Continuing the story – rained heavily when we moored up at Fotheringhay so didn’t get off the boat until nearly 6 o’clock.  Turned out we were moored up at a large mound which was all that was left of an ancient castle where Mary, Queen of Scots, was beheaded because Queen Elizabeth 1 – her sister -was worried that she was becoming too popular and might overthrow her and take the English throne.  The castle was also the birthplace of Richard III whose remains were dug up in a car park in Leicester causing great excitement when we were there a couple of years ago. 

 The village was all beautiful thatched stone cottages and when we arrived at St Mary’s, the large village church, the BBC was making a program about the expensive restoration works being undertaken to mend the leaking roof and underpin the foundations.  Naturally the church was closed because of the renovations but luckily we spoke to one of the church fellows who gave us a tour inside and told us its amazing history.

BRIDGES ARE GETTING LOWER!!

WHEEL TO LOWER/RAISE GATE

Travelling on there were lots more guillotine locks to do including some which had a wheel to turn to lower the huge gates instead of a button to push.   It took more than 60 stiff turns of the wheel to get the gates up and down so they were a bit taxing as well.  We worked out that Glenys did more than 80 locks on the canal & River Nene during her 3 weeks on the boat.   She will be going home for a good rest!!

We turned off the River Nene to moor up at Ferry Meadows Park just south of Peterborough.  A delightful mooring spot on one of three huge lakes which used to be gravel quarry pits.  Lots to see with miles of walking tracks, a miniature railway, water activities, carved tree sculptures everywhere and heaps of birdlife.  More than 1,000,000 million visitors use the park each year including lots of school groups for nature sessions. 

We caught a bus into Peterborough to check out the moorings for the boat because we were heading down to London for a few days.  The moorings were by a park at the edge of the town and looked quite good except for the hundreds of swans and Canadian geese making a mess of the bank.

On the Friday morning we left Ferry Meadows back onto the River Nene which had now risen quite a bit and was running fast from the recent storms.   We had one lock to go through before Peterborough but there was another boat on the mooring before the lock so we couldn’t tie up.   There was a sluice next to the lock and the strong current was pushing our boat towards it.   Terry had to drive the boat into the bank just before the lock and then we spent the next twenty minutes trying to get the front of the boat off the bank and into the lock without the back getting pushed towards the sluice with the current.   We imagined we would be on the BBC News that night with helicopter rescues in the picture but eventually we managed to get the boat into the lock.   We then spoke to the people who were from the moored boat who told us the Peterborough moorings were flooded and they had to leave there at 10.00 the night before.   We got through the lock then tied up and decided the only choice was to do a hairy U-turn, back through the lock, then back to Ferry Meadows (even though it was  supposed to be only 24 hour mooring).

 

Caught the bus back to Peterborough next morning to see the huge Cathedral which was built in the ll00s and had a look around the town.   Sunday was a quiet recovery day with just a walk around the lakes and a ride on the miniature train.

Pouring rain on Monday morning so it was a taxi to Peterborough Station to catch the train to London.   Overcast in London but the sun came out by the time we reached Sooz’s home.   Picked up the girls from school then it was off to swimming with them.  Terry took Glenys to see Sooz’s  Vet Clinic which was nearby while the girls were swimming.  

VICTORIA & ALBERT MUSEUM ENTRANCE

 

 

 

NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM

THIS T-REX MOVES & LOOKS SOOO REAL!!

Next day we went into the City with Sooz who had the day off.   We had a quick look at the impressive Victoria & Albert Museum then on to see the dinosaurs at the Natural Science Museum (hoards of visitors queuing up   On then for a special Wimbledon High Tea at the Ampersand Hotel in South Kensington.   Sooz had arranged this for Terry’s birthday celebrations – they just keep going on and on.   The afternoon tea was amazing – starting with a glass of Moet then lovely pastries, scones with jam & clotted cream and the most amazing top shelf of gingerbread tennis racquets, marshmallow tennis balls, strawberry & cream tarts, tiny glasses of Pimms and purple & green macaroons (Wimbledon traditional colours).  A real work of art!

 

 

Wednesday we went into London again – this time a quick run around Borough Market (amazing food), a look through the Old Victorian Operating Theatre Museum (gruesome but fascinating) on to Oxford Circus and the quaint Liberty store and then it was off to see the old favourite show -  ‘Showboat’ - in the afternoon.  Great performance – amazing how many old songs we recognised came from that show.  

On Thursday Glenys was flying back to Melbourne so we saw her off on the train from St Pancras Station to Heathrow and we caught the train back to Peterborough.  The boat was OK (thankfully no ‘overstaying’ stickers or fines for being too long on the mooring). 

THAT LOCK!!

SLUICE NEXT TO THAT LOCK

Left the next morning to go back through THAT Lock.   The river was behaving well so we just breezed through.  Pity about the 2 Tupperware boats moored up on the other side waiting to come into the lock.  The water was pouring over the sluice so we had no control when we came out of the lock and side-swiped them.  But... they were double-parked and we had to keep to the left because of a sandbar so it was partly their own fault.  No damage done so that was lucky for them (and us too).

Moored up in Peterborough – right next to the carnival but it was all very quiet – and luckily most of the swan poo had been washed off the steps when it flooded.

Next morning we went through another lock onto the Middle Level Navigations.  Quite different – high levy banks on both sides of the water so could only see the top floors and roofs of the houses.  Like driving down English country lanes with high hedges or walls on both sides.  Masses of wind turbines slowly turning and lots of paddocks filled with solar panels too.  

Moored up at March, a quaint little village with a magnificent church (we actually walked in during the Sunday service).  Spent the night moored up in a lovely shady spot but some pigeons were in the branches above so the boat was in a bit of a mess next morning.

SALTERS LODE LOCK  -  TOO SHORT!

TIDE OUT - SECOND GATE BEING USED

SITTING ON THE MUD - WAITING FOR THE TIDE TO COME IN

Carried on to Salters Lode Lock which was the entrance to the Great Ouse River.   We were the last of 3 boats to go into the lock at 1.00pm with the tide coming in up the river.  We got into the lock but then the Lock-keeper discovered we were too long.  Said ‘come back tomorrow’   We wondered how on earth we were going to shrink 3 feet overnight but next morning we went into the lock when the tide was out and the lock-keeper used a second smaller set of gates to give us more room.   We got through the lock and then had to sit on the mud for an hour until the tide came back in and we floated off.   All good fun.   Came to another lock 10 minutes later where we had to buy an Environment Agency licence to travel on the river for a month.   The Great Ouse is much bigger than the Nene River with lots of Tupperware (plastic cruiser) boats. 

OLIVER CROMWELL'S HOUSE

Arrived at the town of Ely and moored up at a beautiful spot at the Jubilee Gardens right in the centre of town.    The huge Ely Cathedral can be seen for miles rising out of the flat countryside– so impressive.   Ely is a very very old town – it was originally an island in the middle of the Fens which were marshy wetlands.   Various methods over the centuries were tried to drain the water with major work being done by a Dutchman in the 16^th century.  He dug miles of straight drains which took the water off the land into the rivers and out to sea.   Only trouble was that when the water went off the land the peat dried out and shrunk and the land was lower than the drains so big pumping stations had to be used to keep the area dry.  The land is very fertile with lots of crops grown in this area.

There has been a church at Ely since the 600s when Etheldreda, an Abbess, set up a monastery.   This was destroyed by the Vikings in 869 but it later became a Benedictine Abbey for men for 500 years.  The cathedral building was completed by 1190 with the West Tower added in the 1300s.   Apparently the foundations were only 2 metres deep in clay and the Tower actually subsided a few feet after it was finished which caused some cracks to the rest of the building (but it is still standing so not too bad). The second middle tower actually collapsed in the 15^th century and had to be rebuilt using only timber on the upper section to make it lighter.   

288 STEPS UP & DOWN THIS SPIRAL STAIRCASE

We climbed the 288 steep steps up the higher West Tower for a magnificent view over the surrounding countryside.   Our guide told us to leave our bags on the middle level – apparently last year some teenagers went up to the top of the tower with backpacks on and before the guide could stop them – they jumped off the tower and floated down with hang-gliders.  No doubt they have lots of Facebook viewers.  The Cathedral staff  were not amused!!

LOOKING DOWN ON THE MIDDLE TOWER

  

 

Well, we’ve seen Britain leave the EU this week (much to the horror and surprise of even some people who voted to leave), the PM has resigned and the Labor party is in disarray too.  Perhaps even worse for a lot of people - England lost their European Cup match to tiny Iceland  – this was called a ‘shameful disaster’.  

On the way to Cambridge ....more news later.