middle of nowhere and looks as though it has had a recent refurbishment. We rather suspect it is lovely inside.

Our target for the day was Whittington, just a short distance from Stoke Ferry (known as Stoches in the Domesday book - Stow = dwelling and Ches = by the water).  There we found just one GOBA mooring - Cleddau pulled in to 'bag' the space 

whilst we went on to the head of the navigation

where we winded and headed back to the moorings past grand houses  

this one with a wonderful hanging chair - what a place to sit with a good book and an amazing view.

some that make the most of a garden that backs onto water

and then some not so grand

and finally past the vast caravan/camping park that is beside the single GOBA mooring.

We assume the camp site has some RAF association as they are proudly celebrating the 100th anniversary./

We took Cleddau's place and they breasted up with us once they had winded

There is a big sign with rules and regulations

We booked in as requested (they keep a tally for GOBA - if it is not used they will relinquish it), popped to the nearby garage with a Mace shop for papers and bread and returned to the boats.  Lunch was had and instead of settling down for a quiet afternoon we decided to move on and go back to Hilgay.  The road over the canal was very noisy and it really was not a particularly dog friendly mooring.

On our way back a sole paddle boarder passed us by the sluice 

Back at Hilgay we had several attempts at mooring, but unless we were right by a noisy road bridge we found our stern aground, so on we went and ended up back at the wonderful GOBA moorings at 16:00 almost exactly where we had left at 09:30 this morning.  They are blissfully quiet and have a great walk for Monty and I in the morning.

The most obscure sight we spotted today - a child's paddling pool on the bank with no signs of habitation nearby.