Room with a view

After our four day sojourn at Fotheringhay we pulled pins late morning.  Joe had wanted to do the first oil change on Yarwood's main engine at 100 hours and we were just about to reach that point..
Oil changed, Jill went off to deposit their car somewhere en route and I set off twenty minutes ahead of the boats to walk the dogs along the Nene Way to our first two locks.
As I arrived at the first of the locks, Warmington, another narrowboat was approaching also going downstream.  This not being a motorised lock  meant that if the lock was going to be ready for 'my' boats I would have to set to and set it for the approaching boat.

I wound down the guillotine gate, the approaching boat sat back and watched. 
I opened the gate paddles to fill the lock, the approaching boat sat back and watched
With the lock almost full, they moored on the lock landing and I 'encouraged' a crew member to join me.  By the time we had got them into the lock Yarwood and Matilda Rose had arrived.
One boat out, I prepped the lock again and once MR and Yarwood were in safely in I left Jill to finish the lock while I set off across country towards Elton and our next lock.
Elton lock done, the dogs and I stepped on to Yarwood's tug deck and had a lift to Yarwell Mill lock and an appointment with a water tap!

 Following MR downstream from Elton lock

 Breasted up on the water point and filling both boats water tanks

The water point at Yarwell Mill lock is on the lock landing so we breasted up and filled up before prepping the lock and moving off again..  There is a large caravan site here and a number of boats, mainly narrowboats, moored hereabouts.
I stayed on board after Yarwell, we only had one more lock, that of Wansford, before slipping under the Great North Road (A1) and heading into Cambridgeshire and our mooring for the night.

 Under the beautiful stone bridge at Wansford

 Heading south again behind MR

 Anglian Water's pumping station at Wansford, current extracting large amounts of water from the R. Nene and pumping it to the reservoir at Rutland Water.

 Approaching the Nene Valley Railway signal box and station at Wansford (a heritage steam railway) where there is a 48hr mooring.

 Moored up securely on the pontoon.  A bit short for two narrowboats but we have managed..

 Room with a view...from the front deck yesterday evening..