A Midsummer Nene Dream

Okay, we’re a bit past midsummer, but this weekend just gone had to be one of the loveliest in terms of weather – it was a scorcher! And it works nicely as a post title :-) I couldn’t have picked a better weekend to take the Dagger on my first kayaking camping trip. Destination? The River Nene in Northamptonshire.

The River Nene is the tenth longest river in the United Kingdom and rises from three sources, all in Northamptonshire. It is navigable for 88 miles (142km) from Northampton to The Wash. The Nene runs through four counties in total, Northamptonshire, Cambridgeshire, Lincolnshire and Norfolk. Depending on where you live also depends on how you pronounce its name which includes variations such as ‘Neen’, ‘Nyn’ and ‘Nen’ – confusing. The river gave its name to the former Nene College (now Northampton University) and to the Rolls Royce Nene Turbojet engine – Rolls Royce practice being to name their gas-turbine designs after British rivers. Coincidentally, or not, Sir Henry Royce was born in Alwalton, a village by the Nene near Peterborough.

Dawn was going away with the girls for a spa weekend to celebrate Gill's 60th birthday, so I thought I would make the most of the weather forecast and the spare weekend. Friends Keith and Nina dropped me and the Dagger (thanks both) at the Nine Arched Bridge in Thrapston at about 9.30 on Saturday morning and already the sun was warming up nicely. By the time I got my camping gear secure on the back of the Dagger and eventually launched, it was already scorching the back of my neck. Here are some views from day one en-route to my overnight camp at Oundle.

It really was a beautiful day's paddle as you can see, which culminated in an overnight camp near Oundle where I pitched my tent next to some pigs! Actually, they were quite good company, very little smell and only an hour or so of snoring - I don't think I kept the pigs awake though! :-)

Sunday morning saw me rise early and after a camp cooked feast of sausage and baked beans, I launched in the warm morning sun at about 9am. Again, it was a lovely day and a beautifully scenic paddle as I headed towards Fotheringhay - where Dawn was due to pick me up in the evening. Here are a few snaps of the day:

Fotheringhay, my end destination, was particularly interesting. Fotheringhay Castle, which sadly is only a grassy mound and a small section of surviving masonry, was the birthplace of King Richard III as well as the place where Mary - Queen of Scots had her head chopped off. It's a beautiful spot as you can see, made even more lovely with the sight of four Red Kites circling around the church spire.

The Dagger performed really well. It's not dissimilar to the Drama Queen statistically, although it is a touch more 'rocky' having a slightly more rounded hull. This isn't a problem though and you certainly don't feel that it's going to tip over. The Dagger comes with a very comfortable seat pad and padded seat backrest which made the weekend paddling comfortable and easy on the back, the footrests are great and easy to adjust, both bow and stern decks come with deck rigging/bungee (although the stern deck bungee was just too tight to accommodate my 40ltr dry bag, so I cut it off and replaced it prior to leaving) which allows for plenty of on-deck storage - the boat did not feel at all unstable with 40 litres of camping equipment tied to the stern deck and there's also plenty of room for other equipment (I'd estimate about 30ltrs) behind the seat on either side of the ethafoam flotation. All in all, I reckon it's a great expedition boat for shorter, flatwater trips and I would quite happily take the Dagger away for a week, confident that it could cope with the gear. If I learnt anything on the trip, it's that I need to get myself a kayak trolley for portaging. Although I coped okay, and fortunately for me most of the portages were grassy so allowed me to drag the Dagger, the boat was heavy with all the camping gear and fresh water and my arms were aching  after completing half a dozen or more portages each day. But, there you go, you live and learn. I had a great weekend and can't wait to go and try somewhere else - I'll keep you posted.

If you'd like more information on the trip - route, mapping, campsite location (even wild camp locations which I made a note of en-route) etc, etc, please leave a comment and I'll get in  touch.