Heading further South (again)

On Saturday I had quite a bad headache, it wasn’t alcohol induced, it lasted all day and into the evening, Sunday I woke and it was still there, pain killers alleviated it briefly, yesterday I woke at 4am still with the headache so I decided not to move, mostly due to the early awakening which I knew would not be conducive to cruising through the warm day.

One thing the early start to the day did was to show me something I hadn’t seen here before, a lot of frolicking rabbits in the park opposite, I took a few snaps but they were a long way away, these are on 64x zoom.

 I woke this morning at a more reasonable 7am, headache still with me, but I wanted to move on, and after an in depth analysis of my condition I decided I am probably not well, some bug or something, but being made of strong stuff I got myself ready and moved off around 9am.

First stop was the water point, and approaching it I could see it was flowing freely, I assumed vandals/kids had opened the tap but after mooring I found the tap would not shut off, there is a second valve lower down hidden within the enclosure and I managed to get my fingers in and shut it off until I had my hose attached, then I filled the tank, while it was filling I fired off an email to Canal and River Trust informing them.

The first lock of the day Berkhamstead lock (53) had a boat just leaving, a good start for me.

As I was about to leave the lock two boats arrived so I was able to head straight out leaving a bottom gate open, lovely.

The repairs to the locks further back appear to have done some good as the pounds that were low when I came up were now at normal levels and the next three locks came and went without incident.

Passing The Old Mill pub more goslings were about with mum and dad.

At lock 57, Bottom Side lock, a boat approached as I was emptying the lock having gone in already, his wife walked up and told me to get aboard and she would finish it off for me, that was nice, however on trying to leave the lock his boat was drifting right in front of me, close to the lock making it extremely awkward to get out without bashing the mouth of the lock, after some jiggling I managed to squeeze past him, he apologised and said the edge was shallow, maybe it was, but if he had held back a bit it would not have been a problem, patience and thought needed.

I continued on and at lock 60 I could see people milling around the swing bridge ahead, the road barrier was up so I thought, if they hold on a bit I might get through before they’re finished, having filled the lock and gone in they still hadn’t made a move, I could see a couple of boats the other side of the bridge, I finished my lock and cruised out, barrier still up, damn I thought, must be a problem with the bridge, I’ll close up and moor up and walk along, but just as I was about to hop off and close up the barrier began lowering so I steamed on, they must have had an issue opening it because four boats came through, the young lady operating it held it open for me to get through before she closed it, another bonus.

At the next lock there were two workman, one on a floating platform in the lock injecting resin behind the lock walls to fill voids that were causing leaks, I checked what they wanted me to do and they were happy to stay put while I came through, carefully, the other workman assisted me through, it was nearly all going well today.

Two more uneventful locks saw me at my designated mooring just along from The Fishery Inn again, I have gone past a mooring right opposite the pub as I will be doing some painting on the stern deck over the next few days and using my generator to power a sander, I didn’t want to disturb the drinkers on the patio!

Current mooring:

Totals today: 4½ miles : 11 locks : 1 moveable bridge

I still feel rubbish so a shower and an early night I think.

Visits

On Thursday I had a visit from a family of swans, I snapped this picture through the saloon window.

On Friday my sister and her partner visited the boat to inspect my newly refurbished bedroom and we then went off to visit my new granddaughter, my eldest daughters new arrival.

Imogen

With proud granddad

I stayed the night at my sisters and we went out for dinner that evening.

On Saturday my ex wife and my other granddaughter joined us and we went out for lunch before my ex wife drove me back to the boat and Hazel fed the geese.

It was a lovely short break and seeing both granddaughters was a real delight, thank you to you all for running me around and allowing it to happen without the need for long rail journeys.

Briefly.

A dull wet move to Berkhamstead today so no pictures.

The only thing of note was a delay at one lock as a Canal and  River Trust employee was letting water down and had fixed a notice to the lock gear informing me and telling me to wait for his return, it was only about 15 minutes and he told me one of the pounds ahead was about 18" down but he'd rectified it for now, some urgent repairs are being done on the 17th and 18th resulting in a closure but I am past that now.

A visit to family is being arranged so I will be here for a week or so.

Aaaawww...

My favorite chicks are the baby moorhens, like little black tennis balls with a red beak.

But they tend to stay in the edges with mum and dad taking food to them.

Sometimes you get to see them swimming to collect the food when they feel safe.

But they don't get too close often, this family three chicks, mum and dad, have been teasing me.

And Southward again.

While I was down at the end of the Wendover arm I took a walk across the fields and into Tring, it took about 30 minutes to get to the High street and when I arrived I realised I had left my camera on the boat, well that didn’t matter to me but it does make the blog a bit difficult.

So my thoughts -Tring is a nice town and quite worth the walk J

Yesterday my 48 hours was up and so around 10:15 I cast off, one boat had left on Thursday afternoon, my neighbour from behind me had left this morning around 8:30 and another boat that was moored by the basin had passed by around 9 so the end of the arm was now devoid of boats again.

It was pleasant enough weather although threatening rain showers as I cruised along at tickover speed.

You get a clearer idea of the scale of the Heygates flour mill as it looms out of the trees in the distance.

I eased out of the junction with the mainline very slowly turning right to head back to Cowroast, there was a boat in the lock on the mainline just before the junction and a day boat approaching me through the narrows formed by moored boats, a wide beam moored up opposite other boats meant there wasn’t room for us to pass so I held station for the day boat to clear that but as they got closer they told me another day boat was following behind, indeed he had just appeared in my view, so I held for him as well, it was getting a bit congested but we all got clear of each other eventually and I carried on with the boat who had now left the lock following behind me.

Immediately after the next bridge (133) is a water point so I stopped there to top up the tank.

It was then back into the Tring cutting retracing my steps to Cowroast. I met a couple of boats going the other way but neither presented any problems as it is fairly straight and wide.

This bridge gives some idea of how deep the cutting is.

There were a couple of heavy rain showers but I had my brolly to hand so that was ok too. 

Approaching Cowroast marina I could smell diesel, of course the first thing you do is look around the stern to see if it’s coming from you, but it wasn’t, the smell got worse and I could see it in the water but then I saw the reason, a moored boat looked as though it was having its fuel tank pumped out, probably got the dreaded diesel bug, and they had spilt some in the process, a little goes a long way when floating on the water.

It was then through Cowroast lock, another one that had to be left empty, so I had to fill it first before entering as I am now descending again, leaving the lock empty is now no problem though.

The mooring I had left before my little jaunt along the Wendover arm was still vacant so I scooted back in and will stay here to watch the Spanish F1 before heading back to Berkhamstead probably Monday.

I am getting to know this canal now and am keen to depart to fresh waters, but there are reasons for my to’ing and fro’ing that will become clear later.

Totals: 4½ miles: 1 lock

Down the arm.

It was quite chilly first thing this morning although I had loaded the stove with fuel before going to bed last night (May and the stove is still in use!) so in the boat was nice and warm but it did mean I wasn’t moving off early. I left it until 10 and then set off on what I hoped would be a nice cruise with nice conditions later, and it was.

Just one lock to do today, Cowroast (46) which takes you up (or down) 6’ to the first  thee mile long summit of the Grand Union if you’ve joined it from  the Thames at Brentford, if you keep going it’s downhill now until you pass through Milton Keynes and reach Cosgrove lock (21) and then you start to rise again until you get to the Braunston summit after the Buckby flight top lock (11) at Norton junction, but I am not going to start downhill again just yet.

As the lock wasn’t far ahead I walked a couple of bags of rubbish to the disposal point and then set the lock to save me stopping again after casting off.

There was a large round of wood floating behind the top gate which would have prevented me opening it fully, so I tried to lift it out but it was too heavy, and as no-one was about to ask for assistance all I could do was float it out of the way before heading off past Cowroast Marina and the permit holder moorings opposite.

The Marina entrance is on the right.

Already the sun was shining and the temperature was rising, you are treated to a pleasant view to begin with.

But then you enter Tring Cutting, it’s usually cold and fairly dark with just the occasional glimpse of the sun through a gap in the trees but the birdsong is nice and it is very quiet, it’s not my favourite section and I am always glad to get through and back into daylight proper.

This mum and brood were keeping very close together and had found a sunny spot.

Not long after exiting the cutting you arrive at Bulbourne with The Grand Junction Arms alongside the canal at bridge 133. Although I have stopped here a few times now I have not ventured inside the pub (yet).

My journey today was to take me onto some new cruising water, I was going down the Wendover Arm, when I came through here in 2015 I was told it was very shallow, so one morning I decided to walk a bit of it to see for myself and I ended up walking the whole length (1½ miles) and because of that I didn’t cruise it, but that was going to be rectified today.

That’s the Arm entrance on the left, quite a tight turn, as they mostly are.

Here’s a closer look.

And now I’m in..... I have to confess I did overshoot slightly, but a quick bit of reversing resolved the issue and got me in without touching anything J I blame the time spent on the camera and not watching where I am going!

So as the sign says 1½ miles, lock free and a winding hole at the end with 48 hour mooring.

The first half is quite narrow and tree lined but still very pleasant, I was on tickover for the trip down as it is shallow but that allowed me to see two very large Carp swimming along the shallow clear edge, I could not get pictures though.

A sharp left turn at bridge 2 with an underwater ledge on the offside (signage warns prior) brings you to the large Heygates flour mill, which was formerly Bushells boatyard. A bit of a brute of a building to find on such a tranquil stretch of water but it has a certain appeal as well and at least it is not derelict.

Flour waiting to be loaded and taken to a supermarket near you.

The arm then opens out into beautiful countryside before arriving at the pumping station which puts some water back into this canal to help feed the Grand Union.

Pumping Station

Just after the pumping station is what remains of an old stop lock, partial gates at one end can been seen along with the chamber.

Looking back at the lock chamber

On through bridge 3 to arrive at the terminus where three boats were moored which surprised me, it is very under used from what I gather, so I winded (turned) and went back to moor just before the bridge.

Terminus/Winding hole.

Works to restore the remaining section of the arm from the present terminus to Wendover are ongoing and details of the Trust's work can be found HERE 

Current mooring:

Totals today: 4½ miles : 1 lock

Another boat has just arrived and moored behind me, and there was me expecting to be on my own for a couple of quiet days J and while posting this I heard the sound of a light aircraft and found a glider being towed up above me, must be an airstrip nearby, so much for the silence of the countryside J

Busy busy.

After a good first afternoon/evening/night at my mooring without any problems yesterday saw water level problems, every time a boat used the lock behind me the level dropped and my boat began listing, so much so that the first time it happened I walked back to the lock to check they had dropped the paddles properly, but found no fault, looking at the other boats either side of me I seemed to be suffering the most so I checked the depth alongside my boat and found I had moored on a fairly shallow section extending about a third of the boat length, so after it happening repeatedly I went out and moved forward, it didn’t cure it completely but it did lessen the effect.

I cast off this morning about 9, I had a longish day planned and first stop was to fill the water tank. The water tap here is in a strange position behind a petrol station on the non towpath side just past the Old Mill pub, they have built a Greggs outlet recently, it wasn’t there last time I passed through, handy though, and probably too much for a lot of boaters to resist while filling the tank, but as I had not long had breakfast I declined the temptation.

The water point, and the grey Greggs outlet with outdoor seating

Having managed to dry my last load of washing I was able to fill the machine again and set that going while filling the water tank.

The it was onwards to Berkhamstead and the short pound between locks 55 and 54 was extremely low, I was happy to see two boats departing lock 54 as I left lock 55 which meant we both left the gates open and passed each other in the low pound negating the need to get to the lock landing. Leaving lock 54 a boat was approaching so I left the gate open for them as well, things were going better than my last cruise.

I thought it was time for another picture of the totem pole.

Through lock 53 where a very patient grandmother was explaining to her grandson in detail what was happening as I worked my way through, poor lad looked perished sitting in his pushchair, he needed a hat!, it was chilly, but he still looked happy as well.

Then it was a stop on the now 4 hour shopping moorings outside Waitrose, it was quiet on the moorings today but I think a lot of boaters may not be happy with this during the summer when it will be packed, it is a great idea for just nipping in the shops but I’m not sure it’s really necessary, anyway I made good use of them and visited Waitrose to restock some items and reduce my bank balance. I also took the opportunity to have a sandwich and a cuppa before setting off again.

The big gap is the shopping moorings, I am just heading off again.

Onwards again through the next three locks which were uneventful but all badly leaking, passing this boat which caught my eye.

Not very clear in the picture but the top half is all painted wood.

 And then in to the second of the Northchurch locks which has quite an interesting entrance and a change of towpath sides, it all adds to the fun.

The two alcoves just beyond the bridge on either side are the steps leading up to the lock, so it's a quick hop off as you pass the alcove run up the steps center line in hand and pass it over the the lock gates as the boat glides in and before you run out of rope, it makes it look like you know what you're doing when it goes well, but sometimes it just looks like a novice getting it wrong and panicking :-)

I had a slight delay here as something lodged itself between the bottom gates preventing them from closing (they are a very bad fit anyway!), so I had to stop trying to fill the lock and empty it again to allow me to re-open the bottom gates and clear the large lump of wood preventing closure, once that was done I locked through and moved off again, most of the locks between where I set off and through Berkhamstead seem to leak badly, there is a stoppage soon (17^th 18^th May) to do some repair work to the worst two but they all need some TLC.

I was intending to go to further today but I ended up mooring up just before Cowroast lock (46), a nice gap in the moorings with a nice piled edge (easy use of mooring chains, I am so lazy sometimes!) was too tempting and it was 3:15 and not getting any warmer.

Having moored up I walked up to the Elsan point and emptied the WC cassette before returning to the boat to empty the washing machine.

So as the title suggests, it’s been a busy busy day, productive and fairly long by my standards, and my head seemed back in sync with cruising.

Totals today: 4 miles : 9 locks

Tonights mooring:

A visit....

....then a move.

Yesterday my daughter, ex wife and granddaughter visited the boat, after a cup of tea and a natter we headed off to ‘The Fishery In’ for lunch, but not before Hazel had fed the Canada geese through the side hatch and off the stern and shown me her sunglasses.

We had a very pleasant lunch, the food was good although the child menu was not really for very small people, no baked beans!

They left around 3pm to avoid the Friday rush on the motorway, a lovely visit. I then walked to the local shop to replenish my bread supply J

This morning I cast off around 9:30, but soon found I wasn’t really in the mood, some days you just don’t feel like it, I persevered though, a lot of the locks in this section leak badly and have to be left empty, I suppose it’s swings and roundabouts really when going uphill, the lock is empty when you arrive, but when you exit you have to walk back to the bottom gates and raise the paddles to leave it empty again, all part of the joy of boating but not a joy when you are not really in the right mood to start with.

A leaky Boxmoor Top Lock (62)

As I was leaving lock 62 I could see a boat approaching going my way, so I thought I would wait for him at the next lock and we could also deal with the Winkwell swing bridge together to avoid too long a delay for the car drivers, approaching lock 61 I could see a gate open.

Winkwell lock 61

 Thinking ahead I went into the lock through the open (left) gate and moved across to the right side of the lock, that would allow the boat following to come straight in and then leave first to open the swing bridge while I closed the lock then closed the swing bridge, perfect planning and all that! I knew he’d be a little while so I went below and put a load of washing in the machine, I waited....and waited...after about 25minutes I assumed he’d moored up, blast, never mind, the best laid plans and all that!

Then of course as the lock was almost full a boat appeared, but not the same one, ok I thought I’ll wait at the swing bridge for this one, but on asking them if they were going through the bridge they replied no, so I dealt with that solo as well, some days things just don’t go your way, I knew it when I set off this morning.

Wnkwell swing bridge (again), I know this well now.

After the next lock I actually saw a view I thought worthy of a picture.

At the next three locks I met boats going the opposite way, two were in a position to assist me and one was a case of me assisting the solo boater, but it was nice to see some other boats moving.

The pound between locks 57 and 56 was very low and it was all I could do to get my bow onto the lock landing, walking along the gunnels to get ashore and deal with the lock, presumably the result from all the leaking gates behind me.

I moored up just after the lock and was glad to stop, not a bad trip, just me not in sync with the rhythm of life today J

Current Mooring:

Totals today: 3 miles : 8 locks : 1 moveable bridge

When I put the washing on the airer I realised I hadn't put a full load in, time for a lay down I think!