Sunday 2 July to St Ives
already done in blog
Monday 3 July St Ives to Houghton
visiting the Hemingfords
The sunny morning saw us enjoying the scenic journey past Hemingford
Meadow to Hemingford Lock. Mooring near thatched cottages on decent
public moorings, we toured Hemingford Grey village, admiring all the
thatched cottages and tudoresque houses. The community tea room,
staffed by volunteers, served excellent drinks and cakes, too. The
church next to the river was also lovely. We guessed the only
drawback was the price of houses …
Returning to the river, we still felt fresh, so passed Annie on our
way to Hemingford Abbots, half a mile away across the meadow, past
pretty pastoral GOBA moorings. More lovely cottages, some dating back
to the 1500s, and the delightful church made our circuit of the
village memorable. We were able to return to the boat via the main
road, which had a path.
Continuing past Houghton Meadow and fishermen, we found the island EA
mooring was uncut, unfenced and had no mooring bollards (like a GOBA
mooring, in fact!), so we continued up Houghton Lock with a cruiser.
The local boaters recommended the Three Jolly Butchers mooring, which
we found a short distance above the lock, in a lovely setting. It was
long enough for Annie, and reasonably strong, if a bit rough. As it
was a four hundred metre trek to the pub, it was a good job that the
grass path had just been cut, as there were loads of nettles. Our
friend Elisabeth comes from Houghton, so we had a good walk around
her home village, which has its share of historic and pretty houses.
I was not allowed in the inviting Three Horse Shoes pub, in the
centre of the village by the “clock tower”, a butter market type
building in the small market place. However, a pint in the Three
Jolly Butchers set me up to make a tasty spaghetti bolognese meal
with red wine, while Liana watched Wimbledon. After a sunny, scenic
evening in this quiet setting, Liana read while John watched more
Game of Thrones dvd episodes, a present from daughter Rachel
(thanks!).
Tuesday 4 July Houghton to
Godmanchester and back
Leaving the rather ricketty but beautifully scenic moorings at the
Three Jolly Butchers, we moved slowly along the mirror-like river,
enjoying the countryside after our fen sojourn, past fishermen, boat
yards, moorings and marinas. Above St Ives it is particularly pretty.
On our left were various river meadows and commons, usually with a
backwater behind them, paralleling the river and sometimes bypassing
the locks with a weir. John had organised to leave the boat back at
St Ives Marina for five nights while we see old friends at home, so
today is a trip upriver. There were boats on the Huntingdon mooring,
so we just skirted the town on the river, under the A14, through
Godmanchester Lock. Here, John turned Annie and we went up the arm to
the large but sadly neglected town basin, which was full of blanket
weed and a foot deep! What a shame this fantastic setting seems
unappreciated by the town council. Talking with the owner of the
Great Ouse Ferry trip boat, trying to cope with unsatisfactory
moorings in the park near the basin, he echoed our feelings.
Apparently, pilings could be fitted to divert winter silt from the
basin, so it would remain deep enough for boats to moor on suitable
pontoons and make this a real asset for the town. It has a ramp, too!
It would be easy to sort, and soon canoe and small boat hire would
appear, I am sure.
There are a few shops, including pubs and tea shops, and the church
tower is impressive, with tuneful clock bells marking the time. We returned to moor at Hemingford Grey, where we found ourselves surrounded by wooden rowing boats practising for their regatta this Saturday. John met friend Alison Atkinson's daughter, Helena, who recognized him from schooldays and lives nearby - and rows!
Today we enjoyed the short trip back to St Ives Marina in the sun, and left Annie there for nearly a week (£55/week) while we went home to see old friends and garden.
