UK Canals - Journey reports

Returning home

We hate the drive across London home from the marina.  So much so that when going to the boat we tend to drive early in the morning and lately, when returning have tended to do the same.   It turns a 2 hour journey into little longer than an hour.   So on arrival in the marina yesterday we stayed on the boat making a leisurely job of packing up.   We also could enjoy a "chinese" from the take-away shop nearby.  One of the best around we think.    This morning we left at about 8 am.    Doing this leaves the boat with a battery drain overnight for TV, fridge etc, so it is not an ideal situation as we have no mains electricity hook up and have to rely on the solar panels.   An early return is indicated!

Harefield

Clear sky this morning after all the miserable weather yesterday.  However, very cold.  Jeans & deck shoes I'm sorry to say.  Suffice it to say we made very good progress with very little traffic of any kind until Rickmansworth really. Many of the locks were in our favour with gates open and welcoming and only a widebeam ahead for two locks to slow things down.  We reached Harefield at about 15:30.

Apsley

We left our mooring at the usual time and 20 minutes later were at the bottom of the locks by the White Lion Pub.  We had an uninterrupted climb to the top taking about 90 minutes.  Two lengthsmen appeared just as Pat was walking up to the top lock, so they came down and helped us through the last two before starting what seems to be a regular job of letting some water down.  To be honest I didn't see very much wrong on our way up, but admittedly the last but one pound was about 9 inches down.  Back pins were evident all the way up.  We find these terribly useful when ascending locks as they are just in the right position to fix the bow rope to with a clove hitch.   We can then open up all paddles, same side ground paddle first, then opposite gates (the baffles direct the water down the off side of the boat and help to draw it forwards against the centre rope holding it to the side) then the opposite ground paddle and finally the same side gate paddles.  It is easy just to flick the rope off the pin when things have quietened down and before the lock has fully filled.

Once at the top we had the long haul through the Tring cutting.  Vegetation in places looks as if it will soon totally take over.  Then down Cowroast lock to find a boat just going down in the next.  This was "Nostromo", single handed, and it waited for us at the next lock. Jointly we made good progress until lower Berhamsted where he left us.   The weather had now turned thoroughly miserable. Overcast to start with this morning, then light rain becoming heavier with increasing wind and getting colder.  I have probably come to the end of bare feet and shorts but am reluctant to say goodbye to summer.   We arrived at Apsley top at about 15:20 and occupied our previous mooring again.   At least we know that we get good Freeview TV here on the stick aerial from the nearby Hemel Hempstead repeater station.

Marsworth

It's about 4 hours from Wolverton through the Milton Keynes Park to Stoke Hammond Lock where the climb up to the summit in the Chiltern Hills starts.   After this isolated lock one gets to the Soulbury Three locks, often the source of problems as the locks are very close and the intervening ponds short.  If boaters misbehave and rush through without due regard to other traffic it is easy to drain the pounds.  So it was this time.  One lock further on is the Wyvern Hire base and naturally many boaters are inexperienced and make simple errors like not putting paddles fully down.  The two boats ahead of us made that mistake, the first taking forever filling the middle lock and actually managing to get the top gets open in the end in spite of one bottom paddle still 6 inches up.  Of course, in the process they had pretty well drained the top pound.  The next boat tried to do the same, but was nipped in the bud by a crew member from another hire boat sharing the lock with us.  I had to go up to the top in the end to let some water down to bring the levels up.

After all this we continued on through Leighton Buzzard and continued the climb up Ivinghoe and Seabrook and finally the two bottom Marsworth Locks to occupy our mooring we had on the outward journey.  A long day - eleven and a half hours.   Very yummy casserole from the slow cooker with tarte tatin to follow.

Resting in Wolverton

Went nowhere today, at least, by boat.  Spent the morning catching up with the blog.  We were too hectic going to the rally to deal with my mobile internet connection which was not working. I had tried in concert with the ISP to sort it out before leaving home and failed.  The answer, discovered only when I had the free time at the Blue Lias was in some obscure RAS service in the computer works which has been disabled. 

 Later in the morning I scraped rust spots off the roof back to bare metal and applied anti rust paint and a temporary black matt finish.  Afternoon was spent in a trip to London for a meeting.  No problem with the boat electrics and battery capacity with the new batteries.

Wolverton

Very little traffic in the morning until we reached Blisworth tunnel where we had two opposite directions and a slow hire boat in front.  Down the flight with only short delays due again to not wanting to turn locks round in front of opposite direction boats.  We continued on to Wolverton passing only a couple of boats on the move. 

Departure

Off at 6:55 with Fair Fa'.  Up Stockton Locks in 45 minutes.  We parted company after Calcutt, the other boat going on to N Oxford Canal at Braunston Turn.  By then though, we were third in a string of 6 boats all of which seemed to disappear by Braunston bottom lock where we were behind two boats going up and joined by nb "Mandarin". As always confusion reigned further up with excess boats in the pounds and boats coming down.  Through the tunnel and solo down Buckby Top, but joined Topsham waiting for a BW workboat cleaning vegetation off the gates.  The delay was short and the lengthsmen helped us through the next lock.  More confusion below when we came up behind two boats waiting for opposite direction traffic and so, long waits before we fnally emerged at the bottom.  We continued on to the Weedon Embankment where we occupied the same mooring as before. TV picture a bit erratic though on Freeview. We must have been behind the wrong bush.

Charity Auction

A quiet morning to start, then the auction.  Always good fun with our two auctioneers and bowler hatted porter.  Members bring and, of course donate, anything but mostly bric-a-brac.  With a few exceptions everything must go and there are bargains to be had.  An excellent roast lunch followed, then in the afternoon a few boats started to leave.  We disconnected our mains electric supply at midday as we are leaving in the morning. I am reliably informed that our two boats used 14KW over the four days.  Drinks as usual at 5 pm, then after a snack in the bar, the quiz run by John & Margaret.  Again, good fun but our team didn't win.  There were booby prizes and one for the most outrageously stupid answer.

Boules on the lawn

  Two new arrivals; Hermione  and Black Pig.
Pat made nibbles and then the Boules tournement started lasting all afternoon.  Thanks to Beeky.  Then it was the traditional tea and cakes on the lawn, eventually under umbrellas in the rain.  Too much cake!  Our members excel themselves in a range of delicious cakes too hard to resist. A fantastic evening in the function room.  Backstreet Boys played and sang a range of Blues, Country and traditional songs. Fantastic fiddle player.  Good humour prevailed.  A very good buffet and then the raffle £150 raised for charity.

More arrivals

Busy typing up some reports  first thing, but by 11:00 chairs were out on the grass and I joined the others.  Pat had been busy again making and baking.  Other boats arrived: Arun, Ernest, Lord Toulouse, Harnser, Enseabee, Jannock, and later Virgo.  Mostly chatting otherwise.  Dinner altogether in the function room in the evening.

Relaxing day

No need to run engines now, and no sign of any problems with the residual current circuit breaker cutting out as has happened occasionally in the past.  We use mains current so rarely.  I am of the opinion now that our 50 metres of cable must be fully uncoiled when used.  Must get a shorter one.  Took Alfie for a walk for papers.  Then fixed the stiff taps with cycle oil and dismantled and cleaned out the spiders nests from the horn.  Pat, by popular request made samosas.  A number of other boats arrived, Mini Mo (Beryl & Geoff), and Uncle Mort, Goosander.  Drinks at 5 pm, dinner in the pub.

Two spider nest plugs from the back of the horn.

Arrival at Blue Lias

A late start - 7:30.  A good run straight through.  Levick & Pilgrim which we were expecting to meet at Calcutt had gone on to Blue Lias ahead of us with Fair Fa'.  Took the waters at the point opposite the pub, winded, and then moored up.  Once the chairs had come out it was discovered that we had electricity behind the hedge for caravans.  With the landlord's permission we organised a hook up for the four boats with a multitude of cables - it must have been more than 60 meters to run the cable round the hedge.  A really enjoyable evening followed aboard Pilgrim with dinner courses shared by the three boats, Pat pea ginger and coriander soup, beef casserole from Barabra and cheesecake Angela. Various wines and port, chez Malcolm.

Bridge 99 GU Oxford Section

Weather forecast today is for heavy rain this afternoon, so I'm glad we only have a short day. A 07:00 departure would put us in good position for starting Whilton Locks at 8:15 ish.  So it was.  No other boats were going up, but quite a few coming down by the time we were a couple of locks up.  Pat went ahead as usual for the locks and at the top lock reported two boats coming down.  Shutting one gate ahead of my arrival she was annoyed to see another boat "sneak in" the other open gate.  Actually, the boat in question had no idea that she was waiting for me or indeed, that I was behind.  Braunston tunnel was busy with opposite direction boats and we joined up with hotel boat "Takara" for the lock flight.  Braunston Locks were very busy with boats waiting in the pounds between locks.  Strictly speaking this shouldn't happen as boats should just exchange locks, however, the longer middle pound makes it difficult to judge as well as there being moorings there too where boats can join the flight.  We continued on for a good TV this time from Sutton Coldfield.  There was also an opportunity before the rain came for a few "jobs". Investigations into a poor sounding horn revealed a spider's nest right at the end of the tube.  The bow fender was adjusted and one side of the boat polished.  We'll just have to make sure that when we arrive we are moored up with the good side to the bank.

Weedon Embankment

Overcast with forecast of increasing wind. Pat needed to visit the Tesco store at Wolverton, so a stop was made there.  Then on to the bottom of the Stoke Bruerne Flight.  We reached the bottom lock along with a day boat skippered by a qualified crew (otherwise he told me they would not have been allowed up the flight).  He was naturally mob handed, so it made a very easy climb.  They peeled off in the long pound to walk up for lunch, so we were left to our own devices for the last two.  After what seemed an awful long wait, blowing around in the wind, for the top lock I finally joined Pat at the top. Apparently the local mooring warden had been throwing her weight around shouting at boaters for not sharing locks and it seems, jumping to wrong conclusions and making a bit of a fool of herself in the process.  On through the tunnel to find, as often happens different weather on the other side.  It was raining.  Then a steady run through to Stowehill for water and finally, Weedon Embankment for a good digital TV picture from "Sandy".

Giffard Park

The day started with a clear sky with morning mist around the two locks ahead.  The early rays of the sun were lighting up the top of the mist in the valley creating a golden stripe visible through the trees.  Magic!   No problems until Ivinghoe Locks.  The pound between locks 32 & 33 was pretty well empty, at least 3 feet down.  Pat went ahead and reported that the tug 'Progress', which had passed us yesterday where we were moored, was high and dry on the mud and rocks at the bank side.  There might have been a bit of a channel for us in the centre, but my expectation that the boat would ground in the lock proved true.  The bywash was running and the lock below was half full with no obvious gross leak, so a bit of a mystery. The lock below when we reached there did not appear to be leaking.  Had the pound been deliberately drained?  No option, therefore, but to let a few lockfuls of water down.  With this, Nuggler just got afloat in the lock and managed to get to the next, staying well in the centre.  The water was just lapping the bottom of the tug's propellor by this time.  Moving on, no more trouble.  Leighton Buzzard was passed and there were only small delays at Soulbury with opposite direction traffic in the locks.   A stop was made at Willowbridge for fuel and we decided then to push on to Giffard Park so as to be in a good position for Tuesday where we expect to be at Braunston.

Marsworth Bottom Locks

Marsworth
An early start and the locks were with us until Winkwell when a boat ahead, which had just emerged from the dry dock, waited for us at the lock above the swing bridge.  We joined them for two locks, then met up with "Lollapazula", a narrowbeam dutch barge again waiting for us in the lock.  We stayed with them until Cowroast which we reached shortly after midday. I think they were surprised to have arrived so early as they had expressed the hope, when we first met, of getting there today. After Tring cutting, the weather improved somewhat and the towpath was busy with walkers.  We followed a rather disorganised single boat down Marsworth Locks with the comment from opposite direction boaters that they should have waited for us. Alfie has been brilliant today.  He is given his head at the lockside and wanders about often following other dogs, but comes racing back when called and knows when he has to get back on the boat.  I'll have to start teaching him rope tricks!   Mooring tonight above Marsworth bottom pair.  A salad tonight washed down with Adnams Gunhill.

Setting off for the Cutweb Rally

Apsley
Our usual early start from home to miss the London commuter traffic. Actually, all we need to miss is the first part of the journey.  Once past Shepherds Bush we will be leaving London and can only marvel at the stoicism of motorists queueing on the A40 going the other way.  There was lots of kit to transfer to the boat so it was 7:30 before we left the marina.  Unusually we met quite a few boats on the move before Rickmansworth and the very conveniently placed Tesco Supermarket on the quayside.  Shopping took us an hour.  Moving on, a boat appeared out of nowhere behind us at Cassio Lock.  They were new boaters of only half an hour having just emerged from the marina with the boat just purchased.  They joined us in the lock, but then discovered that they had no windlass and were going the wrong way.  They wanted London!   Further on we got sandwiched between two broadbeam charity boats slowing us down as far as Nash Mills.  The bottom lock there leaks so badly now that it took three boaters to open the top gates - luckily two were waiting to come down.  There were no vacant moorings in Apsley, so we went up to the top lock.  Today we have Alfie with us, our daughter's Westie.  He has been with us before, for short trips, so he's not entirely unfamiliar with the boat.  He seems to be a quick learner. No problem.  Pat cooked Gemma's balti recipe.  Quick and very tasty.