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Northamptonshire, England

Irthlingborough put-in

ParkingThe nearest formal car park is at Stanwick Lakes: pay-and-display, free to those arriving on foot or by bike, with charges from £4.00 for up to two hours to £7.00 for a full day and an annual household pass; the barrier operates 7am-7pm April to October and 7am-5.30pm the rest of the year.
AccessThe riverside reserve is crossed by wide, smooth Wildlife Trust trails, described as wheelchair and pushchair friendly, and no booking is required to visit. Using the water itself requires a waterways registration or licence (see Regulation).
SeasonThe Environment Agency's Anglian Waterways navigation is subject to periodic engineering and maintenance closures on this reach. The authority publishes current closures and restrictions on its navigation notices page, updated on weekdays during office hours.
RegulationsAll boats kept or used on the river, including unpowered canoes, kayaks and paddleboards, must be registered with the Environment Agency's Anglian Waterways scheme, or the paddler must hold a Canal and River Trust Gold Licence or Paddle UK membership.

Irthlingborough put-in lies on the River Nene where it flows through the Nene Wetlands, a chain of flooded gravel pits and wet meadow on the floodplain between Northampton and Peterborough. The fourteenth-century Irthlingborough Bridge, listed on the National Heritage List for England, crosses the river close by.

These wetlands link four adjoining Wildlife Trust reserves — Irthlingborough Lakes and Meadows, Ditchford Lakes and Meadows, Higham Ferrers Pits and Wilson's Pits — and lie within the Upper Nene Valley Gravel Pits Site of Special Scientific Interest and Special Protection Area. The Wildlife Trust records that twenty thousand waterbirds use the wetlands each year, for breeding, over winter or as a stop on migration.

The river here is a managed navigation rather than a free-flowing one: the Environment Agency operates 38 locks between Northampton and Peterborough, most fitted with pointing doors at the upstream end and a vertical guillotine gate at the lower end, each requiring a navigation key to operate.

Nearby

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The Walkers Rest

An outdoor café kiosk at Stanwick Lakes country park.

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Conditions to check

Boat traffic

Powered narrowboats and cruisers share this navigation, subject to a 7mph (11.2 km/h) speed limit.

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Other

The Environment Agency runs a free strong-stream advice messaging system for the Nene, Great Ouse and Ancholme, covering high-flow conditions on this river.

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