Strange Weather

I woke up at 7:30am and looked outside to access the weather, it was bright and sunny already so that was great, have some breakfast and get myself ready to move, so I put the kettle on and went to get freshened up and dressed after which I  looked out of the window again and it was dark and pouring with rain, never mind I thinks, I’ll move tomorrow, so I eat my breakfast (two weetabix with milk and honey, I know how to live) and the sun starts to shine through again, ok, so this time I get up and actually go outside, it looks lovely, so I sort myself out and around 10am pull the pins and into Stockers Lock (82).

I had decided to try a new technique and been worrying about it for days, only from an embarrassment point of view if it goes wrong, not actual fear, from what I can gather most of the locks on the Grand Union are double width and with steps either side of the entrance (this is when going up through the lock), along with ladders in the lock itself, I have progressed from my initial nervous start opening both gates to make sure I had loads of room to now only using one gate, much less walking and less work, but I have been watching other boaters (solo’s) and most do what I currently do, which is to climb up the Lock ladder once you are in the Lock, I find this a pain, often needing to walk along the roof, and it’s not always easy to get on the ladder  with Windlass  (lock turney key thing, ha ha, ) and centre line in hand, one slip and you are between boat and lock wall, so I read once about lining the boat up and stepping off the boat, nonchalantly, with centre line and windlass, as you reach the steps, leaving the boat to enter the lock on its own (slowly I hasten to add) and walking up the steps flicking the rope over the paddle gear and handrails etc, and bringing the boat to a slow graceful stop once it had cleared the gates, hmm... the theory is good, slow being the key.

 I did it, calm, cool, on the outside at least, no problem, the theory was good, may be tricky if you mistimed it, or the boat was still moving a bit fast, or you slip over on the steps, but hey, it was a good improvement, so that was the new technique sorted.

On towards Rickmansworth town, I had a brief snow shower, and as I stopped at the services just before Batchworth Lock (81) to empty the loo and fill the water tank it rained again, but just as I was finishing a boat came into the lock wanting to go down to where I was and use the services, so I helped them with the lock and once it was emptied to my level I went in beside them and then they came out to get on the service point, all seemed very efficient!

There are two Locks at Batchworth the main one (on the right) and another that goes to a very short stub of canal (Little Union Canal), there is a canal Centre there, along with a little cafe which was closed for winter.

Passed these two boats, both I think works in progress, the biggy looked great though, I don’t think the picture does it justice. 

Along the way a brief hailstone shower, but onwards to Lot Mead Lock (80) and used my new technique again, no problem, then as I approached Cassio Bridge Lock (79) another solo boater was just opening the gates and he waved me in so we shared the lock, that’s only the second shared lock since I began, the first was back on the River Wey before Christmas. He stopped at the water point and I went on just past bridge168 where I wanted to moor on the edge of Cassiobury Park, I will have a look around tomorrow, I think I am about a half hours walk from Watford Town Centre, just as I finished mooring up it rained again, I think changeable is the term!

Mooring picture from the side hatch.

Totals Today: 3.5 Miles : 5 Locks

Still at Stockers Lock

I have been here a week now not much to blog about, the Post Restante worked ok although the lady in the post office didn’t have a clue about it and said there wasn’t any way she could find my mail without a reference number, she did find it and was surprised herself, she has learnt something too.

I painted my sliding top hatch, which was quite rusty, had to leave it yesterday because it rained solidly all day but I put a final coat on this morning and it looks much better.

I’ve been feeding the ducks

and a swan that lurks around
they are very quick to approach, as soon as I open the side hatch, if they are in sight, over they come, the swan is very aggressive though and even pokes his head in the hatch if he doesn’t get some food. The ducks seem to be a pair they are always together.


I thought I’d try and post a short video clip, to see if I can, so I hope it works, 5pm on a Friday and this is it, very peaceful.

Have a good weekend, I’ll probably move on Monday subject as always to the weather and how I feel.

Walking Blog

Yesterday I walked the towpath to Rickmansworth to locate the Post Office and check that they would accept Post Restante mail, it was a pleasant enough walk, there is quite a long run of permit holder moorings and then as you near the town a very reasonable section of visitor moorings and there were a couple of spaces but I decided to stay where I am, it’s more peaceful, I was surprised that the Tesco customer moorings do not allow an overnight stay so you can only pop in and spend your money then scoot off again, anyway the Post Office was fine and now I just have to see if it is not a problem when I go in to pick the mail up, fortunately, I thought, the Post office was also a Pick-up location for something I wanted off Amazon, but when I tried to place the order it said “this item cannot be delivered to a pick-up location”, well that’s a great help Amazon!

So today I thought I would walk around the lakes here, it’s pleasant but overcast and there are, as I mentioned before, lots of Lakes to walk, so I woke at 8am which seems to be what my body clocks likes,..........bloody hell as I am typing this some woman has just stepped onto the back of my boat so her husband could take a picture of her, words have been exchanged, she didn’t apparently think it would be a problem, it’s my home, stay off unless you’re invited!........ where was I, oh yes, so camera to hand I set off about 10:30 and walked back along the towpath towards Springwell Lock where you can access the circular walks around the Lakes, Springwell Lake first then Stockers Lake and then alongside the Rickmansworth Aquadrome, it is a bit muddy at this time of year but all in all very well maintained and no litter to be seen anywhere, lots of dog walkers and joggers about and the Aquadrome has a cafe and usual amenities, a very pleasant couple of hours, and now back on the boat time for tea and run the engine to charge the batteries and leave you with a few pictures.

To Rickmansworth

Well that was the idea, some days things don’t go well, you’re not in the right mood or something, but things just don’t ‘click’. Today was one of those. I thought I had seen enough of Harefield it didn’t offer any reason to stay so at 10am I moved off my mooring and headed for Wide Water Lock (86) it had to be in my favour as a boat had gone past me around nine but the gates were shut so I moored up and walked up to the lock, there was someone just moving into it to go down past me, so I assisted him through and then walked back to my boat and headed towards the lock, he was mooring up but then to my surprise he started to walk towards the lock with windlass in hand, I waved him away but he insisted he help, now I don’t know the correct etiquette but I assume there is no need for that, once you are through the lock if someone is going in you carry on happy that you don’t need to go back and shut the gates. Anyway once in the lock and before I had a chance to tie up he opened the wrong paddle very quickly, this caused my boat to surge forward and across the lock, it took all my effort on the centre line to prevent it from bashing into the opposite side of the lock, I shouted No but he didn’t seem to understand he then opened the other paddle and walked off with a wave to me oblivious that his help had in fact been the wrong sort. 

Anyway I sorted myself out and moved on to Black Jacks Lock (85), things didn’t improve, I snagged a fender and had to fish it out of the lock, then I moved onto  Copper Mill Lock (84) stopping at the water point first and taking on a top up. 

This caused a bit of panic,

it’s a by-water coming in from the right just before the road bridge before Copper Mill Lock, I was expecting  it, my Pearson’s guide highlighted it and it was signposted by C&RT (Canal and River Trust)  it’s so lively they use it for canoe slalom but I tried to take a picture at the wrong time, yes,  a bit of panic as the boat was pushed violently towards the road bridge, quick recovery, full throttle, hard across with the tiller and missed the bridge by a few inches, hah hah made me laugh afterwards, taking pictures can be dangerous  when solo! Imagine the headline “Man in Narrowboat demolishes bridge trying to get a good picture of water!

I have moored a bit earlier than anticipated as it started to rain so I am just before Stockers Lock instead of beyond it, but I am glad I stopped because the rain came down heavily after I got moored up. Tomorrow I will see if there are better moorings nearer the town and then move up a bit if there are, there is a Tesco and I’m hoping to find a Post Office that will accept post forwarding (Post Restante).

The View Opposite

Stockers Lock

Views of my mooring from the side hatch, looking across the fields and ahead to the lock.

Total Today 3.5 Miles :  4 Locks

Walking blog

I walked into Harefield today, Pearson’s guide said it was a 15 minute walk uphill from Black Jack’s Lock, so I had a choice either walk from here to the main road into Harefield or along the towpath as the guide said until I reached the lock then uphill into town, I decided to walk the main road there, it’s slightly shorter, and then along the

towpath back and I was glad I did, it was a steady fairly steep uphill walk all the way along the main road about a mile and a half, the Town was quite pleasant but nothing other than that, I picked up some supplies in the Co-Op and then headed back downhill towards the canal along the road suggested in the guide, it was steep, very steep and about half a mile to the towpath and I for one would not have liked to walk it in the uphill direction. Then a pleasant walk along the towpath for just under 2 miles back to the boat, so all in all about a four mile round trip.





These canalside homes would be nice, out of the door onto your own little pontoon mooring and nice and colourful.






This little troll was either warning you not to go down this backwater or waiting for the toll money, I am not sure which.





Quite a simple but pretty little run off feature.

And this is the aforementioned Black Jack's Lock.

Moving on to South Harefield

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

Off we go.......

..... and back again.

Ok so last night I made the final decision that as long as the weather was reasonable I would set off in the morning, now I want to stop and have a look around Denham Country Park so possibly stay 48hours but I need to empty my cassettes, I consult Pearson’s and find the next Elsan available is in Apsley about 14 miles and several locks away, I don’t want to do that, Denham is only a couple of miles away, so I need to turn and go back to Cowley Lock which is where I filled with water and emptied the loo’s on the way here,  I also need coal and gas as well and I decide I will go to Denham Marina about 30mins up the canal, get gas and coal and while I’m there probably top up with diesel as well, you never know (well I don’t yet) they may let me top up my water and empty my loo as well, I don’t yet know how these Marina’s operate, it may be that side of things is for paying moorer’s only, so I pull pins at 10am and off I go, a bit chilly but not bad, as I get to the Marina I can see a boat on the service  point so I pull over and moor to wait, then a chap from a boat further along comes back to me and says “if you want the services there’s a little queue and I am next”, ok I think possibly an hour’s wait, I’ll turn go back to Cowley and then come back here afterwards and hopefully the queue will have gone.

Well it’s amazing how slow this life is, I turn around in the mouth of the Marina and head back to Cowley getting there ok and start doing the business, I make a cup of tea and when the water is full get ready to move again, now I need to turn again but luckily there’s a turning point immediately after the Lock, so through the lock (downhill), wind (turn the boat around) and back through the Lock again (uphill), the services at Cowley Lock are split, water and Elsan one side of a road bridge and Refuse point the other side, so off I go again and pull in at the refuse point, empty all my rubbish and off again towards Denham Marina, I look at my phone and it’s now 1:30 I don’t want to be rushing or cruising too long or late so I decide to moor up where it all began this morning and try again for the Marina tomorrow J. It was a lovely morning though, the sun came out, no wind, I got a load of washing done and thoroughly enjoyed my little jaunt and a walker complemented me on my stop at the water point, he said it was very controlled and showed finesse, it made me smile anyway.

Heading towards the Marina, lots of permanent moorings, Cowley Lock service point, as you can see someone kindly left the lock ready for me.

And This is The General Elliott a 5 minute walk along the towpath and I haven't even ventured in.

Travel Today:  4 Miles : 1 Lock twice