Middle Levels:Should have been March

Yes I know it's April, but we should have been in March tonight. After a  quiet night, our booking for Stanground lock, entrance to the Middle Levels, was for 9:00. So we busied ourselves by walking the dog, chasing some rabbits (the dog) and using the Quay facilities for pump-out and water. At the appropriate time we left and meandered down to the lock where the Middle Level Lock-keeper was waiting. The lock bridge is rather low for boats locking down and he advised removing the chimney, although it transpired that it would have been no problem. He took our particulars and sold us the windlass (£10) and key (£3) which we would need and handed us a set of navigation notes. Then we set off. Our first obstacle was the renowned Briggate Bend, a 90 sharp bend in a section of narrow water which looked at first sight to be easy enough but which I failed. The water is shallow and getting the boat to turn as expected was not straight forward. It would have been better to stop and use the bow thruster. Judging by the fact that some youngsters ran to the bridge which overlooks the bend to watch, this must be a local source of entertainment. Then came Ashline Lock with its strange vertical lock sluice gear. The top gates were open for us. There is no indication as to the status so we did not notice at first that the top paddles were up, only when the water failed to fall as expected. Some hours later we arrived at Fox Marina, where we had phoned ahead to check for diesel. The entrance was narrow and the water inside a bit congested, however we found the diesel pump and we soon sorted, although Fox only supply a fixed percentage 60/40. Regaining the channel we continued the half mile or so to the town moorings only to find that a St George's Day festival was in progress and no moorings were to be had anywhere. No alternative but to carry on. Our possibilities were limited because we have a booking for Marmot Priory Lock at 11.00 tomorrow and we are not far away. Finally, after passing a large wind farm, we found a bit of bank with a rusting bit of piling and stopped, overlooked by the high banks of the dykes. Nothing to see except that tops of cars can be seen occasionally passing by. Looks like a very late start tomorrow and a slow cruise to Salters Lode for a 16:00 hrs locking onto the Great Ouse.