UK Canals - Journey reports

Return to Harefield

The dinner party of last night and the chef (First Mate) had departed by 9 am, so having donned the long johns, jeans, three layers of top clothing plus waterproof/windproof jacket, "russian hat" (which folds down over the ears) and thinsulate gloves I set off to wind in the pool before commencing the return journey.   Apart from a boat seen emerging from Maida Vale Tunnel in the distance, nothing was seen moving until past Alperton where I had to wait briefly for a large workboat with mechanical excavator and spoil barge working on towpath renovations, to move out of the way.   A brief stop at Black Horse Greenford was used for a fast sandwich lunch and warm up, before continuing on to Bulls Bridge and turning right for the Main Line.   Unlike Sunday when all was quiet, the Denham gravel traffic was active with movement on the quay at West Drayton and sight of one of the special barges in the distance making its way towards me.  They travel quite slowly, but even so I was trying to calculate the wisdom of putting on a spurt for the intervening bridge hole when the helmsman gave me three flashes indicating that he was giving way.  Nearing West Drayton station at the end of the long straight section I noticed a tug following me in the distance.  By Cowley Peachey it had caught up with me, trailing a breaking wave in its wake.   The reason for its tuen of speed was evident when reaching the lock, for two massive dumb barges were being roped through the lock and the tug was just in time to pick up the second to establish what looked like a push pull train.   I wonder if this is intended as yet another attempt to try and increase the efficiency of the gravel traffic.   To my mind, automating Cowley and Uxbridge locks would bring the geatest benefit.      Further on at Uxbridge, yet another delay, this time for dredging works opposite the Hillingdon Canal Club moorings.   The sludge was being taken up past Uxbridge Boat Centre to a makeshift wharf where a long reach excavator was loading it into waiting lorries.   Arrival at the marina was uneventful, 7 hours after departure from Little Venice.

Entertaining

After Gemma had gone off to work, I did some maintenance tasks (see maintenance section ), the weather still too cold to do much to the exterior of the boat although it needs a spring clean up and the brass needs a lot of work.   Pat arrived early afternoon and set about preparing the meal for Gemma's guest - a real nouvelle cuisine affair.   Crab cocktail (Trebbiano) - Braised pork in cider with savoy cabbage on creamed potatoes (Merlot della Venezie) - Chocolate fondants with ice cream.  Gemma & Sam arrived around 7 pm and the above was enjoyed, the party retiring to "The Waterway" for cocktails.  Really a bit of a young person's pub - or more of a wine bar perhaps.

Little Venice

This is a popular trip for us, this one taken at short notice in order to provide a floating restaurant so that Gemma can entertain, with Pat as Chef and your writer (Michael) as Maitre d'.   Travelling today gave Gemma a chance to ride along and operate the locks. Extremely good exercise for stomach muscles she tells me.  She can then go to work tomorrow just down the (Edgware) road and Chef will arrive tommorrow to do the business.

A cold early morning start.  In fact temperature around zero degrees with a bitter wind.  The boat was cold so priority one was to get the stove sorted out.  It takes several hours to get everything warmed up. On the way down through the three locks leading to the long pound to Paddington, there was some evidence of tree cutting with lots of wood up for grabs if you have the equipment to hand to parcel it up into convenient stove sized portions.  Chef had given us a shopping list, but moorings by Tesco at Bulls Bridge were full.  We stopped at Uxbridge Road (dirty bird fowl ridden rather broken down advertised moorings with no rings or bollards) for a quick lunch, then on.  The new marina, part of the residential development north of Willowbridge, is now full of water, but not connected.  The development itself does not appeal, but a true appraisal must wait until it is finished and landscaped.   Moorings at Sainsbury's Alperton were free and this is a major store, so useful.  The presence of the supermarket is not obvious from the canal, but it is infact a lot more convenient than Tesco.  On then to LV.   Moorings OK under the footbridge.   Not a lot of boats on the move, Indus was making for Bulls Bridge and a cluster visiting the supermarket at Kensal Green passed us after we had moored up.   Looking for a good Indian tonight!

Watford to Harefield Marina

Icebergs

It was obviously going to be another cold night, so we were a little concerned that the ice might have advanced significantly.  Indeed, looking at the canal as the sun rose in a blue sky, the ice had indeed advanced from the opposite bank overnight but with the (river) stream clear.   We walked down to the pound below Ironbridge lock and apart from a few leads for the first 100 yards it was completely frozen over.   However, our judgement was that it was only thin, so, much to the delight of the local cheerful fishermen who needed us to break up the ice opposite our mooring, we set off.

In fact we had no problem.   The ice was easily broken by the passage of the boat on tickover and we cleared a channel down to Cassio Lock.   The pound below was completely clear.  From Common Moor Lock we were about to enter another completely frozen section but for an upcoming boat (one of the Narrow Escape family) that had cleared a channel for us.   On the way up yesterday this is where we had met the thickest ice and so we just meandered through the icebergs left over from the weekend traffic.    Below Lot Mead Lock there was no further ice at all apart from a little above Stockers.    At Coppermill we met a load of London Firemen waiting around for a BW person to come and test the water for them to satisfy their health and safety requirements before throwing someone in (as they put it).   They were on a water rescue exercise.   A cheerful bunch who just let Pat get on with preparing the lock and watching us through.  I would have wanted to lend a hand with the gates or something, but I suppose health and safety rules would disallow that.   By now the weather was warmer and the Marina was totally clear.   All in all a good weekend.

First Cruise of the Season

ICE!

On Friday I visited the boat to prepare for the weekend cruise.  This meant principally flushing the water system of the MPG antifreeze, filling the water tank and warming the boat up.   The weather was cold but happily only a small margin of ice visible at the sheltered inlets on the water.   Flushing the water system takes quite a time, so no chance of doing it on the Saturday before departure as we have some time constraints for me to get to a meeting in Watford.   All in all, including lighting the stove, it took about 3 hours.   I topped the stove up before leaving and set it to slow burn to keep the boat warm.  Telepmetry later showed that the boat wat at 23 degrees that evening and 10 degrees next morning at 6 am.

Arriving at the boat on Saturday, the whole marina was iced up, the only clear water being at the entrance near to Widewater Lock.  The ice looked thin enough and I judged that the river sections of the canal would be clear anyway - which turned out to be the case.  The hardest part was getting out of the marina.   Thin though the ice was, reversing and winding the boat was very difficult.   In reverse the ice determined which way the boat wanted to go, and in forward gear it just carved a straight line.  No amount of rudder worked.   It was necessary to use the pole to smash ice, working the boat back and forwards to get turning room.   We found the as the ice was in fact quite thin, carving a track forwards and then powerful reverse broke up the ice sufficiently to turn, but inly when we had the freedom to go forwards in the first place.   Once on the canal we had no problem until Lot Mead lock where we came up behind two Hillingdon Canal Trust boats awash with small crew.   They had needed to smash the ice up in the lock to get in and the ice in the pound up to Common Moor Lock looked much thicker.    They were going to Apsley, and carved a path for us up to Iron Bridge Lock where we wind and moor.   No trouble above the lock, it is a river section.  We passed Guillemot at Iron Bridge Lock on the way to Limehouse.   They reported that the ice above the next two locks was very thick and they had been stuck for a while.   Probably just as well we stopped here.

What will the ice be like on Sunday for the return trip.   Watch this space.