In which Kresza and I voyage from Peterborough in Cambridgeshire to great Yarmouth in Norfolk. Aboard "Juggler" a 1971 Halcyon 23 sailing cruiser. |
| Distance 127 miles, locks 4, duration - all summer!. |
Part 1, Street lamps shine high above in the night sky! |
| We made our way to the sea using the Middle Level, a series of interconnecting dykes and drains, from Peterborough to Kings Lynn. No problems on these quiet backwaters as they wend through some intimate scenes and places. In Whittlesey we felt as if the river was part of someone's garden landscaping, the width of the river not much different to a garden pond. Arriving in the dark at March, children ran along the bank making ghostly noises. Trees overhung the way and with no headlights it was difficult to distinguish the turns of the river and the banks. We crept along, boldly heading into shadowy masses. Several branches scraped along the boat as we ducked, risking bumping into moored narrowboats, before we put our heads up and stared ahead to make sense of the looming shadows. A bridge appeared and on the other side the river was deep in a cut. The street-lamps from the road above lit some mooring rings with steps leading up to the heart of March. The river ahead disappeared around a large tree leaving a gap just wide enough to pass. That would be tomorrow's adventure. In the morning the town was busy, cars passed above us hardly glimpsing our little vessel with its mast laying along the whole length and sticking out a metre forward and aft. "Juggler" is a sea boat with a mass of wire rigging to support a 29' mast plus a heavy iron keel and bilge keels to enable her to go aground on a falling tide. We were hardly noticed as people went about their chores. We drank coffee and looked again at The Wash chart, anticipating a completely different scene to come. As we left March we got out the foghorn to warn any speeding narrowboat that might be approaching around the bend with the overhanging tree. The Fens are plain in a sense and the banks are often higher than ones viewpoint. Ducks, swans, moorhens and coots watched as we slid past, herons took off ahead with dangly grace, into wide fen skies. Upwell appeared and we tied to a pontoon next to a church. Outwell connects to Upwell. There were a few bridges that were so low we had to unprop the mast and ease under. housemartins nested in the bridge structure and nestlings looked out of their nests within a foot of our heads. We had to time our arrival at Salter's Lode lock to coincide with high water, when the lock allows passage into the tidal Great Ouse. On motoring out of Salter's Lode the river undergoes a total change in character. With a feeling of tension we noticed the presence of a new force. The banks were scoured clear of features and instead of peaty fauna and sweet quiet waters there was smooth sand and a rippling power in the water. |
| Continue to part 2 |
| © Clarissa Vincent 1991 |