St Ives to Huntingdon

This is now to be the last posting of the first part of our cruise.

We had planned to moor the boat in a marina near Bedford for a month but, due to the recent heavy rainfall, we were told by the local river inspector that they may have to close some locks to enable drainage of flood waters. They recommended that we find a safe mooring as soon as possible. We took their advice and managed to get the boat into a nearby marina in Wyton, Huntingdon on Thursday (29 May), where it will stay until we return there to continue our journey in about a month's time.

It was the right decision as we were sent this message yesterday (30 May):

The Strong Stream Advice has been issued for the River Great Ouse between Bedford and Earith. Several locks on this section of the river are closed to navigation and are being used to discharge flood waters.

The Environment Agency strongly advises against attempting to navigate on the River Great Ouse. River flows are above normal, too fast for safe manoeuvring and headroom at some sites will be restricted.