Oundle to Waddenhoe – four miles and three locks
We decided on a short day today as we really wanted to visit Waddenhoe; particularly The Kings Head. Thus, we had a leisurely breakfast and set off about 10.
Just as we were setting off, we were passed by a boat being delivered up to Sheffield. Apparently, the new owner had slipped and broken his ankle, so he had to have the boat delivered to its new moorings: a trip of about two weeks. We stayed together to the first lock but then parted as we wanted to fill up with water.
The river was more busy today and we saw several other boats before we reached Waddenhoe. We also passed some very novice single scullers on the river. We gave them a very wide, and slow, berth.
You moor at the bottom of the garden of the Kings Head at Waddenhoe, the only requirement being to use the pubs bars. No problem there!
We arrived about lunchtime and headed up the slope to the pub. There was a very friendly greeting and a very nice pint of Brewster’s Hopshackle available. That was followed by a pint of Nene Valley NVB.
We decided to have lunch and opted for the special Club Sandwich with hand cut chips and a salad. It was enormous! Even I couldn’t eat all of it and I had to restrict myself to 2-3 chips. Varina managed to finish hers but she did look a bit green at the end.
In hindsight, we should have orderd one between us.
To walk this off, we toured the unspoilt village. It really is lovely. I think it is mainly the property of the Waddenhoe Trust and they’ve done a great job of preserving the best features of a traditional Northamptonshire village. The church was very interesting as well.
Tomorrow, we’re going to head back to Irthlingborough.
The one downside of Waddenhoe, and in fact much of the Nene Valley is rubbish Vodafone coverage so I’m not sure when this will get posted.
