This morning I left the mooring about 10am and headed for
Denham Marina as planned.
I saw these chaps at work cleaning some windows, nice job, but they were just hanging about really.
Arriving to find the service point empty I was
straight in and moored up, I found the reception and told the young lad what I
wanted 1 Gas 6 Smokeless and a fill up with diesel, he began ringing up on the
till and then said “how much diesel?” oh dear, I think, he must be new, “I
won’t know that” I said with a smile “until you have filled the tank”, “ok” he
says “where are you parked?”, oh dear, I think again do I look like I have
driven here, “I am moored on your service point”, “oh right” he says “I thought
you wanted to buy some diesel in a container” oh well, maybe it’s me, anyway he
eventually sorted things out, I think I was his first ‘boater’ he did not know
how to open the filler cap and then spilt a few cupfuls into the canal when he
overfilled, but we got there. Now this all should have rung alarm bells but it
was more amusing than anything else, and I was shocked that the diesel was only
58p a litre, so when he said £130.76 I did a quick tot-up in my head, not
knowing their price for coal or gas and paid the bill, later when moored I
checked the bill and he had charged me for 7 coal, next time I will check
before I leave, anyway, a nifty bit of reversing out of the Marina watched very closely by four
ramblers and off I go.
Through Uxbridge Lock (88) and then onto Denham Deep Lock
(87) the gates were shut
 |
| Denham Deep Lock |
so I moor up and walk up to the Lock arriving just in
time to stop a chap who has just started to fill the lock, I need it empty and
it’s polite and sensible to check no-one is waiting to come up in the empty
lock before you fill it and waste a whole lockfull of water, anyway he stops
and apologises for not looking first and then he and his companion work the
lock for me, so all good in the end, Denham Deep Lock is the deepest lock on
the Grand Union at 11feet 1inch, which looks a bit more when you’re in it, I
wanted to get a picture from inside it but there wasn’t really time with them
working the lock but here it is from the top, partially filled before I stopped him.
Onto Denham Country Park I try and find somewhere reasonable
to moor but there isn’t much, there were some moorings just past the lock but I
wanted to be further along, anyway I did a temporary job and had a quick stroll
in the park, a great place to walk a dog, or go for a picnic but much better in
the summer, so I decide not to stay around and move further along, there is a
lot of water in this area, Broadwater Lake, Troy Lake, and many other unnamed
lakes, a lot of water! but twice I try and moor and get grounded because it’s
too shallow, all that water around and none where I want to stop, anyway I keep
moving and eventually moor up on the pilings opposite Harefield Marina. It
seems ok, TV signalis fine but intermittent internet. Tomorrow I will have a walk into South Harefield, Harefield proper is
a mile or so further along, famous for its Heart and Lung Hospital where the UK's first heart and lung transplant was carried out.
Here's my side hatch view today
and a little boat I passed, you won't get many guests in there!
Totals Today 3 Miles : 2 Locks
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