A first sight of the monster.

It seems that they take enforcement seriously on the Nene in Northampton.

But we were soon out of the centre and onto the wide waters of the river proper.

On a fine day with no wind it was a lovely place to be. Lazy cruising mode soon set in and after a couple of hours and three fairly normal locks we arrived at Weston Favell and the E.A. forty-eight hour moorings. We entered the back water via the upstream entrance as advised and were soon tied in. Chatting to the crew of a boat that arrived later we discovered that, according to the E.A. you can't get in that way, it's too shallow. Well nobody told us!

 It is also the location of the first of those fabled monsters, the Nene guillotine gated locks. Always preferring to to reconnoitre before attacking we set off for a quick squint at the beast.

It doesn't look that intimidating, the instructions seem fairly clear, just remember to keep clear of those chains on the sides of the chamber.

The main flow of the river carries on through a rather impressive set of sluices, all part of the flood control system. In times of flood the excess water is diverted off into large washlands and subsequently released in a controlled manner.

Lots of lovely plump sheep about, I wonder if that faint smell of mint is just in my imagination?
We were in two minds about whether to move today but the persistent rain has mitigated against it, we'll have a day off before bearding the monster in its den.

Watch this space..........