Monday 9 August 2010

From Marsworth along the Wentworth Arm, and back on to the Grand Union Canal to Bulbourne

Today, we spent the morning walking around Marsworth village and again up the locks alongside the Tring reservoirs. A very tranquil spot with grannies and grandchildren quietly enjoying the lovely area. A mother swan did delay our tow path walk slightly, as she just would not follow her cygnets into the water, and sat preening and defiantly blocking our path. Eventually she became curious as to the cygnets whereabouts and glided into the canal, and we moved on. During our morning coffee on the boat we spotted many, many huge carp just below the surface, They were monsters, and devoured some bread we offered. The local ducks soon backed off!

This afternoon we got going up the 7 locks to the Tring summit, and then made a sharp right turn down the Wendover Arm and suddenly we were threading our way along a narrow waterway, passing a flour mill and some very delapidated boats, some on long,or no mooring lines, drifting out in front of us making progress slow. The navigable stretch ends with a plaque, and a very fortunately, a spacious turning point. We returned back to the junction passing some different fishing styles, hidden in the bank reeds.

We are now moored at Bulbourne, the much photographed BW canal workshops, where lockgates used to be

made, but is now a private concern making unusual garden ornaments in iron.