Ely

There was no need for an especially early start today: the first activity was to visit the city centre. After finding out where the necessary supplies could be found - a good open air market and a Waitrose supplied our needs - Andrew carried the proceeds of the expedition back to the boat and re-fuelled from the marina opposite.

Meanwhile, Christine and Mike visited the cathedral. Here there is an entrance charge (£5 for oldies) but as the guided tour had just started we tagged along behind. The guide was excellent, giving a lot of interesting detail, not only about the history of the building but also how the way in which it has been used has changed over the centuries.

Although the majority of the structure is medieval, the appearance today is largely the result of Victorian work, which not only left the walls as bare stone, rather than stucco, but also installed the painted ceiling.

The tour continued as we left it - we had earlier arranged a meeting time with Andrew and we need to walk back down to the river. As we left Ely, looking back it was easy to see why the cathedral is sometimes known as the Ship of the Fens.

It was a wonderfully hot sunny day as we cruised up the river - after a while it changed at Pope's Corner from the Great Ouse to the Cam - where the Cam Conservators are the navigation authority. Everyone separate organisation opts for different lock designs although the two on the Cam are similar to those on the Nene except that the guillotine gate is at the top. Also the mitred gates are also powered. Different terminology is used as well - the paddles on the lower gates are known as 'slackers'.

At one point we saw a weed cutter in operation, the Cam certainly seemed less weedy than the Nene or the Levels.

The reach into Cambridge was, as forecast, busy with rowers - singles, twos, fours and eights - and needed a careful watch as they did not always aim to overtake on the same side - or even where it seemed safe to do so!

We cruised right down to Jesus Lock - general navigation cannot pass through as the water is kept for punts. Before selecting our mooring spot we used the Sani and Water Station. Despite having looked at every available spot on the way in (not sure whether they were open to visitors or not) we finally stopped opposite the lock at a space clearly marked as 48 hours!