Along the Old West River

The River Great Ouse flows from Bedford through St Neots and Huntingdon toward Earith.

At Earith two wide, non-navigable drains,  the River Delph and the New Bedford River,  flow Northward toward Denver and the tidal Great Ouse.

A narrow lock,  under the B1050 Shelford Road,  opens into the Old West River next to Hermitage Marina,  where,  for a year or so,  Richard had kept his 60ft wide-beam boat.

He'd spent that year,  with his three sons,  fitting out the boat as their new home.

Now,  very nearly habitable,  he wanted to move the boat from Hermitage Marina to Cathedral Marina at Ely.

When he first bought the boat,  as a shell,  he'd arranged an Inland Waterways Helmsman's course with the LS.   After one day the course was abandoned because of strong winds.

The LS,  being honourable,  had offered the candidates another day,  to be arranged,  to complete the course.

Now,  a year or more later,  Richard asked whether the offer was still open:  would the LS help him move the widebeam from Earith to Ely?

Certainly he would:  how could he refuse such an offer?

It dawned a beautiful,  cloudless September day,  and he was early.   The boat was ready and Richard and Charlie were ready to go.

Dave arrived a few minutes later.

The engine checks revealed an immaculate,  gleaming,  unused engine room.

The big diesel engine,  silent for months,  rumbled into life at the first turn of the key.   The bow lines were cast off and the boat was sprung from its riverside mooring.

The Old West River has no perceptible flow.   It once carried all the water of the Great Ouse from Earith to the Cam at Pope's Corner but was bypassed by the Delph and the New Bedford.   Its channel has been narrowed by reeds and weeds encroaching from both banks.   Two narrowboats might pass easily,  but two widebeams?

The school holidays were over and it was a Friday:  perhaps there would be little or no traffic.

They met one cruiser and were overtaken by another.

It was a perfect day out.

Charlie lounged on the foredeck,  and the three others (all children for a day!) gossiped and drank coffee on the cruising deck.

Where the River Cam joins the River Great Ouse at Pope's Corner the waterway is wider and busier.   Richard practised turning in the river,  with the wind and against the wind,  while the LS lounged and watched.

He practiced coming alongside at the 48-hour EA mooring while Charlie learned and practiced lassoing the posts.

Ely Cathedral across the new bypass

The two railway bridges and the new Ely Southern Bypass  mark the final stages of the voyage.

The approach to Richard's new mooring was straightforward:  Charlie lassoed the bow bollard and the LS (roused from somnolence) caught the stern mooring.

A truly wonderful day on the river.

Thank you,  Richard,  Dave,  Charlie.