Over the Chilterns and Down the other side

I'm sorry that we have not updated the blog for a week.  This has been due to visitors, problems with the internet and areas with no signal.  But here we are again.  It seems such a long time since we were in London and now we are well North of the M25 in deepest Herts and Bucks.

Leaving Islington and climbing the Camden Locks we came across a chap called Dave with a gearbox that was not working.  We tied our boats together and helped him up the top two locks.

Ian and Dave in Camden Top Lock

 We left Dave on the visitor moorings waiting for his mate on a wide beam boat below the locks.  Through Little Venice the canal was covered with duckweed which CRT were trying to clear.  The canal looked like a lawn:

This is Leo approaching the Maida Hill Tunnel.

And here is a CRT boat fighting a losing battle in clearing the weed.














 On Thursday evening we moored in Southall near where we had moored on our way into London and on Friday we reached Bulls Bridge and the junction with the main line of the Grand Union.  From here we turned North and soon Leo was on new waters once we had passed the junction with the Slough Branch.  Here are a few sights from our journey up the Grand Union:

This is Cowley Lock, our first one since the Regent's Canal some 20 miles before.

This huge and intimidating sight was a floating classroom filling most of the canal as it made its way slowly towards us.  Needless to say we scurried out of the way!

Well we'd never seen anything like this before.  It is an old barge converted to form a floating dry dock with a narrowboat inside.

We moored on Friday evening just above Black Jack's Lock and on the Mill by the lock was this representation.  Apparently Black Jack (short for 'blackguard Jack') was a bad tempered farmhand who took out his temper on his poor donkey.

On Saturday we continued up more locks as we started the climb into the Chilterns.  This waterfall is otherwise known as Springwell Lock.

Here is a boater who obviously has a liking for old bikes.  Or perhaps he is a junk dealer?

And here are five ducks all lined up to peck off the weed growing on Leo's hull.  We wish they were more effective about this, but on the other hand being woken early in the morning by the sound of pecking on the hull is not too good.







On Saturday we were delighted to see David and Victoria who we've not seen for ages as they have been in the North and we have been way South.  They travelled with us for a few locks on Sunday too.

David at the helm of Leo with Victoria looking relaxed and happy too.

David made this tiller pin for us and so it had to come out to play for their visit to us.  The pin is of a lion with a ball held in its front right paw.









The locks become more and more frequent as the canal climbs to the summit at Tring.  Monday and Tuesday we pressed on through the locks with some diversions along the way:

There are apparently only three swing bridges on the Grand Union and this was the first we met at Winkwell.

We filled up with diesel on Monday from 'Towcester' a fuel boat which was travelling with its butty.

Here we are approaching Top Side Lock on the way to Berkhamsted.  Ian was amused that 'Sewer Lock' was followed by 'Bottom Side Lock' but then he has that strange sense of humour.

We were surprised how extensive are the ruins of the castle at Berkhamsted.  As well as the stone walls there are two enclosing ramparts of earth with moats between. The town was pretty too.

Once upon a time Berkhamsted was a canal port and the town, unlike some others we could mention, really makes the best of its canal which passes through the middle of town.

Here we are sharing locks with a boat called Georgiana.  The picture is of Dudswell Bottom Lock.

And here we've reached Cowroast Lock, which takes the canal to its summit level at about 390 feet above sea level.

We've seen quite a few Kingfishers this summer and two were flying repeatedly past us as we cruised along the cutting past Tring station.  This was the best picture we managed to take.  I think we should have used a faster shutter speed.








Once through the cutting at Tring you come to Bulbourne which marks both the start of the locks down the other side and also the junction with the Wendover Arm.  The Arm was built to bring water to the summit level of the canal and is presently navigable for a mile and a half of the six miles to Wendover.  However a restoration society are making real attempts to make the rest navigable too.  We moored at the end in the lovely tranquil place with a few other boats and cycled the rest of the way into Wendover:

Here we are approaching Bulbourne Junction with the Wendover Arm going left under the bridge you can see.

This conveys the peaceful nature of  the Arm.  It is narrow and twisty but, apart from the flour mill at Tring, it is lovely and green and quiet.

Here we are approaching the end of the Arm.  At this corner is the winding hole. We moored for the night just on the right having turned round.

This gives an idea of the work that is going on to extend the navigable part of the Arm.  Waterproof membrane is covered with blocks and you can see the shape of the canal.

Further towards Wendover the canal was full of water, but mostly not deep enough to allow navigation even if you could get your boat there.

This is the very end of the Arm and springs give a flow of water into the end of this section which still go to top up the summit level of the Grand Union.











Today we've come down 13 locks from the top and we're moored just below Ivinghoe locks.  We can see the Chilterns and Ivinghoe Beacon from the windows.

Leo is waiting beside the Bulbourne Dry Dock for the first lock of the Marsworth flight to fill with water to start our descent from the Chilterns.  We came down the first seven locks with a boat called Isabella Grace.

This is part way down the flight waiting for a boat coming up.

This must be the second swing bridge at Pitstone.  This one was opened by Helen Power.  The previous one was electric.

The Grand Union was built with an eye to expansion.  This bridge and others too was built with a second arch with the intention at a later date of adding another lock parallel with the existing one.  Sadly this never happened which is a shame as the extra one would clearly have been a narrow one which makes life easier for Leo.

Leo is moored below Ivinghoe locks and you can just make out the Chilterns behind us.












So that brings you up to date.  As for the future we've decided to make the maximum use of our Gold Licence and to cruise the East Anglia waterways enjoying the extra bits that we have not travelled with David and Victoria when their boat was moored at Ely and Huntingdon.  So we plan to continue up the Grand Union to Gayton Junction and then go down the Northampton Arm onto the River Nene.  When we eventually return to the canal system a month or so later we will look to find a marina for Leo near Northampton for the winter. 

Back in London once more

We enjoyed our weekend at a family reunion in deepest Surrey and we are now back on the Regent's Canal, moored tonight in Islington.  On Monday morning we set off from our mooring at Broxbourne, a stretch of the River Lee that we thought was really lovely.  We said our goodbyes to Ray on his boat Adventura who had kindly kept a watchful eye on Leo while we were away and to Steve and Kevin who sell ice cream from a boat at Broxbourne.

Surprisingly while cruising Helen spotted this deer which we identified as a Muntjac.  It was just peeping through the vegetation by the River:

We went into Waltham Abbey again intent on shopping but found the museum was open.  Among the exhibits was this panelling which dates from the 16th century and has different images on each of the panels.  It came from the Abbey itself though has been in several houses since then.

On Monday evening we moored by Pickett's Lock and went through the lock on Tuesday morning.

In the evening it rained and we saw this wonderful rainbow.

The chap who lives in the bungalow at Pickett's Lock certainly has a sense of humour.  The Nicholson's Guide to the Waterways coyly mentions the payment of a fee at this lock so we were amused to see what this meant!








Tuesday took us down the remainder of the River Lee but we did not follow our outward route via the Duckett's Cut but instead went on down to Limehouse Basin right by the River Thames.

As on our travels up the Lee, the lower reaches were full of weed.  Here is the track we made.

Our route led us right past the Olympic Stadium

Bow Locks in the picture can take you down onto the tidal Bow Creek which takes you out on the Thames downstream of Docklands and opposite Greenwich.  We didn't go this way.

Bow locks have gates facing both ways to cater for really high tides.

Three Mills, where we stopped for lunch - a rare example of a tide driven mill

Here is Limehouse Basin a meeting point of yachts, cruisers and narrowboats, not to mention the Thames Barge you can see between the two right hand blocks of flats.

This is Limehouse Lock which leads to the tidal Thames

And here is the view towards Docklands from the Limehouse Lock.














Yesterday evening we  had a pleasant meal with Angela (Ian's neice) and Soji at the Cruising Association restaurant where they welcome visiting boaters as well as members.  Today we came up the Regent's Canal to Islington, sharing locks with Richard and Freya on 'Narrow Escape'.

This is Commercial Road Lock which leads  out of Limehouse Basin which you can see the other side of the bridge.

This block of flats has faces on some of the windows.  We're not sure why, nor who the people are.  Perhaps they are previous residents?

Here's a close up of some of the photos.

And here we are waiting for a lock behind 'Narrow Escape'.












This afternoon we visited the London Canal Museum nearby.  It is a small but well presented museum setting out the history of London's Canals as well as being situated in a building previously used for storing ice and ice cream in the 19th century.  So a museum of canals and ice cream!!  Well worth a visit if you're in this area, but it isn't open on Mondays.

Tomorrow we will set off up the remaining four locks of the Regent's canal and out of London to the West to join the Grand Union Canal heading North towards Hemel Hempsted, Milton Keynes and the Midlands.  New waters for Leo!

Heading back to London again

We've now been right up the Bishop's Stortford at the end of the River Stort Navigation and are retracing our steps back towards London. 

Having said our goodbyes to our guests, William and Daphne, we walked into Sawbridgeworth on Monday morning and found Dorrington's the Bakers.  Nothing odd there you might think except that Helen's grandmother was a Dorrington from nearby Little Hallingbury.  So we've done a bit of family history searching while we've been up here.

Dorrington's the Bakers at Sawbridgeworth

From Sawbridgeworth we carried on up the River Stort towards Bishop's Stortford.  We really like the River Stort: it is narrow, windy and goes through some pretty scenery.

This is Tednambury Lock which is out in open country, but seems to have a lot of passing pedestrians, many of them walking dogs from the marina on the backwater here.

Seen across the fields from Tednambury Lock, this is Little  Hallingbury Mill.

An artist who lives on the narrowboat to the left has this fun painted tender.

This futuristic curved bridge crosses the Stort just before coming into Bishop's Stortford.  It has the convenience of ramps for those that need them but can be crossed easily using steps that take a much shorter route.  Very sensible.








We spent Monday night and much of Tuesday in Bishop's Stortford, which has many historic buildings but does not make as much as it could of its navigation which seems to be stuck between a couple of blocks of flats.

This is the High Street with a splendid selection of old buildings.

I hope you can read this memorial which is in St Michael's Church.  It is to the most famous son of Bishop's Stortford, Cecil Rhodes.  A museum concentrates on his history and his impact on Africa.  In many ways he invented the concept of 'separate development' which became known as Apartheid.  This aspect of his achievements was handled very sensitively by the museum displays.

 The memorial below had to be included too.  Thomas Adderley was instrumental in bringing the navigation to Bishop's Stortford and we would not be here but for his efforts.

On Monday evening we enjoyed a meal out with Lucy who drove down from Cambridge which is not far away.  On Tuesday we spent the afternoon cycling around Great and Little Hallingbury looking for family members.

Our cycling foray brought us back to Little Hallingbury Mill and it is now a restaurant.  So we stopped for a nice meal and then cycled back to the boat which we had moored above Twyford Lock.









Since then we've been working our way back down the Stort so here are some fun sights along the way:

This boat, with a willow tree fallen on it was moored on the Visitor Moorings at Sawbridgeworth.  It doesn't seem that the boat is damaged at all, but it must have been quite a shock when it fell.

This is the King William IV at Sawbridgeworth where we had lunch.  A good friendly family pub.

Look at all the flowers!!  Don't look at the washing though.

We think the apparatus up the pole is a solar still to allow hot water showers without paying to heat the water.  Clearly there would be problems in getting under the low bridges up here though.
















As I type this we are moored back at Stanstead Abbots on the River Lee at a boatyard hoping that someone is going to repair our gearbox leak.  It has been leaking a little bit for a long time but now seems to be getting worse.  Whether or not we can get this fixed here our plan is to spend the weekend with relatives in Surrey and come back to the boat on Sunday to continue our cruise into London to pick up the Grand Union Canal heading back to the Midlands.