If you are a beginner or experieced boater looking for a peaceful holiday or just a day out without the hustle and bustle of the busy canals the Nene has a lot to offer.

• Beautiful countryside and scenery
• Historic sites
• Excellent pubs and restaurants to visit
• Interesting villages and towns

Heading North (downstream) you can visit Fotheringhay and see the remains of the castle where Mary Queen of Scots ended her days. Take a trip on the Nene Valley Railway at Wansford. Explore Peterborough city centre with it's magnificent Cathedral and plentiful shops.  The river locks, although appearing regularly are no longer a test of strength and stamina. Most are now electrically operated and the unique guillotine gate will rise and fall at the press of a button.  From Peterborough your journey can continue into the Middle Level navigations, with miles of navigable drainage channels that serve the fenlands of Cambridgeshire and Norfolk. Beyond there is the River Great Ouse which can take you to Cambridge (via the River Cam) or you can continue your journey along the River Great Ouse to Bedford.

Heading South (upstream) you pass through delightful villages such as Wadenhoe, Denford and Woodford.  Around Thrapston, the river changes in both nature and name and becomes known locally as "The Nen" and is no longer referred to as "The Neen" The river widens and the countryside bears testament to the area's industrial past. Scores of old gravel pits, the contents of which were transported by river have found new life as wildlife sancturies, sailing and fishing lakes, marinas and holiday parks. Commercial traffic on the river ceased in 1969 when the Nene's last working flour mill at Wellingborough (now a large industrial flour mill rather than a watermill) took in its final consignment of wheat brought by working narrowboat from London Docks. At Northampton the navigable river ends and the canal begins. The Grand Union (Northampton Arm) will take you via its 17 locks to Gayton Junction and the Grand Union Main Line.