Continuously Cruising

That's what it seemed like today. The River Nene is a beautiful river and a wonderful place for the nature lover. Today I have seen a very large pike with a very large fish in its mouth, thrashing to get free from the locked jaws; I have seen wheeling Red Kites, a Little Egret, kestrels, buzzard, snipe, sandpiper, herons, woodpeckers, lapwing and numerous little brown birds; we have checked out the chub under the banks and we have seen calves and foals and lambs.

But the River Nene does have a drawback for the narrowboater. It does not have a proliferation of moorings. This evening we have been looking for an overnight mooring since 4.30 pm when we got to Wellingborough. Having stopped there on the way down the river, we thought it too early to moor today. But there is precious anywhere else. We have now moored on pins about 50 metres from a weir on meadowbank. I have no real idea whether mooring is permitted here but I cannot see any notice to the contrary. The spot is quite idyllic. We are just south of Doddington Lock and its tastefully converted Mill.

Over 8 hours of cruising today: 15.5miles and 11 locks