Goodbye St Ives

Day 25
St Ives to Earith
approx 6 miles; 5 1/2 hours ...

The festival was operating a booking system through St Ives lock for boats leaving the festival. Very efficient! St Ives lock takes three narrowboats fairly easily, as long as one of them isn't quite full length (we fitted in the side bit easily). There was no booking system for the next lock, Brownshill Staunch, which takes one boat, or two if they're short (being a frustrating 13 feet wide). So we got through St Ives at our allotted time, but still had to wait two and a half hours at Brownshill. Never mind.

As a result though we missed the tide for the 100 Foot Drain aka New Bedford River (but 100 Foot Drain sounds so much more exciting, don't you think?) which we were hoping to tackle today, and have had to find a mooring in Earith. The EA 48-hour moorings have a considerable overlap with the pumpout (which we made enthusiastic use of) and waterpoint (ditto), and were getting quite crowded, so we have moved up a little further to the Crown pub, where we will have a drink later (and maybe even some food at its sister establishment) to justify our presence.

Earith has one small shop with a good range of Colmans sauces and little else, but it does include a post office so I was able to post my mother her birthday present. Late again, but the way I look at it, it's just prolonging the excitement.

And we saw the famous Earith seal! She did a little leap and a splash, just for us, and was gone again.

I do not have high hopes of the Crown public house, but having looked through the (uPVC double glazed, Venetian blinded) windows I did see London Pride, so maybe all is not lost. It's a mooring, anyway.