Mailers Meadow GOBA mooring Tue. 9 July 2013

Yesterday evening after a short stroll to The Axe and Compass at Hemingford Abbot we sat and enjoyed a few pints of Old Hooky drawn straight from the keg to wash down a fine pork stir fry. Returning to the boat we were able to watch the sky change colour. As the night progressed we gathered more of a list but when we got up this morning all was fine again.
There is no perceivable flow on the river now. Setting off at 1030 we turned and headed upstream, we waited at Houghton Lock for a boat to leave and then we were assisted up by the locking crew of the Ladybird, the St johns Ambulance trip boat. I gave one of them my card so hopefully if he emails me I will have a contact for them. They do sterling work with the disadvantaged and disabled running about 200 trips a year. As we approached Huntingdon town bridge a cruiser left the moorings and we were able just to squeeze in for a couple of hours. After a wander round the town, some fresh meat and a bag of charcoal we called in at Prima  the Italian Restaurant for a jug of Sangria and some very tasty pasta before heading back to the boat.

Another hour or so saw us approaching Brampton lock and as we passed the weir outlet spotted a cruiser about to go up, as we trugged round the navigation channel I gave a couple of blasts on the horn as instructed and hoped they would hear us. When we got to the lock one gate was open and the chap was walking round to reopen the other, his wife had just spotted us, so they waited which was very good of them.

Just above the lock there has been a piece of land for sale for some time, it looks as if its now sold as over the past couple of weeks a jetty has been installed. Not a very big one. A short way above this on the other side of the river are two GOBA moorings, the first was full but the second only had one cruiser moored there so we were able to get in just upstream of him.

While we were there Diana had a Damselfly land on her hand and it took a few minutes before she could work out it was eating a fly of some sort. It was very good and waited until after I had taken it photo before flying off again.