Grand Union Canal:Batchworth

Another half decent day ahead. Cowley Lock was a bit of a shambles.  Caroline is not crew and I needed to be in the single hander mind-set and not assume that things will get done which I needed to do myself.  Moving on past all the moored boats we eventually came to Uxbridge Lock.  It was empty, no problem there but as we opened the top gate a swan came in, swam to the bottom gate and couldn’t be enticed out.  It became apparent that its mate was down below and the swan was frantically trying to find a way down to join.  We had no alternative but to stop and empty the lock.  As the bottom gate started to open the swam squeezed through the gap and rushed off. Continuing on, at the deep lock it looks as if the cill protector has been seriously bashed because the wood is smashed and the metal work deformed into an arch.  My button fender got caught up in this briefly.  There appeared to be quite a few boats moving relative to the week before.  I stopped briefly at Harefield Marina to return a sanitary key which had been left on the boat during my earlier visit last week.  (Editing this later, how I wished we had used the opportunity to get a pump out there).  At Batchworth there was a wide beam locking down ahead of us, and then later, waiting to exit the lock, the heritage boat Roger was seemingly very anxious to get in the lock before we got out.  It didn’t.   We stopped for the night at an old mooring of mine below Lot Mead Lock.  It’s a nice walk along the Ebury Way into the Ricky shopping Centre where Wetherspoons provided a good meal.