A Change of Scenery

We have been happily moored at Burton Waters for three years now and whilst we are very happy with the marina and the lifestyle we have there, it does have to be said that the same old stretch of Fossdyke and Witham that we visit during weekends when time is stretched is starting to wear a little thin. We are considering a temporary change of scenery for a month or two during the warmer summer months.

Boston is high on the list of contenders for our temporary summer mooring. It is close enough that we could easily get the boat there in a weekend but far enough away that we have not yet gotten bored with that particular stretch of river Witham. Boston is also ideally situated for easy access to the sea. The Wash estuary provides lots of options for weekend salty water cruising when the weather and tides will allow. Perhaps the only downside to a temporary mooring in Boston will be the additional forty five minutes travel time on both Friday evening and Monday morning.

We have also considered a temporary mooring on the Trent at either Newark Marina or Farndon Marina. We like spending time on the Trent and this will still be a pleasant change of scenery but it won’t offer the chance of salty water cruising as the Boston option would. The big plus point of a mooring at Newark or Farndon however is the travel time which will not be a deal different to our current journey time to Lincoln.

Naburn Marina, on the Ouse, is also on the list of contenders. We love cruising on the Ouse through York and beyond and although we wouldn’t want to leave the boat there on a permanent basis due to the restrictive weekend cruising, a month or two here would make a pleasant change. Travel time from Sheffield will in theory be a tad quicker than to our current mooring at Lincoln but downside is the more restricted cruising grounds and lack of weekend cruising on salty or tidal waterways.

One last option we are considering for our summer mooring is Fossdyke Yacht Harbour on the Tidal Welland. This option will give us excellent access to the sea and a shorter travelling time than Boston but on the flip side there are of course some downsides. If the weather is foul then there are few inland cruising options and Fossdyke, although a pleasant enough village is small and not exactly happening. Although the newly reopened pub does look nice it could become an expensive summer mooring if we spend every weekend in there due to inclement weather or unsuitable tide timings.

As you can probably see we are still leaving our options open and as yet have no firm plans for the temporary summer mooring. We have met a great group of friends at Burton Waters which has confirmed our decision to keep our mooring on E Pontoon, however they do say that a change is as good as a rest hence the hunt for a temporary summer mooring.