We cast off from our Harefield mooring at 8:20. Late for us, but there was a degree of sorting out to do. It was a dismal morning with drizzle in the air, more reminiscent of a November day. We had to turn the first two locks round and then stop at Uxbridge Boats for fuel. 88p/litre plus propulsion tax on that fuel which I have deemed was used for propulsion. Cowley Lock was ready for us with a volunteer lock keeper in attendance again, however our experienced was further enhanced by the gathering on the lockside of a film crew getting ready to film a scene from "Lewis" purporting to be in Oxford. It always amazes how many bodies are necessary for this. The comment was that they need them all becaause there is so much coffee to drink. Pressing on we stopped at the new Cowley Tesco to allow the First Mate to re-victual the boat. The canalside frontage looks like a block of flats with an underground car park, but behind is a very large supermarket above this vast car park with an escalator up to the first floor level. I made good use of my double points voucher, but forgot the £4 off for a £30 spend which I will have to try next time.
Onwards, this time to the top of the flight of locks that leads down to Brentford. We seemed to be a little dysfunctional today for some reason, but admittedly one of the locks has a leaky wall and is interacting with the side pond, so that it is slow both to fill and to empty. Further on, beyond lock 97, weed made it presence felt and we were struggling at times, but made it all the way without needing to have to open it up. This last bit of the Grand Union is always problematical, either debris blown down by the River Brent, or in this case weed accumulation. Technically this is the Brent Navigation and frequent dredging is needed.
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