Canal Boat — February 2018

4 February 2018 Canal Boat canalboat.co.uk

26

BOAT TEST: AINTREE 52FT SEMI-TRAD

Boatbuilder hits the magic 200 with bespoke

vessel created for family trips

36

SALFORD QUAYS

Start from Pomona Locks and take a trip on

this rarely travelled route with plenty to offer

41

HISTORY

Rediscovering London’s forgotten waterways

with fascinating exhibition in the capital

47

CRUISE GUIDE: RIVER NENE

For fans of the guillotine locks, there’s

nothing like this long and rural valley

56

HUMOUR ON THE HULL

What’s in a name? Those quirky boat titles

spotted on the cut that raise a laugh and tell a story

58

LIVEABOARD

David Johns has a mooring decision to make

FEATURES

62

EAGER VOLUNTEERS

Waterway Recovery Group launch new

projects up and down the UK with Canal Camps

REGULARS

03

EDITORIAL

The waterways might be quieter at this

time of year but their beauty remains undimmed

and there is plenty to look forward to this month

06

NEWS

Senior CRT staff facing job uncertainty, mixed

reaction over call to transfer EA rivers, IWA rejects

move to raise CC fee

17

LETTERS

Best breakdown support came from the

canal community, solar panels pay their way

21

ME & MY BOATS

New mum and novice boater discovers her

favourite way of life on her dream boat

RESTORATION

COVER STORY

COVER

STORY

47

canalboat.co.uk Canal Boat^ February 2018^47

• Easy-to-follow route map • Information for boaters • Ten top pubs guide

CRUISE YOUR COMPREHENSIVE GUIDE TO THE WATERWAYS AROUND THE UKGUIDE

Take a trip down the Grand Union Northampton Arm to join a river which winds its way eastwards towards the Fenlands via

a long and largely rural valley – and a lot of guillotine locks

River Nene

AND KEEPPULL OUT

TEXT & PICTURES BY MARTIN LUDGATE

THE CRUISE GUIDERiver Nene

NORTHAMPTON

JOURNEY PLANNERDistances/locks between pins Direction of locksFollow the route with our map showing distances, locks and pubs

Tunnel Waterway junction (^) see panel overleafOur top ten pubs
5 MILES / 6 LOCKS 6 MILES / 7 LOCKS WELLINGBOROUGH
GRAND UNION (^123) COGENHOE
4
have been reopened from Peterborough via Wansford to NENE VALLEY RAILWAY old railway which once paralleled the Yarwell, and passengers can ride Seven miles of the Nene
behind heritage steam and diesel There are also stations at Orton Mere and Ferry Meadows, enabling you to comlocomotives.
steam train ride with a walk on the Nbine a ene Way.
and commercial heyday, and perhaps its Wthe navigation’s freight-carrying origins the waterway – and this tends to revolve around e often begin these guides with a potted history of
restoration from dereliction by the leisure-driven waterways revival. the history of the waterway and its However in the case of the River Nene,
legacy today have often been shaped not so much by these movements as by efforts to control its occasional the
navigation from Peterborough to Northampton in 1761 was to satisfy a to flood the surrounding land.Having said that, the opening of the tendency
the Wash, could be brought up the river. But income never lived up to the hopes, freight-carrying need. Coal from north east England, shipped down the coast to
and by the early 19th century the Nene was already in poor condition. In 1815 the Northampton Arm of the
locks) led to a ban on through traffic. (then) Grand Junction Canal brought in a little more trade – but soon, damage by the canal boats (unsuited to the river’s
Small wonder that soon after a railway opened in 1845, the navigation was “in a most wretched state”. parallel
had been sown: the lower tidal reaches were bypassed by a straight channel as part of the ongoing reclamation of the But already the seeds of its revival
set up a new body to control the river for drainage and navigation. By 1909 the fenlands, while an 1852 Act of Parliament
land drainage function – but it was still locks were only being maintained at all so that a dredger could pass, because the river needed to be dredged for its
Catchment Board set to work, rebuilt the open for what little trade remained. and dilapidation” but a new Nene By 1930 it was “in unparalleled decay
locks, and put it in good order. Again this was for flood control reasons, but it did result in some freight returning, and
the Nene still being navigable today. And it’s those 1930s works which give the navigation structures their character.it’s this work that we have to thank for
But that’s really just the locks. Don’t
about straight, widechannelsthe truth, as mile after mile of glorious, get the impression that the Nene is. That couldn’t be further from , flood relief
the countryside from Northampton down to the Fens. And don’t be put off natural rural river winds its way through
Union, the all-important link from the by fear of it flooding, either: it’s no more likely than most other river navigations.The Northampton Arm of the Grand
national network to the Fenlands, ends at a junction with the River Nene just above Northampton town centre. Those
keen on exploration can turn sharp left and try the short Westbridge Arm, but the through route lies to the right, passing under a striking modern
local rugby club) to reach the first lock. The lock cut is to the left, there’s a new development under way on the right footbridge (painted in the colours of the
them is Northampton Marina: you can buy an Environment Agency River Nene bank of the weir stream, and between
an attractive length running through Beckets Park, with space to moor, key here, which you’ll need for the locks. Northampton Lock lowers boats into
explore the town, and take advantage of Northampton’s shops. And speaking of moorings, these can be sparse on parts
of the river: there are a small number of EA moorings, some ‘unofficial’ sites, and recently the Friends of the River Nene has begun to create members’ visitor
moorings – do consider joining.watermeadows and backwaters, the Leaving the town past a series of
large sluice gate carries the navigation through an earth bank and into the river passes through a further two locks (keep right for the lock cut) to where a
scheme, this large area surrounded by embankments is designed to be flooded Northampton Washlands. Created under a 1970s flood relief
as a way of temporarily holding up to 2.4 billion litres of water, which can then be released downriver at a controlled rate.
It’s also become an internationally important wildlife reserve (see inset). A second sluice gate carries the navigation out of the Washlands to
MUST SEE
Guillotine gate at Weston Favell Lock
canalboat.co.uk canalboat.co.uk
48 February 2018 Canal Boat
Canal Boat February 2018 49
TH I S MONTH
(^7321)
36