| BOAT NAVIGATION ON FENLAND WATERWAYS |
| CRUISING ON THE GREAT OUSE. Approaching the mouth of the Great Ouse from The Wash through a well marked channel, a person first cruises between Kings Lynn and West Lynn. Kings Lynn is an old sea port whose main trade in the past was in import of goods from the around world and exporting produce from the Fens, which had a rival port of Boston in the other corner of The Wash. A boat person must bear in mind that the tide in this area rises and falls up to 18 feet, and the water in the River can flow at 7 knots, but beyond the locks the water does not change in height. The Obvious location for mooring is the West Dock, the down side is that you will have to pay to enter the dock and get through the lock gates. Travelling upstream in the Ouse, the first obstacle is Salter's Lode which needs a little care, but at this junction a boat person can gain entry towards Wisbech and the recently refurbished Well Creek, that used to go through Upwell and Outwell. But continuing up the Ouse beyond Salter's Lode, the next obstacle is Denver Sluice with it's relief channel, this lock on the relief channel is reputed to be the biggest this side of the Atlantic. But Denver Sluice is the Spaghetti Junction of the Fen waterways. At this junction a boat person with a little care can gain access to the Little Ouse, or the Bedford Level River towards Earith. If you take the route to Earith you are now cruising through the Middle Level with large banks on either side of the River forbidding a view of Welney Wash of Peter Scott fame. Once the locks at Earith are negotiated, the none-tidal Great Ouse is entered, and without the high banks on either side, a boat person can see the view beyond the banks. By negotiating locks access can be gained upriver through St Ives, Huntingdon, St. Neots and even to Bedford. If you have a shallow draught, and get through the locks at Denver, access can be gained to the River Wissey, and also to the Little Ouse as far as Brandon Staunch. The Original Great Ouse heads towards Ely, eventually gaining access to Cambridge City by travelling up the Cam through locks. |
| CRUISING ON THE RIVER NENE. The other great navigation channel in the Fens is the River Nene. The obvious route from Kings Lynn on the Ouse to the Nene is via The Wash and cruising what looks a simple route into the Nene via Guy's Head north of Sutton Bridge where Peter Scott once lived. Buy, but this can be a foolhardy adventure, unless you are possession of good chart, or accompanied by an experienced pilot, or have someone on board who is familiar with the many mud flats and sand banks in The Wash. But there is land route which good be a better alternative. This alternative route is via Salter's Lode on the Great Ouse. The Nene itself is navigable through Wisbech, to the Dog in a Doublet sluice to Peterboorugh, and passing through locks to parts of the Nene beyond Oundle and then to Northampton, and then even further to gain entry into the Grand Union Canal System. |
| Sunset after a hot day over the Great Ouse. |
| Links to other pages on this site. Peat Fens - Drainage - Fen People -Fenland Myths Fenland Weather - River Welland - River Witham |