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The Tuesday Night Club on Tour
Tour 2001
Fenland Tour Summer 2001
9 - Spalding - River Welland, inc Coronation Channel and Car Dyke.
Friday 6th July 2001
We shoved off late at 08.50. This was because Neil lost one of the pipe
connectors for JC's clogged up shower pump in the water. We never found it even
though a grandchild's fishing net was used to probe the muddy bottom. It was a
very
still, muggy, misty start to day - ideal for going across the Wash (with GPS!)
The old river through the town is very pleasant; many old buildings line the
river. Soon the Coronation Flood protection channel sluices were met and are
predictably open - these are navigable, in a large arc round the town back to the sluices at
Fulney. These work when floods are predicted. At ebb the river end flood
gates are shut and then the whole watery contents of the channel dumped onto the
tidal Welland. This enables this area to act as a reservoir for the flood water,
to be dumped on the next ebb.
After this the tiny town river widens out into a massive and deep dyke. The
Welland Yacht Club was passed as we exited the town on the north bank. This also
has a neatly bollarded, for a 60ft narrow boat visitor mooring. Water is believed to be available here. Richard Firmin’s Westerly
was spotted moored
further up, just after the newish A16 bridge. At 10.00 we came up to the lowest
and potentially fun stopping bridge, a footbridge at Four Mile Bar. The level
was
about normal and the bridge is meant to have a 1.6M air draught. Frogmoore II
just crept under, with John just having to remove his barge pole. Earnest would
have grazed the cratch cover on the top board...........so it was cratch off time. Now
we cleared with about 2 inch clearance on the now highest bit, the front mush room
vent.
Next item of excitement was Crowland Bridge, just after this a navigable dyke
used to go right up to Crowland. This has unfortunately been blocked off by the
Welland Dyke banks.........surely a pair of pointy flood doors could be
installed here to enable boats to reach this nice little town.
It was an uneventful journey up this deep but still potentially weedy 200ft wide
dyke. It was no problem getting up to Peakirk, which is the end of the dyke section.
Here the River bifurcates into Maxey Cut (flood channel to protect Market
Deeping) / Old River
Welland to the north and the Car Dyke pumping station approach channel. We had
got lapse with our depth sounding as it showed 8ft only a few minutes
before. Neil remarked about all the dredging on the bank when suddenly there was a
violent shudder and we fly up a single bank.....and I mean fly up it! The bow
was now 6 inches higher.
John in Frogmoore backs off and prepared for a tow off.
Neil took over and floors reverse, while Ian C and Pete try to pole Earnest off.
Next we tried Earnest's rather oversize bow rope attached to the back of
Frogmoore, at full length. Earnest was still stuck fast. The final solution was to position
Frogmoore near the stern of Earnest and do a snatch off. With each one in a
different direction Earnest eventually came off, about a foot at a time. Wading
plus spade was not then necessary!
Earnest now tried to creep round the Welland,
northern side of the shoal, but stated rattling at about 2ft 3 inches. This was
just before the bifurcation. Next
Frogmoore tried the Car Dyke pumping station side and we then both crept through
to the then deep channel. Beside the pumping station is a tantalisingly open
pair of flood doors leading to The Car Dyke and eventually the outskirts of
Peterborough. This would form part of the proposed link up with the River Nene.
The trouble with the flood doors, are that they are only 3ft high!
After a good
few pictures we started back. Frogmoore managed to get round the upstream end of
the shoal and got a few hundred yards up the River Welland, until a rattling,
level, gravel bottom was reached. They then chickened out! Once we were both clear
of the shoal (14.20)
Neil thought that it would be a good idea to breast up so we
can have a mass late lunch of pizza and last nights re-claimed excess Indian! Unfortunately
Ian C took a different, very slightly lower arch of the Four Mile Bar Footbridge
and twanged Frogmoore's front barge pole holder. Neil then had a bit of sledge
hammer dolly / club hammer panel beating to do!
At
16.15 we stopped by Richard's unoccupied Westerly so John foned him up. He soon
came down to meet us for a natter. Richard, who helped John last year was to be our Wash pilot and John's
crew man for the now proposed Monday Wash passage to the River Nene.
After a
brief thunderstorm (Earnest was caught cratchless, as we were to do the Coronation
Channel round Spalding next - we had no real idea of bridge heights here as it is not
“officially” navigable.) At 18.30 we set back off and at 19.00 we entered under
one of the three large raised guillotines onto the Coronation Channel. It was
very wide
but featureless, with several bridges, all around 1.9 M high. Ian C said that it
would make an ideal rowing course and suggested that Henley Royal Regatta is
moved here next year! The Coronation Sluice in to the tidal Welland, at Fulney
was reached at 19.45.
20.35 saw us back on exactly the same spot on the Spalding
Visitor Moorings, ready for our 07.00 departure and around 07.30 exit from
Fulney Lock, the next day. This was for the short tidal hop to Surfleet Seas End and
the River Glen.
Spalding. Albion Street Footbridge. River Welland.
Spalding. River Welland.
Spalding. "New Footbridge". River Welland.
Coronation Channel entrance sluices - AKA Cowbit Sluice. Spalding. River
Welland.
Leaving Spalding. New River Sluice to left. River Welland.
Leaving Spalding. Looking back at Little London Bridge. Note the only
resident narrowboat on the Welland! River Welland.
Leaving Spalding. River Welland.
Welland Yacht Club. Leaving Spalding. River Welland.
Misty start. A16 Bridge in the distance. River Welland.
Leaving the A16 Bridge. River Welland.
Richard Firmin's Westerley yacht. River Welland.
River Welland.
JC eyes up Four Mile Bar Footbridge. River Welland.
NB Frogmoore creeps under Four Mile Bar Footbridge. River Welland.
Cratch removal process. River Welland.
We creep cratchless under Four Mile Bar Footbridge. River Welland.
River Welland.
Ian Clarke and Pete Sykes. River Welland.
Crowland Bridge. River Welland.
Crowland Abbey. River Welland.
Leaving Crowland Bridge. River Welland.
Short cut up to sluice at O^S 213095 Sheet 142. River Welland.
Approaching Peakirk. River Welland.
Earnest is about to fly up the single bank!!! Peakirk. River Welland.
Earnest hard aground. (Image Pete Sykes)
About to snatch Earnest off the gravel bank. (Image Pete Sykes)
JC creeps Frogmoore up the Car Dyke Sluice Channel - left. Maxey Cut and
River Welland to Market Deeping to the right. Peakirk. River Welland.
JC gets Frogmoore's stern up to the low pointy doors. Car Dyke Peakirk
Sluice. Car Dyke Sluice Channel.
Earnest up to the low pointy doors. Car Dyke Peakirk Sluice. Car Dyke Sluice
Channel.
Car Dyke to Peterborough, to the left. From. Car Dyke Peakirk Sluice.
Car Dyke Peakirk Sluice. Car Dyke Sluice Channel.
Coming back down to Crowland Bridge. River Welland.
JC enjoying a hard steer! River Welland.
John Chapman asleep at the helm again! River Welland.
Neil steers the breasted pair. River Welland.
Earnest and Frogmoore mooerd by Richard Firmin's yot. (Image Pete Sykes)
Entering Coronation Channel through Cowbit Sluice. River Welland.
Coronation Channel. River Welland.
Coronation Channel. River Welland.
A151 Bridge and church at Fulney. Coronation Channel. River Welland.
Marsh Road Sluice - exit to tidal River Welland. Coronation Channel. River
Welland.
This sluice is equipped to be used a as a lock! Marsh Road Sluice.
Coronation Channel. River Welland.
We are exiting Coronation Channel entrance sluices - AKA Cowbit Sluice.
Spalding. River Welland.
Old Sluice in the old town. Spalding. River Welland.
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