Flying saucer and strange boats as we approach London

My only excuse is laziness in not having added to our blog for nearly a week.  In that time we have come down lots of locks from the Chilterns and into London where we are moored tonight in a not very pretty but hopefully safe place in Northolt.

Without more ado here is the flying saucer:

But let's go back to last Tuesday.  Our friends, Ian and Cheryl, came to the boat at Marsworth and we cruised with them up the last 7 locks to the summit and then turned down the Wendover Arm to moor closer to their home in Tring.

This photo was actually taken when we walked up the locks on Monday evening.  It shows one of the locks of the flight with its attendant lock keeper's cottage.  The canal weaves round lots of bends as it climbs to the summit.

Here is Cheryl helping Helen with the locks.  Ian and Cheryl were a great asset in setting and working the locks.  Not all our visitors are so useful!

And here are Ian and Cheryl walking up to the top lock at Bulbourne to set it ready for Leo.  Just above the top lock you can turn right onto the Wendover Arm which acts as a feeder to the summit level and which can be navigated for just over a mile.

Here is Leo moored as far up the Wendover Arm as you can get.  This is a lovely peaceful spot with only the sound of the birds for company.

From that mooring we walked with our friends further up the Wendover Arm and into Tring.  As you can see volunteers are working to restore more of the Arm to navigation and about another 400 yards is now in water compared with four years ago when we last came up here.

Ian and Cheryl's son now runs the  King's Arms in Tring so we ate there in the evening.  Good beer, good food and good company.  What more could you ask for?  Go and visit the King's Arms - you will be made welcome.  The only downside was walking back to Leo in the rain afterwards!






On Wednesday we set off on the downhill run into London.

This is Cowroast Lock, the first of many locks each day as the canal comes down from the Chilterns.

We spent the first night at Berkhamsted which has an attractive High Street and the remains of a huge Norman castle.  It also has a wonderful Art Deco cinema, the Rex (right).  The film showing didn't appeal to us but we had a good look at the inside of the cinema.

A gosling made the mistake of coming into a lock with us and didn't seem to enjoy the shower on the cill as the lock level went down.











Now we are going to have a side story about some of the unusual boats we've met or passed in the last few days:

This is a wooden boat built by its owner, David.  He and his wife Lorraine have cruised much of the system.  A wheel can be fitted at each corner so that when they've finished boating for the season it can be loaded onto a car recovery vehicle and driven home.  Amazing!

 This picture was taken four years ago when we passed and below is the same boat this year.  The car has been more or less absorbed into the boat in the meantime.  We are still not sure if the car is on the front or the back of the boat. 

And here is the 2017 version.  Much smarter but still pretty odd.

The blue boat may well be the smallest narrowboat ever, unless of course you know different.

And here is what looks like a flying saucer seen today on the Paddington Arm.  

Here's a close up.  We think it must be a life raft and it was moored fixed to a floating platform which you can just see beyond.  Fancy meeting that at a lock!










Back to the main story.  We carried on from Berkhamsted through Hemel Hempstead (not a lot to recommend there) and then following the valley of the River Gade and the Colne towards London.

This is Home Park Lock which we shared with another boat.  Though you are approaching the city, for much of the way the immediate surroundings are green and attractive.

The milestones come and go - first crossing under the M25.

This bridge at Grove Park was made especially ornamental at the insistence of the Earl of Essex when the canal was built across his land.

From our mooring close to that bridge on Friday we walked round Grove Park.  This seems to be a posh golf resort but they don't seem to mind anyone walking around.  You will see that we miniaturised Helen so that she wasn't noticed!

A family of Egyptian Geese visited us in the evening.

Another milestone - our first tube train.  This bridge is below Cassiobury Bridge Lock near Watford.

Though there did not seem to be many boats moving, we did often manage to share locks.  This one is Common Moor Lock with a boat called "E = mc²”

From a mooring below Stocker's Lock we did an interesting walk round some attractive lakes and explored the River Chess Navigation.

This is the view from the road bridge of Stocker's Lock.  The Grand Union lock is to the right.  To the left is a parallel but lower lock that gives access to the River Chess.  With permission (the lock is locked), you can navigate about half a mile up the Chess and we found 8-10 full sized boats moored up there.  A cafe by the lock provides tea and cake.

 Bury Lake had sailing dinghies as well as wildlife.  For those birds that don't want the boats, another lake had just birds.

This is the lock that gives access to the River Chess beyond.

On the other side of the lock from the cafe is the Little Union Canal, a model with two locks which sometimes operates for visitors, but not when we were there.

 

That evening we had a visit from a flock of hundreds of Canada Geese.  We really should eat them - there are far too many on the waterways.











On Sunday we cruised down to below Denham Deep Lock and took the bikes to cycle back into Denham village.

Below Copper Mill Lock a small river  comes into the canal and you do have to watch out for the cross current.  Looking left you can see a canoe slalom course which we didn't try with Leo.

This is the hanging gardens of Denham  Deep Lock.  At 11 feet, 1 inch this is the deepest lock on the Grand Union.

Here is the view looking back to Denham Deep Lock.  On the left a barge has been converted into a floating dry dock.

Denham village is well worth a visit.  It is an absolute delight with lots of old characterful buildings and a small village green, not to mention three pubs.  Not a shop in sight, though.

Another photo of Denham village.















Today we have come down the last two locks to Uxbridge and then turned left at Bulls Bridge onto the Paddington Arm.

This is looking back to Cowley Lock, the last one before the run into London.

Here is the turn left under the bridge to the Paddington Arm.  This is all on the same level for thirteen miles into a basin round the back of Paddington Station.  Though we did have vague ideas of going all the way today, after using the services and shopping at Tesco, we wouldn't have got there until after 6 so we've stopped at Northolt.






 We've heard some horror stories of London on the waterways - too many residential boats blocking moorings for visitors.  So far we have not found any such difficulties, though a mooring we have used at Southall was pretty full.  I'll do another posting with our findings further into London in the next few days.  Our plan from here is to go through to Limehouse and to cruise the tidal Thames through the city to Teddington.  We haven't done this for 5 years so we thought it was time to do it again.  More details to follow.