Down the River by H E Bates

Having recently spent an idyllic holiday on the River Nene, I revisited a book we have had for some time. H E Bates, the famous novelist came from Rushden and wrote an evocative book about the rivers of eastern England "Down the River". There are several editions but ours is the 1987 (50th anniversary) edition which has illustrations by Peter Partington.

The book is based around two rivers, the Nene and the Great Ouse and is full of wonderful descriptions of the wildlife, flowers and people living alongside. 

Our copy has an inscription by Maggie's father Hugh, "To a family who have the luck to live between the Two Rivers". He was referring to the Chapter titled The Twin Rivers ad the fact that we live between the Two Rivers and we agree that we are lucky living in this area. With the inscription and its memories we particularly treasure this copy.  

Black-headed Gulls - we saw a lot recently near Woodford

A Lock

Lace-maker

There are chapters on fishing, wild flowers, water mills, and otters but unusually there is an interesting chapter on lace-making. The villages in South Northamptonshire have a long history of lace-making and we live opposite a row of cottages that was a lace making "factory".  We can relate to the stories Bates relates about the craft because our village has similar. The history of how the art arrived in our part of England is retold and this is important. .

There are a least two other editions with first edition, published in 1937, having wood engravings by Agnes Miller Parker. However, the 1987 edition is widely available through the usual second-hand book sellers for around £12.  Its a good read and the illustrations of the edition we have are charming.

Researching for this post has convinced me that we must also get a 1937 edition because it is illustrated with wood cuts - I love wood cuts.

A visit to Ely

On Sunday we went with friends to Ely. It is a convenient place for a group of us to get together.

Ely Cathedral 

The weather played its part in what turned out to be a good day. Saturday was wet, Monday was wet and windy, but in between Sunday was just a perfect November day - sunny but cold. 

We had morning tea at the award-winning Peacocks Tea Room, took a stroll around the town and the cathedral grounds and then had a roast at The Cutter; it never fails to impress. Our visit was rounded off by rummaging around the Waterside Antiques Centre.  

The river wasn't particularly busy and there were spaces on the visitor moorings. We recalled out visit to Ely on Albert in 2006 when we moored up in the town for several nights. It was August then and so much busier. During our stroll along the embankment we saw a Cambridge University eight out training.

Ely Visitor Moorings

A Cambridge University crew in training from their new boathouse at Ely

Great Ouse Limit of Navigation

As with most river navigations, the limit of navigation on the Great Ouse depends on your vessel. Most Environment Agency advice and mapping runs out at the Embankment at Bedford with passage under the 2.1 m air draught under the footbridge at the town's lock.

I had always taken it for granted that the practical obstruction to navigation for most boats was the lack of headway under the railway bridges in Bedford. We have not navigated to Bedford but today I spent some time today walking along the river and by chance I was able to see for myself how one of the railway bridges impacts on navigation.

As I walked from the former Britannia Iron Works site, across the new footbridge, a small GRP cruiser approached the Bletchley to Bedford railway line bridge from downstream It decided that it couldn't go any further, turned and moored up by Borough Hall where there are good moorings. This bridge has a nominal air draught of 1.96 m, according to a Bedford Borough Council document. Although the cruiser could have dropped its windscreen, and possibly made it under the bridge, it did look very tight. With the proposed route of the Bedford & Milton Keynes Waterway entering from just upstream of this area, a solution is required for this and the St Pancras line bridge which is only a few metres upstream and only a little higher.

 

Cruiser chooses not to risk it under a rail bridge at Bedford

Houghton, Great Ouse

With good weather, on Sunday we had a day investigating a National Trust Property not too far from home (just over an hour by car). It was Houghton Watermill or described in the NT Handbook Houghton Mill and Waterclose Meadows.

Houghton Mill

(Note the outflow from the waterwheel to the right of the building)

The 18th century water mill is not far from Huntingdon and lies on the Great Ouse. Although we spent some time with Albert on the River Ouse we haven't ventured this far upstream. The mill is a substantial building with a long history. It once housed a number of waterwheels. The remnants of some of the original machinery still exists inside the building but The Trust have installed a working wheel outside driving a single millstone. When multiple wheels were in operation it would have been a noisy, busy and dusty place.

Every Sunday during the season the watermill is in operation grinding small quantities of flour as you will see in the video I took below.

Houghton Mill in operation

We enjoyed lunch at the NT Tearooms, visited the mill, crossed the lock and then went for an extended walk across the meadows to Hemmingford Abbots and Hemmingford Grey, both delightful and picturesque villages with some substantial properties that must be worth a fortune.

Houghton Mill Lock

Old School House Hemmingford Abbot

More thatched properties Hemmingford Abbot

Village Library in a phone box!

A Sea Otter moored up above Hemmingford Grey Lock

I notice that No Problem passed through this way on Tuesday. I was on the look out for them on Sunday just in case they had made rapid progress. It turned out that they were not far away in  St Ives. If we get around to boating this way I will make sure we stop overnight at Houghton.

New Year's Walk near Cosgrove

For New Year's day, which was cloudy and relatively mild - particularly given the recent arctic weather, we took a walk near home along the River Ouse at Stony Stratford.

We started at Wolverton Mill and took one of the Ouse Valley walks but instead of following the river we crossed the bridge north towards Cosgrove heading in the general direction of the Grand Union aqueduct and the famous Iron Trunk. We visited the area below the aqueduct two year's ago when we posted about the "mock" lock that has been erected by the Milton Keynes Parks Trust near the river to indicate the original course of the canal and its river-level crossing. This year we were on the other bank. The original line of the canal is somewhat obscured by trees but it is still visible.


Former line of the Grand Junction alongside the aqueduct at Cosgrove

We followed the line of the former flight of locks up to the "modern" Cosgrove Lock. The boater wire sculpture looks impressive close up.


Boatman Sculpture - Cosgrove Lock

We then walked along the Buckingham Arm. The first part is in water and acts as a small basin. The ice was begining to melt and looked milky.


Grand Union Buckingham Arm - watered section

After what was the first bridge on the arm it is no longer in water. The footpath along the dry canal acts as public footpath to Old Stratford.


Grand Union Buckingham Arm - dry section

We walked along it for about a mile before we diverted across a field (very muddy) to the River Ouse where the modern A5 crosses. Unable to cross the river at this point, we then walked upstream along the river bank to the original Watling Street crossing before making our way back downstream to Wolverton Mill. A good new circular walk but around an area that is very familiar to us.

Fenland Trip July & August 2006

We spent four weeks cruising the River Nene, Middle Level and the rivers Great Ouse and Cam.

This part of our blog is in two sections;
images posted on our return home;
text posted by mobile phone from the boat.

Denver Sluice

High tide & wind


Looking across New Bedford River


First boat across to Salter's Lode Lock

Great Ouse

Ely


Upware EA moorings


Swans at Upware


Near Denver

Wet & Windy on the Wissey

Travelled downstream from Ely and investigated the River Wissey. Only went as far as Hilgay because of driving rain. Moored overnight on GOBA moorings near the mouth of the river. Due to cross to the Middle Level tomorrow but the tides are high and the strong winds don't help!
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Ely Again

Moved back down the Ouse to Ely. Weather windy. Managed to find a mooring near the Maltings. Visited the antique market - again. Bought a Victorian brass kettle. Looks good on the hob. Great meal in the Cutter with Myra & Dave.
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Streatham

Back on the Great Ouse: Crawled back down New River, the creek that goes from the River Cam to Wicken Fen. An Environment Agency operative was busy with a JCB removing weeds. Although it appeared quicker coming downstream we still got stuck on one of the very tight bends. We negotiated Upwell lock and travelled down to Pope's Corner. We then travelled up the Ouse (Old West River) to Streatham. Moored near the Lazy Otter and had a good pub dinner. Windy with sunny periods.
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Ely Day 2

Spent a quiet day in Ely visiting the cathedral and shopping. Good evening meal at the Cutter Inn.
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Ely Day 1

After last nights heavy rain and strong winds we woke to more of same. Moved onto Ely where we found an excellent moorings near the Maltings. Our crew, the Winters, left for Bedford by Fred's taxi. We will miss their laughter.
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Denver Sluice

Slow journey along Well Creek to Salter's Lode Lock. We arrived just in time for the lockkeeper's briefing at 11.30. Shown the location of the sandbanks at low tide and then waited for the tide to come up. We were the last of the batch of boats leaving Salter's Lode Lock onto the tidal Ouse so we were able to watch the three crews ahead of us negotiate the sandbanks. The batch included the narrowboats Shepherds Moon and Hereward (with its tender - The Wake!). The second boat got stuck but was freed by the rising tide. We went out last and on the full tide. We managed to avoid all the shoals. Must have been the skippers skill! (Although I supect the higher tide helped.) There will be no more boats through Denver Sluice for the next four days until the higher tides return. After a welcome lunch at the pub at Denver with Lynda Peyton & Sam Samuels from Stoke Bruerne we cruised towards Ely in driving rain and moored up near the entrance to Brandon Creek.
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