An Eight Lock Day in High Wind! 7th September

Friday 7th September 2018
Doddington to Weston Flavell Floodgate
7 miles, 8 locks

The day dawned bright and sunny with a gloriously blue sky.

 Monty's walk was not that satisfactory and involved me climbing a gate and then over some barbed wire.  He, however, declined to follow me (he could have cleared it with ease, but this is Monty we are talking about).  I went back over the barbed wire, picked him up and "hoiked" him over, before climbing over yet again.  We then met cows, so turned back and then followed a very overgrown route, but made it back to the boat in safety.  I knew he would be on and off the boat for several hours today, so reckoned he had had enough exercise to keep him going for a short while,at least.

We were in for an 8 lock day - a bit of a shock as we have not done 8 locks in a day since 22nd April when we went through Curdworth, north of Birmingham!  A bit of a nonsense statistic - in the first 9 days of this cruise we averaged 9 locks a day.  In the 129 days since then we have averaged slightly less than 0.75 locks per day!  All of today's locks were too far apart to walk, but not quite far enough to allow time to boil the kettle, make a cuppa and drink it!  We managed one by boiling the kettle between two locks, doing the lock and then re-boiling and making the tea allowing just enough time to swallow it before arriving at the next lock! 

I rarely follow a day lock by lock, but today I decided I would, hoping to give a feel of the Upper Nene.

1. Doddington Lock

There was a small single handed boat ahead of us, so there was always going to be some waiting.  The landing stage is so short Cleddau had to off load the locking crew (Sue!), before we could get near to land Monty and I

Just above Doddington lock is the next set of FOTRN moorings - Hardwater Mill.  They are very long, with fantastic views and good walking opportunities.  They will definitely be on our list if we come this way again.

2. Earls Barton Lock

There were repairs going on high above our heads.  At ground level the wind was strong - it must have been even worse up there.  Not a job I would want and I am eternally grateful there are folk who can undertake such essential work.

Weed is a big problem this end of the Nene at the moment - Ken tried to get rid of some, but it proved resistant

Other people had had more success

Job done and Chris is waiting for me to empty the lock and raise the guillotine gate.

I noticed this counter in the control box and presumed it is the number of times the gate has been operated. 

3. White Mills Lock

It was at this lock that the wind really made its presence felt.  We were working a system of taking it in turns to stay and re-set the lock.  Here it was our turn to go ahead.  Once the boats had left the lock, I shut the gate on the side we had been on and was expecting to get back on board just outside the gate on the same side.  The wind, however, had other ideas and Chris found himself on the other side and despite me walking over to his side he just could not get near enough to pick me up. I walked along the bank and eventually he was able to take the windlass, grab my hand and with a combination of a leap from me and a haul from him I made it safely on board.  Probably not very elegant, but safe.

Is this an indication of how thick the weed is or how shallow the river is? 

4. Whiston Lock

The weed is even worse

The views are far reaching and there was a group of lady walkers taking a short break.

This was in the far distance - Whiston Church

5. Cogenhoe Lock

As you approach this lock you pass many of these static homes

Above the lock is where we moored four years ago, with not a cow in sight this time

This was our view when we awoke in the morning at Cogenhoe four years ago

6. Billing Lock

Sadly quite a few locks have these signs explaining why there is no life saving equipment at the lock

This is the only lock on the Nene, so far, that has padlocks on the paddles, so I assume vandals are a common feature round here.

It is beside a very large (235 acre) camping site.  Not over full today,

 but definitely housing several American families, at least that is what the various flags being displayed seemed to indicate.

We are not sure what the little wooden huts are, but presumably very small chalets?

The site does go on and on

7. Clifford Hill Lock

Here there is a memorial stone now very faded

Thankfully there is a plaque explaining all - I think Spencer Compton was the 8th Earl of Northampton who lived from 1738-1796.

8. Weston Favell Lock

As you approach this lock the widest channel to the left leads to the flood defences

you have to turn to the right along the narrow channel past the boats of Northampton Boat Club.

and the lock is at the end

Leaving the lock you go through the flood gate with warnings that machinery may start automatically.  River levels are low at present, so there is very little chance of this being used at the moment

Out the other side is a wide expanse of water with some mooring pontoons on the right

Would we fit?  Well with a lot of shuffling, and some assistance, Cleddau made it, just, and we were able to breast up.

The single hander we had been following (he stopped off after we had done three locks) arrived after we were settled and somehow managed to get onto the end - a skilled bit of mooring.

It certainly made for a very full pontoon

A bit of exploring cried out to be undertaken and to that end Sue, Monty and I set off across the Washlands

The infrastructure of the flood defences is enormous and pictures do not really do it justice

and the reservoir is also vast, but quite empty at present

We could not work out what the measurements are

This is where there are more flood controls from the reservoir to the river and shows just how low the water is now

From up on the flood bank there is a pretty good view to Little Houghton church

The wind dropped as the evening wore on, but it was definitely coat weather today, certainly autumnal.  We are safely moored, but the noise from the very busy A45 would deter me from staying here too long.

Hopefully the evening sky is correct and we will be in for a nice day tomorrow