Accommodation (en suite) with Dinner for Two on the Nene
0
25
Accompanied by the sounds of traffic, the smells of the nearby KFC, some iffy graffiti and the obligatory shopping trolley, Hippo and I bravely go where others fear to launch.....ladies & gentlemen, the Nene in all its urban glory
We bravely run the gauntlet of the river gypsies - as it's only 2pm there's nothing about other than the sweet smell of herbal substances
On the subject of dodgy substances, this is the Carlsberg factory.....sitting on the confluence of the two arms of the Nene above the official navigation
Thankfully it improves somewhat as you pass the restored waterfront of Northampton
Back in 1880 the Reverend Wathan Wigg founded a boys club in this part of the town which went on to become Northampton Saints Rugby Club - this bridge is named after him
Northampton used to be famous for shoes - it is now renowned for this lonely black swan who has become something of a celebrity - Love Island beckons methinks (for the swan not us)
The river is littered with boats such as this - I recall talking to the people living on it this time last year - it does focus the mind on the blessings we have.
We really hate portaging around locks - especially with the weight of overnight gear and ahem, ballast on board
It's all in the final elbow action - according to Hippo anyway - who also doubles as the trip's diplomatic attache in ownership disputes over canoe portage platforms - we counted over 120 swans over the trip so they seem to be doing very well after the mild winter
The objective of the afternoon's four hour paddle was to camp in Cogenhoe backwater - a tree lined idyll
For the first 300 yards - whereupon it descends into glorious ditchiness
Our home for the night in a small wood
It's one of our favourite wild camping spots - just made for hammocking
Half way through the ballast and he hasn't even started cooking yet
Here we go....Rutland sausage fried up with onions and potatoes first on the firebox, then only the finest liver and bacon is used to produce a gastronomic wonder - it's a special treat for me as, despite the usual yucky and slimy stuff associated with children and dogs, Mrs Patterdale refuses to cook liver at home - in fact, I have to say, it was offally good indeed!
Solutions to most of the world's troubles were discovered over the remaining ballast and we awoke next morning (always a result IMHO) to find that we'd forgotten them all - I find that the best days start with a weir
Not a soul about - probably because it was stupid o'clock early
At Whiston lock we alight onto one of the well maintained EA canoe platforms (it's been like this for 4 years - no money apparently)
I then spend ten minutes on the end of a rope being instructed in the finer points of angles/trajectories/loading criteria by a man sitting on a lock gate - all of which I'm sure he makes up as he goes along but to the odd passing dog walker it sounds convincing, almost scientific stuff
Avoiding any major mishap at Whiston we move on to the next potential mishap and ignore the don't take your narrowboat down here rollers at White Mills lock into a pretty backwater
Leading to a weir without water
Which is not the crushing disappointment you might expect - if there's too much water going over this weir...........
The last backwater is at Hardwater Crossing
A most pleasant place to beggar about
Often on small weirs with a two foot lip drop the descent is so slow that the wobble factor comes into play at the bottom
Fortunately, this one is a wizzy weir
Thanks to the wonders of Google - this should be an animation
Journey's End at Hardwater Mill - it's hard to imagine anything further from the shopping trolley infested waters of Northampton isn't it?
Thanks for reading the latest instalment of Tales from La La Land - regards to you all, Dick
We bravely run the gauntlet of the river gypsies - as it's only 2pm there's nothing about other than the sweet smell of herbal substances
On the subject of dodgy substances, this is the Carlsberg factory.....sitting on the confluence of the two arms of the Nene above the official navigation
Thankfully it improves somewhat as you pass the restored waterfront of Northampton
Back in 1880 the Reverend Wathan Wigg founded a boys club in this part of the town which went on to become Northampton Saints Rugby Club - this bridge is named after him
Northampton used to be famous for shoes - it is now renowned for this lonely black swan who has become something of a celebrity - Love Island beckons methinks (for the swan not us)
The river is littered with boats such as this - I recall talking to the people living on it this time last year - it does focus the mind on the blessings we have.
We really hate portaging around locks - especially with the weight of overnight gear and ahem, ballast on board
It's all in the final elbow action - according to Hippo anyway - who also doubles as the trip's diplomatic attache in ownership disputes over canoe portage platforms - we counted over 120 swans over the trip so they seem to be doing very well after the mild winter
The objective of the afternoon's four hour paddle was to camp in Cogenhoe backwater - a tree lined idyll
For the first 300 yards - whereupon it descends into glorious ditchiness
Our home for the night in a small wood
It's one of our favourite wild camping spots - just made for hammocking
Half way through the ballast and he hasn't even started cooking yet
Here we go....Rutland sausage fried up with onions and potatoes first on the firebox, then only the finest liver and bacon is used to produce a gastronomic wonder - it's a special treat for me as, despite the usual yucky and slimy stuff associated with children and dogs, Mrs Patterdale refuses to cook liver at home - in fact, I have to say, it was offally good indeed!
Solutions to most of the world's troubles were discovered over the remaining ballast and we awoke next morning (always a result IMHO) to find that we'd forgotten them all - I find that the best days start with a weir
Not a soul about - probably because it was stupid o'clock early
At Whiston lock we alight onto one of the well maintained EA canoe platforms (it's been like this for 4 years - no money apparently)
I then spend ten minutes on the end of a rope being instructed in the finer points of angles/trajectories/loading criteria by a man sitting on a lock gate - all of which I'm sure he makes up as he goes along but to the odd passing dog walker it sounds convincing, almost scientific stuff
Avoiding any major mishap at Whiston we move on to the next potential mishap and ignore the don't take your narrowboat down here rollers at White Mills lock into a pretty backwater
Leading to a weir without water
Which is not the crushing disappointment you might expect - if there's too much water going over this weir...........
The last backwater is at Hardwater Crossing
A most pleasant place to beggar about
Often on small weirs with a two foot lip drop the descent is so slow that the wobble factor comes into play at the bottom
Fortunately, this one is a wizzy weir
Thanks to the wonders of Google - this should be an animation
Journey's End at Hardwater Mill - it's hard to imagine anything further from the shopping trolley infested waters of Northampton isn't it?
Thanks for reading the latest instalment of Tales from La La Land - regards to you all, Dick