Boston

Before setting off into Bardney Lock we moved the short distance down to the water point where Mike used all of the facilities including the sani station whilst Christine finished getting up!

As we were about to start working through the lock we could see some movement on the river behind us and we waited for the first boat to arrive and share with us. It turned out that a group of young people were on a sponsored pedalo ride from Lincoln to Boston in a day to raise money for Teenage Cancer Trust. The twisted our arms for a donation!

Bardney Lock from below

The day was very windy and frequent, heavy and sometimes persistent showers was the order for the day - sunshine only emerged after we moored and then only briefly. Generally, we got wet!

Most of the day was a level run now into Boston, some 36 kilometres away. Although on the map there were few features - flat fenland stretches for miles in every direction - it was far from boring. The River Witham is pleasant, quite wide and, for the first half of the journey, the river bends around quite frequently.

Former Sugar Factory

Soon we passed the former sugar factory which at one time processed much of the beet grown in the area. It was visible on the skyline for much of yesterday afternoon.

Several drains, some navigable (just), join  the river and usually have 'pointing doors' - we are unsure about how these are operated but we had no plans to explore off the main line on this trip. (It might have been possible were it not for the delays earlier)

A railway line ran at one time alongside the river - the former station buildings have been converted into houses but some signs of the original use can be seen.

Another isolated sculpture on the bank top.

Kirkstead Old Bridge

Few old bridges cross the river - in most places there was a ferry and only modern car traffic forced their replacement by iron bridges. However, Kirkstead Bridge still remains and dates back several centuries - however it has been replaced by a nearby modern concrete and steel bridge which now carries the traffic.

Several military planes took off from the nearby Coningsby Airfield making what seemed like an impossibly loud noise. It is not easy to snatch a photo especially when still steering the boat! However, this is the best we could do.

As we neared Boston we spotted an interesting lookout structure, part of the Water Rail footpath facility.

Boston Stump

Eventually, Boston Stump made itself visible on the horizon but it still took some time before we actually arrived in the town itself, where we left the boat on the visitor moorings to go shopping and to take a look around the town centre.

St Botolph's Church from market square

Inside tower, looking up

 St Botolph's Church claims to be the largest parish church that has always been a parish church. Certainly, both outside and inside it dominates the town.

Alongside the visitor moorings, on the edge of the town, a new housing estate is being completed. We were interested to see that most of them had solar panels built in from the start.

We began to re-trace our steps along the river, stopping briefly at Anton's Gowt take a look at the lock that gives access to the Witham Navigable Drains. It is a long climb up the ladder if arriving at the lock from the down-side - from the drains that is. There is no other lock landing.

Anton's Gowt Lock from below

It seems that the reason why the latter part of the river is in such straight sections, compared with the more natural meanderings further up, is that the draining of the peat caused problems with drainage and the river was straightened in order to improve the flow.

We passed the pedalo still going strong despite the weather. At the lock we had met a couple who were waiting for it to pass by and were wondering what had happened!

The wind was side on and made steering very difficult. At one stage we ended up having to do a 360 degree turn in order to drive away from the weeds near to bank after an especially strong gust caught us by surprise.

Langrick Bridge Moorings

We moored for the night on the pontoons at Langrick Bridge. Although the moorings are quite a long way apart, they are excellent quality and make tying up for night very easy!

27.6 miles - 1 lock