Here Be Dragons!

Today, we've moved onto uncharted waters for the first time since last September. We took the Duck south to Pope's Corner, and then turned right down the Old West river, not left onto the Cam. It was 7:30 in the evening, as Amy had been at work until late, and so we picked our way down the much smaller river past the line of moored boats, and then under the train line until we reached the Old Engine at Stretham. The moorings themselves are about 1,300 metres from Stretham itself, and unfortunately there's only about 20m of mooring available- which is taken up entirely by two cruisers. It was 8:00 by this point, and windy and inhospitable, so we've moored opposite onto some convenient neatly-piled bank; tomorrow after work, we might move onto the moorings at the Lazy Otter, or wind and head back to the visitor moorings nearer to Pope's Corner.

It is odd, however, being in a completely new place! I've not had that feeling since we passed Ely last summer, as we've stayed on the Cam and the Ouse ever since. We're investigating the visitor moorings along the Old West, because there's a number of larger towns- St. Ives, Huntingdon, and eventually Bedford, which all have good transport links to Cambridge by bus or train. However, we can't get too far because of a stoppage at Hermitage Lock near Earith. For now, Stretham is adventurous enough!