The Middle Levels

The Middle Levels
Sunday 4th August 
To reach the Middle Levels from Denver requires a brief excursion onto the tidal Great Ouse and a transit back through the lock that brought us onto the river on which we had spent the last few weeks.
We donned our life jackets and joined the queue of four boats waiting before us. The levels are reached by passing through Salters Lode Lock and the passage is usually undertaken a short time after high tide so the flow helps the crossing.
We finally got through the lock, lifting us upto the level of the tide and commenced the short trip across, after a 100 yards or so I started to make the left turn, the tide now carrying us sideways as we approached the lock. This manoeuvre is required because the approach to the lock lies at an angle of about 60 degrees to the line of the river meaning one has to almost double back to make the approach, I had been instructed by the lock keeper to make sure that I approach broadside so that if I miss the turn the boat would be carried into the lock landing (protected by lots of tyres thankfully). Fortunately I managed to get into the right position and managed to enter the lock unscathed.
I was expecting us to be raised up in the lock but as the levels are lower than the tide we actually dropped a few feet before making our exit, during the lowering of the water we purchased a key required for water points and services in the levels.
The Middle levels are operated by the Middle Level Commissioners whose responsibility is to maintain water levels in the system, unlike the river Cam, no license is required and passage is free, the lock keeper does however register your boat onto the system. We had also been told that the locks here require a special windlass as the normal CRT one does not fit the 2 locks on the system, unfortunately the lock keeper had sold out.

Looking back at Salters Lode Lock

Leaving the lock we set off on what rapidly became a very shallow and narrow channel, known as Well Creek. It came as a shock having been on much wider and deeper waters over the last few weeks, progress was quite slow but we plodded on passing over the main drain on Mullicourt Aqueduct.

Crossing the Main Drain on
Mullicourt Aqueduct

The main drain is not navigable as it is used to control excess water in the system, as the level increases, water is pumped out at low tide near Kings Lynn. It has to be remembered that the main drain lies almost twenty feet below sea level so control of the water in this part of the fens is vitally important. Salters Lode protects the levels from the tides at one end whilst Stanground Lock protects it from the non tidal river Nene at the other.

Cruising the Well Creek across the Fens

Outwell Church

The Well Creek leads to the villages of Upwell and Outwell, we found good moorings at the latter, near the church, these are well maintained by volunteers and make for a welcoming and pretty place to stop. Water is also available here too, on inspection I discovered that our newly purchased key was of no use here and a notice informs that the key has to be borrowed from the village butchers or pub. We spent a couple of nights here and the fishing was also good with a few good roach and bream landed.

Upwell Church

On a pleasant Monday's morning we decided to have a walk around  the two villages, they merge so well together that it is difficult to separate one from the other. Navigation through the villages requires care as there is a very tight bend and a few very low bridges that require me to crouch right down to get under.

One of many low bridges, this one is on
 the approach to Upwell

Another low bridge at Outwell

The villages are typical of the Fens, very quiet, and peaceful each with its own charming church. Until the 1960s the villages were linked to Wisbech by a tramway with its own unique tramcars, these were essentially steam engines but dressed up in such a way that they resembled an old style guards van, they had the wheels covered and cow catchers at each end. This was done for safety as the line ran alongside roads and through the centre of villages. The tramcars were used as the model for Toby the Tram engine by the Rev W Awdry in his railway stories. The line carried coal into the villages and returned with potatoes. There is very little evidence of  tramway left these days but further information can be found at https://www.lner.info/co/GER/wisbech/wisbech.php

The narrow navigation through Outwell

Moving on we set off, in lovely early August sunshine, we continued along the very narrow creek passing under yet more very low bridges before arriving at Marmont Priory lock. We had been informed that it was necessary to call the lock keeper prior to approaching the lock, having done this she informed me that she was away at a hospital appointment and would not be back for a couple of hours, we crawled along taking our time to reach the lock and tied up to await here return. An hour or so passed with no sign of her so I went to investigate the lock, sure enough our windlasses would not fit so we had no choice but to sit and wait. Eventually a hire day boat arrived at the lock, the crew were unsure what to do and I enquired as to whether they had a windlass, they had not been shown where the windlass was stored, I took a guess and asked them to look under the steps down into the boat, fortunately there was one of the special windlasses along with a pair of mooring pins.
We took the opportunity of getting through the lock with their help, something that was of mutual benefit as we were able to show them what to do.
We reached the confluence with New Pophams Eau, from this point we were now on the old river Nene, so called because the main Nene flows out to sea through Wisbech via the tidal sluice and lock at the Dog and Doublet near Peterborough. The wind was getting up I was grateful for the wider and deeper waters to push along into the stiff breeze.
The trip to March from here took us through a flat arable landscape most of which lay below the level of the river, the course of which followed long straight sections.
March beckons with the river flowing in a deep channel as the town is built on higher ground, cruising past a long line of moored boats we arrived at the moorings just before the town bridge, grateful that there was available space. Tying up we then set off to explore the town, another typical fenland town, famous for its market, regrettably we hadn't arrived on market day so carried on looking around.

March Town Bridge

March Town Hall at dusk

 The town boasts a church claiming to have the best carved interior in the country. The town hall looks like it would be more at home in a Bavarian town with its tall, slender clock tower. The rest of the town is a collection of the typical shops with a large Boyes department store to the edge of town. There is also a large Sainsburys close to the riverside.

Great Pub

We called in at the Ship Inn, situated at the top of the steps leading up from the moorings, we found it a very friendly pub and spent a great night chatting to the locals. We learned that the town was once an important railway centre being at the junction of the Great Eastern and Great Northern railways, they built a marshalling yard at Whitemoor close to the centre, in the 1920s and 30s it was the second largest in Europe and the largest in Britain. It was eventually phased out in the 1960s with much of the site being used for the building of HM Prison Whitemoor.
The locals also mentioned that the pub did a great breakfast on Wednesdays through to Sunday, we decided that we should test their recommendation  the following day and found it to be the best we have had in ages, a similar price to Wetherspoons but much better quality.

Breakfast at The Ship

We had planned to stay another evening but having called the keeper at Stanground Lock (needs to be booked at least 24 hours in advance) we learned that the resident keeper was in hospital and that the keeper from Salters Lode was standing in. His availability was limited by the tides at Salters Lode and he informed us that he would only be available on the Thursday lunchtime. This meant we would have to leave March earlier than planned so we could get closer to the lock at Whittlesey.
Following our feast in the Ship we got underway, calling into March marina, the home of Fox Narrowboats hire fleet. Filling up with fuel, and purchasing the special windlass (£18 for the one remaining lock), we continued on our way along a wide river crossing a vast expanse of fenland, the wind was getting up and with very little shelter it made progress quite tricky in places.
We passed up through Ashline  Lock, using our expensive windlass, before arriving at the good, if a little short, moorings adjacent to the recreation field, thankfully they were empty. The fishing was really good here and I managed to land some good sized Roach.

The Old Nene

Thursday morning arrived and we set off for the lock at Stanground that would take us off the Middle Levels. Firstly, however, we had to negotiate  the notoriously sharp bend in the village. This requires careful navigation because the bend is narrow, as it passes beneath a bridge. Following a few loud blasts on the horn I gradually brought the bow towards the bank across the bend then reversed bringing the stern round fortunately the gentle breeze helped and we glided round, increasing power as we pulled away.
A video of the manoeuvre can be seen here  https://youtu.be/c3DGqzDd9Zo

We soon caught sight of Peterborough Cathedral in the distance and to our left the land rose up with the fields heavily quarried for the nearby extensive brickworks.
There is an archaeological site close by here and the remains of iron age settlements have been discovered, there is now a visitor centre at Must Farm.
 https://peterborougharchaeology.org/peterborough-archaeological-sites/must-farm/.

Crossing the Greenwich Meridian

A couple of miles further on brought us to the lock and we were lifted up onto the main river Nene at Peterborough, this marked the end of our time in the Levels, certainly an area we would like to explore further.

Leaving Stanground Lock

The cruising on the Levels can, in places, become slightly tedious due to the long straight lengths with very little to see, but they do have a character all of their own and our overall our experience was good.

Looking back to the Middle Levels