A complete cruising guide to the River Nene
Well at last I have finished the page on the River Nene. I have tried to put as much information about the river such as moorings, services, shops and most everything else I have found during my many summers spent on this lovely river.
There is also plenty of information for dog walkers, or walkers without dogs with local mapping available.
I have not described actually cruising the river except for a couple of warnings where I have scrapped my paintwork by not knowing.
This way you will enjoy the river finding out about it’s beauty for yourselves. I would welcome any comments to any mistakes I might have made, any updates and more importantly any useful information which you think I could add.
If you are exploring the river this summer, have a fabulous time. You will enjoy…. I promise! 
Sue
Updated 24th April 2012
May 3rd, 2010 at 10:04 pm
I wish you had written this a couple of years ago.
Brian
May 4th, 2010 at 9:17 am
That is aboslutely brilliant, Sue, well done
Two thoughts:
*You don’t warn about the dreaded swags of chain in the locks. If you have a BCN type square bottomed boat like us, you can have a real scare locking down if the edge of the base plate hangs up on the chain shackles (personal experience here). The answer is to let the boat sit a little bit off the edge of the lock as it goes down, or pop a fender on after you are in there to keep it out.
*You don’t mention that you can catch the Nene Valley Railway from Wansford Station or Ferry Meadows into Peterborough. Steam hauled and great fun for the kids.
Thanks again for a brilliant guide
All the best
Bruce
May 4th, 2010 at 11:06 am
Sue good nene maps…. but bad news im afraid.. Elton moorings have been closed by owners,so no mooring now ..aledged due to a few bad boaters regrads peter & rosemary
May 4th, 2010 at 3:27 pm
Well done Sue. Excellent and useful guide. I wish we had seen it before we took Herbie along the Nene last year.
May 4th, 2010 at 3:57 pm
Hi Sue, Congratulations!!!! You have done a fantastic job of showing the delights of the River Nene.
May 4th, 2010 at 10:27 pm
Brian,
Well I had it in mind a couple of years ago to do it, but it is one of those things that I never seemed to get round to doing!
Bruce,
Yes those bloddy chains… we got stuck on them like you said at Yarwell lock.. I never had such a fright I thought NP was going over until she slammed down into the water.. I will give that a mention thanks. Yes of course, the trip on the train is great, I’ll add that along with some links
Peter and Rosemary,
Shock horror!!… Oh no!!… That is very bad news. Not only for the boaters not able to visit this rather unique village, but for the traders who get a lot of pennies from those moored. I am going to write to the Lord and ask him to reconsider.. There is a place to moor on the opposite side, but he owns that too.. In fact he owns the whole lot for miles around.. Thanks for the update, upsetting though it is.
Neil,
Heh, you will have to go back then!
Dick & Netty.. Hello you two!! Many thanks!
August 19th, 2010 at 12:28 am
Update, Elton moorings are now open again!
September 2nd, 2010 at 3:15 pm
Hello! Many thanks for this – we are just about to cruise the Nene for the first time and were having trouble finding out about moorings — then we stumbled across your guide. We’ll let you know how we get on!!
September 4th, 2010 at 11:48 pm
Andy,
Many thanks for your comment, my time wasn’t wasted then!
Let me know any updates you have… and enjoy yourselves
February 5th, 2011 at 3:00 pm
So now we are decided where we are going to take Mr. Punch in 2011!
February 7th, 2011 at 11:40 pm
Doug,
I am sure you will enjoy.. if you are going early enough we might see you because we are also heading that way in the Spring
May 5th, 2011 at 9:55 pm
Used this guide on the River Nene over Easter/Royal weddibg weekend 2011 and found it useful.
Stayed on the unofficial moorings at Cogenhoe, a good spot by the caravan site. A couple of boater’s (Mick & Tina) have recently taken over the bar and have renamed it The Crow’s Nest, http://www.crowsnestcogenhoe.co.uk
There is also an elsan point along with showers and toilets. Mick & Tina are really helpful
May 5th, 2011 at 11:56 pm
Stewart & Wendy,
Many thanks for your comment. That is very intersting for Cogenhoe I will add that to the page shortly. Glad you had a great time
June 23rd, 2011 at 1:16 pm
Hi Sue, we’ve just come down the Nene. Thought we’d let you know, Earls Barton lock now has power, Weston Favell signage now takes you along the right hand channel, easy to miss pontoon moorings as you don’t go past them. There’s a new farm shop at Ditchford Lock selling fresh local produce, they also have moorings £4 a night and a “pit” and water. Fotheringay is now £4 and £2 to moor. I don’t think there is pump out or water now at Rushden and Diamonds – we didn’t stop but there is a notice saying these facilities are no longer available. The football club has gone into liquidation and has closed.
June 24th, 2011 at 4:33 pm
Thats Brilliant Ness, thanks a lot, I’ll update the pages with that information as soon as..
July 13th, 2011 at 12:36 pm
Hi Sue,
Great guide but before venturing onto the narrow Nene it would be good to know something about usable turning points.
Any advice on these (or did I miss it somewhere?).
Thanks,
David Nb Bagpuss
July 13th, 2011 at 9:35 pm
Just at Gayton in our 65 foot Slowgoose about to embark on the Nene, ML, Ouse experience. Your blog and responses v helpful, and answers many on those as yet outstanding questions re mooring.
Do you anticipate any problems in turning this length in dead-end arms?
PS your link to Peterborough Marina is the one in Ontario Canada not the one in the UK.
Peterborough Marina on Little Lake at Del Crary Park 92 George St. N., Peterborough, ON
July 13th, 2011 at 11:32 pm
Peter and David,
Oh don’t worry about turning on the Nene, it is a wider river than you think. You will be able to turn easily in frequent wide stretches all the way along, you wont have to find dead-end arms or anything like that at all.
Peter, Many thanks for that.. I obviously found a link and didn’t check it properly!
I’ll change that shortly.
Enjoy your trip you two, I know you will..
July 20th, 2011 at 2:56 pm
Hi Sue,
That’s great, thanks for the reassurance.
We did in fact sort of confirm what you said having hired a canoe and paddled the Thrapston to Oundle stretch last weekend. The river is much wider than we thought and there are some really beautiful and peaceful stretches.
Really looking forward to cruising it in August (and using your guide everyday!).
David
July 20th, 2011 at 11:02 pm
David,
If you find anything different as you cruise along take some notes and do let me know so I can keep the page totally up to date.
Enjoy your cruise..