We thoroughly enjoyed the Nene, but it was much smaller and much prettier than we’d been expecting. It came as a bit of a surprise that the only really wide bit is through the Northampton Washlands — but after that it’s much more intimate, with some very bendy sections. There are some extremely pretty sections. I particularly liked the reaches other side of Denford Lock, and around Oundle.
Moorings are a bit few and far between in places, nd you really need to have an idea of where you’re heading for because you can’t just stop anywhere like you can on a canal. We joined the Friends of the River Nene for £12 to give us access to their moorings, of which we used three, at Hardwater Mill, Ashton Carr, and Peartree Farm. We also liked the look of some of the others, particularly Ditchford and Stanwick Lakes. We also paid £5 to moor at Fotheringhay (as must stop, really) £10 at Northampton Marina, and had lunch at the King’s Head at Wadenhoe to pay for our mooring on the pub garden. We used Environment Agency moorings at Peterborough, Irthlingborough, Wansford Station and Northampton Washlands. Ferry Meadows was a great place to stop: it’s unusual being in a lake, and even though the Country Park is busy during the day, it’s very quiet at night. It’s also a great place for visitors because there are things to do.
For planning, I used the new Pearson’s which covers the Nene, because I like the commentary and I can have the book in a map case and it doesn’t really matter if it gets wet. The Pearson’s also gives lots of information about what’s in the nearby towns and villages. I also used Paul Balmer’s Waterway Routes maps on my iPad. They’re great because they show exactly where everything is, and give useful extra bits of information like the depth of locks.
The Nene is blessed with lots of pretty places to stop. We thought Wadenhoe was lovely, and that Oundle was rather special. Fotheringhay is well worth an explore, and while Thrapston isn’t in the same league for looks, there are plenty of useful shops there. Peterborough has lots of shops, and we enjoyed the Cathedral.
Facilities on the river are a bit scarce. There are enough water points, but Elsans are rare and rubbish points are non-existent. We ended up sneaking the odd bag into the park bins in Wellingborough and Peterborough. When you consider that our two week EA licence cost £128, the lack of facilities seems even worse.
The locks make the river fairly hard work, and I can see why many people don’t want to travel it very often. While most of the locks are automated, the ones that aren’t take a lot of effort — and even the automated ones take a lot of time, because they have to be left with the guillotine gate up. At the Northampton end of the river the locks come very frequently, too.
All in all, we’d recommend the Nene as a somewhat undiscovered gem.
