Whittlesey to Benwick

We left our mooring at Whittlesey yesterday in glorious sunshine and pulled onto the lock landing at Ashline lock.  This is the one lock, that I am aware of anyway, that has a special windlass. No standard windlass will operate the 'penstocks' - the Fenland name for paddles - so we have to carry this heavy windlass for just this one lock.  We are heading for the village of  Benwick where the Parish Council have just opened a new visitor mooring we thought to try out.

 Farewell Whittlesey mooring..

 Ashline lock landing

 Joe closing the penstocks of the bottom gate

 Ashline lock

 Heading out of Whittlesey into the open fens.  The air was redolent with the scent of cow parsley and May blossom

 All along this stretch of the Whittlesey Dyke there were warblers flitting in and out of the reed margins but surprisingly, hardly any swallows.

 Here be our turn coming up, a sharp right to Benwick and Ramsey on the old course of the river Nene - left would take us to March.

 Himself making the turn..

 The 'road to Ramsey'...

 Stacks of potato crates, a common site on the fens

 My first sight of cygnets this year

 Coming into the village of Benwick

 Benwick footbridge

 Yarwood on the new Benwick visitor mooring.