The Nene from Northampton to Peterborough is 87 miles (134km) long and has 37 locks. it passes one major town, Wellingborough, and a few small ones.
The Ouse is flatter, with 18 locks along the 74.8 miles (120.3km) of the main line of the river. In addition, there are several attractive tributaries; Little Ouse, Lark, Wissey and Cam, plus the navigable Relief Channel from Denver almost all the way to King’s Lynn and the New Bedford River which is a alternative to the meandering but pretty Ely Ouse if you’re in a hurry. The navigation ends at Kempston just past Bedford though there are plans to extend it to join the Grand Union at Milton Keynes. There are more big towns on the Great Ouse system, Ely and Cambridge are the standout places to visit but Bedford, St Neots, Huntingdon and St Ives have their charms and useful shops for boaters.
On both rivers there are lots of pretty villages but most of them are set back from the river to avoid flooding.
Between the two lies the Middle Level (ML) a system of navigable drains built to drain the fens for agriculture and made navigable first to transport produce and later to bring in coal to fuel the 19th century steam pumps that replaced the 17th century wind pumps. There is a clearly marked ‘link route’ through the ML but you can explore more widely if you wish. A lot of it is quite boring because you can’t see over the flood banks either side of the channel.
Moorings and Facilities
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HIGH AND MIGHTY
Acorns make the perfect store food for jays’ larders
TAKING THE PLUNGE
Why Chris and Sarah Atkin will never forget tying the knot
LABELLED WITH LOVE
Helen Tidy enjoyed one weekend moored next to The Beer Boat ... simply the perfect solution to collecting bottle tops for her next project
MIDDLE THAMES
In the second part of our guide, we follow the Thames upstream from Reading through the steep sided Goring Gap and quieter countryide to reach Oxford
THE GOOD OLD DAYS
Robert Davies recalls childhood memories of a popular holiday destination and uncovers a reminder of the golden age of canals
FIT FOR PURPOSE
Terry Hibbard from Harworth Heating offers his expert opinion following our feature on onboard stove safety
BUCKING UP...
We join Waterway Recovery Group’s first canal restoration working party in six months - as WRG’s volunteers help the Buckingham Canal Society get the project back on track after lockdown
ART ON THE WATER
Graphic artist Katie Ruby lives and works on 32ft narrowboat Poppy
GO WITH THE FLOW
What makes a boat truly stand out from the crowd? Sometimes you just need a little finesse and a taste for adventure
A GLASS HALF-FULL AT BUCKBY WHARF
Tim Coghlan raised a glass on the Grand Union Canal as The New Inn reopened to the relief of regulars