Day 96 saw the beginnings of a change in the weather. We were woken by rain and thunder but it didn’t last, by 0930 it was beginning to get really hot. We stopped briefly at Ely to provision before going back across the Middle Levels to Peterborough, on the water / service point as there was no moorings to be had. We had caught up a boat we saw about ten days ago as we got to the city and they got the last long mooring. The trip to our overnight mooring wasn’t actually very long but not very inspiring and HOT, the temperature in and out of  the cabin over 33 centigrade by mid afternoon. Spoke to owner of another 60ft narrowboat “Cyan” who were planning the same trip tomorrow. Saw a grebe catch a crayfish and feed it to one of its young. Thunder in the distance throughout the afternoon got closer and closer and then it really started to rain. We had had one side of the cratch cover open so we could watch the storm but retreated into the cabin as the rain got heavier. It got really windy and threatened to damage the cover so J dashed out in the rain to fix it and in the 30 seconds or so it took to do so was so wet that she could have got away without a shower (clothes were still wet the next morning) Water also came in through open hopper windows (not something we’ve seen before). Very disappointed not to see the lunar eclipse after days of clear nights.

Day 97 and we woke to an overcast and windy day. We had been told that they would be moving boats through Denver Sluice onto the tidal Ouse from 0900 and had planned to get there about 0845 but saw two other narrowboats moored opposite move off at about 0820; and it was still squally with rain so delayed our departure to about 0900. Got to the lock mooring to find three narrowboats already moored abreast so winded and went onto a mooring nearby. Cyan had followed us and after some hesitation attempted to moor alongside. He didn’t make a good job of it so D had to let go of he bow line we had managed to get attached to our boat and he went down to the lock mooring and hung in the river for about 30 minutes before someone took pity on him and took a bow line but he had the stern in so reeds, not somewhere we would have liked to be as it was still windy. They were moving boats through one at a time as there were boats coming up from Salters Lode so we waited until the three original boats had gone before joining Cyan on the mooring as we had been told by the lock keeper that they would be taking us in pairs. We eventually got into Denver sluice a little before 1100, unfortunately we lost a fender as we came away from the side of Cyan and it drifted off before anyone could retrieve it. We were first out of the lock; J at the tiller quite nervous as tidal passages are not what narrowboats are designed for. We were going down with a falling tide which is OK until you try to turn when the tide will try to take you sideways with it. Today the wind was also in the same direction, strong and gusting – all in all not the conditions you would choose to make a 300 degree turn into a lock. We made it without touching anything, not the smoothest of manoeuvres but not bad for the conditions and the first attempt. We continued along the middle levels to Upwell where we decided to stop because the wind was so strong and gusty; we were joined by Cyan. We went through a section where the wind was so strong and the shelter so lacking that it was actually tilting the boat as well as making us go along crabwise. We passed two of the boats that had gone through the locks ahead of us just before the mooring, for which we were grateful as it meant we had space on the best mooring in the area. The forecast for tomorrow is the same amount of wind but with rain too. I think we might be staying put.