New Year, New Livery

Throughout January and February we are mostly painting boats. Sammy and Sumo are getting a nice new livery for this year and some out of water maintenance.  On a very rainy day at the beginning of January both boats were craned out of the water at Oundle Marina and popped into the shed for some TLC after a busy year going up and down the river.

Here is Sumo on her way into the shed.  This is the last time you'll see her in this colour - when she comes back out of the shed she will look like a completely different boat and be green and red to match Sammy!

Meanwhile Arwen and Spencer Bear have been busy helping to take out curtain hooks so the curtains can be laundered. Spencer Bear looks fascinated by the whole experience!

The first job was to power wash off both boats and remove a few freshwater mussels and weed, let them dry and then sand off the hulls and cabin. Any rust spots were then treated and Sumo had an ultrasound scan to check the thickness of the steel which she passed with flying colours!

Sammy is first in the queue for painting and  here she is after several applications of undercoat - a nice shade of battleship grey!

A quick look underneath the back end of Sumo now she has been cleaned off

We're now at the stage where Sammy has gone green again and is just in the process of having her red back panel painted on.  Then it be will time for the coach lines to be reapplied and her name to be added. It would be good if it warmed up just a little bit as trying to apply paint in sub zero temperatures is no fun as it doesn't spread very well!

Sammy's got some new magnesium anodes fitted on the front and back of the hull

We're certainly getting through a few tins of Toplac and Pre-Kote and there is still another boat to go! 

In the meantime, I leave you with a sign that Spring is just around the corner and it won't be long before we're back on the water - see you soon!

Fotheringhay and Back

Over the holidays we took our boat off down river for a few days.  We very rarely get to go out boating ourselves as we're usually really busy during the main boating season so it was a bit of a treat to get out on the river.  On the afternoon of the Winter Solstice we set off on our trip.  After the first lock we made a quick stop at Oundle Cruising Club for a drink (well it would have been rude not to!) and then carried on to Lower Barnwell Lock.

We headed on towards Ashton through the rather stormy looking Northamptonshire landscape - the river takes on a very different personality in the winter becoming very changeable in its moods.

By the time we had reached Ashton it was starting to drop dark on the shortest day of the year so we decided to moor up by the town bridge at Oundle for the night and we were treated to a beautiful sunset across the town.  You can see the spire of St Peter's Church in the background.

The following morning we had an interesting start. It had got rather windy overnight and as we set off from the mooring we were blown across the other side of the river. An entertaining time ensued lining up a 70ft boat to go under the arched bridge at Oundle!

A couple more hours cruising saw us arrive at Fotheringhay and as the wind was getting progressively windier, it was nice to tie up for the day below the church.

We left the boat at Fotheringhay and Garry from Oundle Carriage Company promptly collected us so that we could go and retrieve our car. We journeyed up to Wansford where we were booked on to the Nene Valley Railway Santa Express which the kids all thoroughly enjoyed.  It's well worth a visit at any time of year, just check the timetables for trips into Peterborough.

On the way back we popped into the Montagu Arms in Barnwell to see everyone and Dylan the cat was busy on till duty!

The Church of St Mary & All Saints looked lovely all lit up on Christmas Eve and I enjoyed the view while eating a large number of mince pies and enjoying a glass of sherry or two!

We had a quick cruise up to Warmington, got stuck on a sand bank while turning the boat in very windy wind and then back to the Castle Mound on Christmas Day

On a chilly Boxing Day morning, we set off back home - the wind had dropped, the river was still and calm and the trip back was chilly but very pleasant.

There wasn't a soul about anywhere - we had the river to ourselves

We eventually arrived back at our moorings at Barnwell just before the weather turned again after an enjoyable winter cruise.

Back to work now with lots to do. The hire boats are due to come out of the water for a repaint ready for the start of the boating season in April.  We're looking forward to the arrival of Spring and I'm already out checking for signs of the first snowdrop!

Lazy Days of Summer

As we head into Summer we've had some beautiful days in the Nene Valley and the cooling breeze coming off the river has been very welcome at times!  The cat has decided it's far too hot for anything except chilling out on the chair.  I wish I could join him but there is plenty of work to do first!

People have been taking advantage of the long summer days and have been enjoying drinks by the river at Oundle Mill

The end of July is traditionally when the Thurning Feast is held in a small village near Oundle. Also known as the St Stephen's Day Feast it is a fun evening out with live bands, local food and drink stalls, a big wheel and there was even a brass band this year.  

The weather was fantastic and I particularly enjoyed the Country Wine and Cider Bar!

We found the time to pop up to Peterborough in August and after a trip to the Bronze Age site at Flag Fen, we enjoyed a lovely lunch (with a glass of wine of course!) at Cafe Clarkes at The Key Theatre next to the River.  Very nice it was too!

A view of the Embankment at Peterborough from Cafe Clarkes. The Town Bridge is downstream in the distance. You will always see plenty of swans and geese along here! The way into the Middle Level is just a little further upstream or you can carry on a bit further to the Dog-in-a-Doublet.

We have been treated to some beautiful sunsets throughout the Nene Valley this summer including this very evocative scene across Fotheringhay Bridge (thanks to Richard Ganderton for the pic).  You can just imagine yourself there, moored next to the site of the Castle!

Whistle Stop Trip from Wansford to Oundle

We had an impromptu trip back from Wansford on Sammy earlier in the month which was nice as we don't get to go out boating very much during the season.  We passed by the caravan site at Yarwell Mill

and nine little ducks sitting in a row

Dan thought he would take the opportunity to clean the roof of the boat while we were waiting at Elton Lock

We passed by some sheep busily grazing around the Castle Mound at Fotheringhay who weren't particularly interested in us!

Then under the arched bridge at  Fotheringhay  ......

Time for a quick rest at Ashton Lock!

This swan was very interested in something in the weir stream!

And finally Sammy was spotted out and about later in the month coming under the old Railway Viaduct at Thrapston

And that's it for now - see you all soon!

Cycling Events in Oundle and Superheroes on Boats

There was much excitement around Oundle in May as The Woman's Tour, an International Cycling Event was scheduled to start from the Town Centre. All the local shops put up fantastic displays in their windows and the centre of town was turned into a festival area the day before the start of the race. We were there with our Tipi!

The boating season is getting well underway and the river is bustling with activity as people take to the water again!

May also saw the annual ANRC rally held at Peterborough Cruising Club this year - this means you sometimes see some odd sights on the river at this time of year such as a boat with some Incredible Hulks on board

On the campsite at Barnwell, our Tipi has arrived and we're just setting it up in the time for the late May bank holiday after its excursion into Oundle earlier in the month.  Looking forward to our first Tipi campers!

Spring is Officialy Here and The Holiday Season Gets Underway

We had a great open day and met some lovely people, so thank you to all those who came along and took advantage of the Cadbury's Creme Egg giveaway!

The boats are ready to go and waiting for this year's first customers.  Our complimentary trays this year have got jams from The Pickled Village and free range eggs from the smallholding just up the road.  

While we were busy getting everything ready, I noticed the ducks were checking the underneath of a boat that was out being blacked nearby. They like to pick off the freshwater mussels that attach to the underside of the boats!

As well as the boats, we have also been busy getting our campsite ready, putting up the Yurt and the Camp Kitchen tent.  New for this year we have a Tipi which we will be taking delivery of in May. Most of the people that stay with us are enjoying canoeing holidays on the Nene.  You can book canoe and camp holiday packages on the River Nene from Canoe 2 and we provide the accommodation for you! You can also book our Yurt and Tipi via our website at Indigo Camping.

When all the work was finally finished on the campsite we thought we would have a go at a bit of outdoor cookery in the new fire pit area that we've built - the sausage and bean hotpot was very nice too!

Bob the Bucket and Countdown to the Start of the Season

Last week we both completed our RYA (Royal Yachting Association) training course.  Pete from Lincolnshire Boat Services popped down to Oundle Marina on a beautifully sunny Monday morning and after a cup of coffee we set off down river to practice the 'man over board procedure' or MOB as it is known.  Here we are fishing Bob the Bucket out of the water. We repeated this several times as he just couldn't seem to stay on board!  I'm glad Bob the Bucket volunteered to go in, as the water was rather chilly!

As it was such a nice day, we decided to head back upriver towards Lilford and show Pete what a lovely river the Nene is and he was very impressed!  

Although we could happily have gone cruising for the rest of the day, there was work to be done, so we set off back to base and waved goodbye to Pete, who will be back to do our First Aid refresher course later in April.

The boats are now starting to look like holiday boats again, the engines have all been serviced and put back together, the painting is nearly finished, all doors and hatches have been repainted.  The boat cleaning is also well underway with Helen making sure everything is cleaned within an inch of its life and I have been busy ironing all the curtains and covers.  Bruce has been getting artistic in the workshop and has been busy with a new design on Sumo's back doors.

Sumo has now arrived in her new position in the marina and Sammy will be joining her this coming Friday.

Nicky's chicks have started to hatch out, this little one could be laying the on board free range eggs later in the year!

Don't forget it's our Open Day this Saturday 5th April, so if you are around the area pop in and say hello and don't forget to pick up your Cadbury's Creme Egg!