In Boston: riverwalk

July 5, 2022

We’re staying in Boston at the White Hart Hotel, a historic property that’s been an inn for three hundred years. It stands right on the bank of the River Witham, the fourth river that empties into The Wash only six miles downriver from here. Other than the apartment we loved back in Ely this is probably our favorite stay in England thus far. Comfortable, efficient and considerate staff, and probably the best restaurant in town - we’ll eat here again this evening as we did last night.

The day begins early but very pleasantly when at around three o’clock the gulls awaken and bring me to along with them. For the next three hours I drift off and on back to sleep until I decide to go down to the lobby and work on the blog until the restaurant opens at seven. At 6:30 a staffer stops by and asks if I’d like him to fetch an early coffee for me while I wait. Yes, please. An Americano if you don’t mind.

The interesting front desk of the White Hart Hotel.

A full English breakfast, more coffee and an hour of digestion later we’re ready to get on with the day. After yesterday’s rough miles Rachael’s planning a walk today and shows me the route she’s considering. It appeals to me too as I look at it - a walk along the river that I improve on by pointing out that the path continues right to mouth of the river where it meets with the mouth of the Welland, coming to a pencil point between the two rivers.

I’m startled to think back and realize I’ve been biking 13 straight days, without a day off the saddle since back in Maldon. It really does sound like the best use of the day and a chance for a different take on the fens before we leave them tomorrow so I decide to join her.

On the map the hike follows the river the whole way, but the map’s out of date. The first mile and a half is in town along the fishing dock and factories, and the walking route has been closed to the public here. There’s a detour on the city streets that’s well marked though, and with the help of the red hat pointing out the waymarkers we find our way easily enough.

We decide we should wait this one out rather than trying to squeeze past. It’s even more interesting than it looks, because the driver is backing up.

Boston is a fishing port, from the looks of it.

Easy enough to find your way if you watch for the signs.

It’s a six and a half mile walk to the end of the trail - and then you have to walk back! How long has it been since I’ve hiked 13 miles - 13.5, to be precise? It may have been years. I don’t really know that I’ll get that far when I start out, but we’ll see how it goes. Rachael will go the whole thing of course and quickly distances itself when I find the first of many reasons to stop.

Along the Witham. It’s a perfect day for this - comfortably cool, mostly overcast. The best use of the day.

I stared at this long line of gulls standing around in the field, wishing them to take flight for me. It worked, this time.

Pied avocets! I’m lucky to see them today. They were extirpated in Britain from habitat loss and hunting for their eggs and feathers. they’ve reestablished here in The Wash since WWII though, when it was returned to a salt marsh as a deterrent to German invasion.

Thistle and bug. Any small excuse for a stop works for me on days like this.

Looking north across the fens, in the land between the Witham and Welland rivers.

This dense run of teasel must go on for a half mile, shimmering in the sun.

Oystercatcher! They’re common along the walk today - I saw a few dozen of them and heard more.

What could be better than an oystercatcher? Three of them, naturally.

I’m about a half mile behind Rachael when she gives a call. She’s at mile 4.88, next to a bench overlooking a noisy birding area. She says I might want to use it as a target, tempting me to make it out at least that far. This is turning into a terrific walk though, getting better the closer to the sea I get. I thank her for the information but tell her I’m going the whole way to the end.

The end is in sight. It’s thrilling when the mouth of the river comes into view.

Looking north across the salt marshes between here and the Welland.

The end of the trail. The Witham on the left, the Welland on the right, The Wash straight on. A wonderful spot, and we have it all to ourselves this morning save for a lone fisherman testing his luck with the ebbing tide.

I’ve been tracking Rachael on the Garmin and see that she’s stayed at the point quite a while, almost long enough for me to catch up with her before she turns back. I’m perhaps an eighth of a mile from the end when we microwave paths and I hand over the keys to the room since she’ll be returning first.

We chat for a bit and she tells me where the time went. She’s been scrambling around on the rocks and beach, chatting with the fisherman and trying to locate the strange sound she’s hearing. Finally she locates it - seals! A mother and her pup, snuggled up in the rocks.

She’s afraid I won’t see them so she walks back with me to point them out. And she’s right - even with her pointing right at them it takes me awhile to make them out. They’re still and silent now, not like when she took her video:

Her guide work done, she heads back for home to get out of the wind and leaves me to poke around and have lunch. I watch the two intert lumps for awhile and finally they stir just a bit.

Thanks for waiting around for me, Rocky!

Or harbor seals? I’ve read the guide and can’t tell the difference. They need clearer labels.

The walk back is like the one out, of course - just as long, and still full of reasons to stop. When I finally make it back and unload the camera I find I’ve shot off more than 400 pics today - maybe a new record. Where did they all go? 25 or so hoping to get the perfect shot of a huge bumblebee on the head of a teasel; a few dozen shots of lapwings and egrets too far off to really hope for a decent image. A dozen here, a dozen there. It all adds up.

So what’s this pretty, lavender-hued plant lining the bank?

Pillbox, one of several along the point.

Teasels are such a lovely plant, alone and in aggregate. So interesting the way the blossoms band like this.

A two headed teasel, the only one I saw like this.

The Boston Stump makes a good beacon for measuring my progress. Not far now, maybe another three miles.

Home again! The White Hart is just to the left, the footbridge ahead.

I do well on the way back, better than expected - when I’m not stopped with the camera I keep a pretty steady 3.5 mph pace the whole way. It helps that the entire walk is almost absolutely flat, and that I’m motivated to get back in time for a bit of project work before our dinner reservation at six.

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Suzanne GibsonThose seals are so cute!
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1 year ago

Amber StarfireThis isn't related to this particular entry, but I didn't know any other way of contacting you, so here goes...Jim Fitch, another cyclist who uses Cycleblaze recommended that I contact you to get recommendations for how you use your Gopro when touring. I'm going on a 6-week Pacific Coast tour in Sept/Oct and am trying to figure out how to manage storage and processing while I'm traveling. If you have some thoughts you'd like to share, my email is amberstarfire@att.net. Thanks :-)
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1 year ago

Scott AndersonTo Amber StarfireHi Amber. Rachael is the GoPro half of the team so she’ll be in touch with you. While we wait though, which GoPro version do you have, and will you be taking along a tablet or other device you can download and store photos and videos on?

And have a great tour!
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1 year ago

Amber StarfireThank you for replying, Scott. I have the GoPro Hero 9. The trip will be van supported, so I’m planning on dragging my laptop along (on the last trip I only had my iPhone and quickly ran out of space on it). I think I may also need an external drive - those videos are huge.
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1 year ago

Graham FinchOn the north side of the river is a memorial to the Pilgrim Fathers. It was something I toyed with going to see when I was in Boston four years ago...

https://www.google.com/maps/place/Pilgrim+Fathers+Memorial/@52.9504987,-0.0073624,13z/data=!4m5!3m4!1s0x47d7e215909cf059:0x766d904bb12e0f52!8m2!3d52.9427076!4d0.0224116

I guess it is too small for you to have spotted from the opposite bank.
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1 year ago

Scott AndersonTo Graham FinchEh! What did they put it on that bank for? I could at least have zoomed in if I’d known to look for it.
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1 year ago