Up the Chilterns and down the other side

May I just start this blog with an apology. We seem to have upset some residential boaters by our comments in the last update. Our chief concern with long lines of residential boats is that boats passing through have a problem finding anywhere to moor. This could be overcome by Canal and River Trust designating some of the mooring for use for 24 or 48 hours thus ensuring it becomes vacant frequently. I might well suggest this.

We are now moored in the basin at Aylesbury and this update covers the last few days from Apsley near Hemel Hempstead.

This is a view of Apsley Lock 66 from the footbridge nearby. I liked the symmetry of construction with the neat steps on both sides.

Friday (August 28th) was a very wet day and we joined John and Sue on narrowboat Tilda going up eight locks together. Above Fishery Lock we found this narrowboat off its mooring and right across the canal. We rescued it to the surprise of the owner who had been asleep down below. The boat finished up facing the other way with no winding hole required!

Here is Tilda following us through the heavy rain at Winkwell.

We moored on Friday afternoon very close the main line railway on the edge of Berkhamsted. It was a bit noisy when the express trains went past but amazingly quiet when there were no trains.

We walked up the canal to the next locks, Rising Sun and Ravens Lane, where the bridge over the canal is decorated beautifully and there are lovely flowers in baskets above the towpath at The Boat. Certainly Berkhamsted is a town that loves its canal.

Berkhamsted castle hides behind the railway embankment so can't be seen from the canal but it is pretty impressive with huge earth ramparts and flint walls. You can see the mound of the Motte behind the lifebelt.

We didn't know before that hippos are found in Berkhamsted.

On Saturday we carried on up the locks which now come thick and fast on the climb up to the summit level through the Chilterns. Here we are back at the pretty bridge with Ravens Lane lock beyond.

A totem pole beside the canal in the town. It was carved in British Columbia as a special commission and sits on the site of a wood yard. It was erected in 2008.

Most herons fly off as the boat passes but a few are braver. This statuesque fellow just stood his ground on the towpath ignoring pedestrians and boats, intent on his fishing business.

Locking with Tilda went very smoothly and before lunchtime we came to Cowroast Lock which opens onto the summit level of the Grand Union as it crosses the Chilterns.

In the afternoon on Saturday we went for a good walk up the Chilterns and passed these fungi. They are giant puff balls and they were really huge - about the size of a football.

From the top of the hills we looked down on the pretty village of Aldbury.

Our objective was the Bridgewater Monument over 700 feet above sea level. The Duke of Bridgewater, Francis Egerton, lived on the Ashridge Estate where the monument is erected. He is of course famous for his pioneering part in the development of the canals and chiefly for building the Bridgewater Canal to take coal from his mines in Worsley near Manchester to markets in the city.

On our way back to Leo we dropped down to the village of Aldbury seen here with stocks by the pond.

We spent Saturday evening just above Cowroast Lock and went across the summit pound on Sunday morning. The route lies through the two mile Tring Cutting which is a deep and, on a dull day, rather dismal straight which must have cost many man hours and possibly lives to have dug at the end of the 18th century. At the other end of the cutting we came to Bulbourne where the locks start down on the north side of the Chilterns. Before that however we turned off at Bulbourne Junction which you can see by the house in the distance on this picture. Here the Wendover Arm leads off to the left.

And here we are at the end of the navigable section of the Wendover Arm about a mile and a half from the junction. The Wendover Arm is being restored largely by enthusiastic volunteers and one day may carrry on for 6 miles to Wendover. The Arm was built as a feeder to supply water to the summit level of the Grand Union and only later was it enlarged to become navigable.

Our son, David, and his partner, Ash, joined us for the day and we returned along the Wendover Arm with them and came down the 7 Marsworth Locks to Marsworth Junction where another arm - the Aylesbury Arm - leaves the main line.

We decided to go to Aylesbury which has 16 narrow locks to descend in 6 miles of canal. The top two locks form a staircase and the picture shows Leo coming into the top lock of the staircase with David holding the gate.

After the staircase, we came down another two locks before mooring for the night. Here is a picture of the entire crew of the day taken by a kindly next door boater. So we have (left to right) Helen, David and Ash with Ian crouching down and trying not to fall off.

Today (Bank Holiday Monday, 31st August) we have come down the remaining 12 narrow locks and moored in the basin at Aylesbury. For the early part of the flight the water is very clean and this lock had freshwater sponges on the sides. Pulling some rushes out of the canal we also found an American signal crayfish which are quite a menace and are pushing out the native crayfish.

There was plenty of water coming down the locks as this waterfall over the top gates shows. It was also a morning of picking autumn produce so we are now well supplied with lots of damsons, sloes and blackberries.

The reeds grow well down here, barely leaving sufficient water for the boats to travel. Passing other boats would be difficult but fortunately we didn't meet any where the reeds were really thick.

Looking back we could see the Chilterns in the distance.

Once we had arrived in Aylesbury and had lunch, we went for a walk around the older parts of town. This memorial to David Bowie commemorates some of the different characters he portrayed. Many of his early works were first performed in a nightclub in the town.

You know how we always go for lions, well we found this one in the Market Square with a fellow lion who looked rather sleepy. This one looks as if he would like to eat the photographer.

The old part of the town near the church is really attractive with a fine mix of old properties of different styles and ages. This is Church Street with St Mary's Church in the distance.

So tomorrow we shall be going back up the locks because this is a dead end but perhaps we'll stop before we get back to the main line. Once we are back on the main canal our way will be north to Milton Keynes and Braunston.