Thursday 2 September 2010

Today we are staying moored in Paddington Basin and going off into the big city with our newly acquired Oyster cards . We started with a visit to 221b Baker Street, Sherlock Holmes house, then managed to take in one whole floor at Tate Modern, before needing fresh air. Then walk down to Shakespeare's Globe Theatre, lunch at the Globe Swan, a walk along the Thames watching the speeding Thames Clippers, and down to Tower Bridge and the exhibition and the excellent displays inside the bridge. A good day, but exhausted.

Wednesday 1 September 2010

Uxbridge to Paddington Basin, Paddington Arm, Grand Union Canal

Time to update you with our adventures!

We left Uxbridge in perfect September sunshine, a warm and windless day. Tescos and coconuts along the way!

A huge new Tesco is being built in Yiewsley which will have waterside moorings, as our picture shows, residents on the other side of the canal will soon have a very different outlook. We had the canal virtually to ourselves and soon reached Bulls Bridge Junction, where there is a another 24 hour Tesco. The moorings for shoppers are beside a dry dock feature the supermarket has recreated. Alas, it is a dump for litter and supermarket trolleys, and as a consequence, is a very insightly feature, as you can see.

Shopping over, we then turned down the Paddington Arm, and moved through Southall, Northolt, Alperton, and suburbia galore, crossed high above the North Circular Road, and on towards Little Venice. Coconuts all the way. Every so often we saw coconuts go bobbing past - never seen so many in a day! Many differing cooking smells accompanied us along the route. We branched off to the right down the Paddington Arm of the former Grand Junction canal. We had been lead to believe that some safe moorings were there and sure enough right at the far end of the arm, overshadowed by new office towers on one side, and St Mary's Hospital on the other, were some new floating pontoons. We could stay here for 7 days FOC if we wished. This was a most pleasant, and quiet spot given that it was just off the Edgware Road, and minutes from Paddington underground.

Monday 16 August 2010

Denham Deep Lock to Slough Arm, Grand Union Canal

This picture shows how deep Denhamm lock is - not the deepest on the system by any means, but still deep.

We took a right turn down the Slough arm, not believing the canal guide about it being weedy and silted - but of course the further we went along the worse it became. Quiet, and rural stretch, needs more traffic.

Sunday 15 August 2010

From Cassiobury Park to Denham Deep Lock, Grand Union Canal


A much better day, bright light and some heat! We set off in the autumn sunshine, passing many boats with covers off drying out after yesterday.

Along the way we saw this toy monkey suspended from a great height, and then to our great surprise a boat coming towards us was narrowboat Icarus, the boat we had built 9 years ago. A great deal of toil and tears went into that boat, now evidently under new ownership. We wondered if it had retained the most unusual facility of a commode within the front door step!

We passed along some very pretty stretches of canal, especially around Harefield, at Black Jack's Lock and Copper Mill Lock.

Our mooring for lunch, and afternoon tea, and then subsequently dinner, was above Denham Deep Lock. A busy stretch of towpath, mainly due to the wellknown Frans tea garden at the lockside.

So tomorrow we are off down the 11'1" Denham Deep Lock.

Saturday 14 August 2010

Hunton Bridge to below Stockers Lock, Batchworth, Grand Union Canal

Yesterday, we teamed up again with the ex hotel boat couple, and so the wide locks along the Grand Union became more pleasant and easier to work. The drizzle encouraged us to stop at lunchtime, and there we stayed. Dreary and dark, under dripping trees as the rain set in.

We have revised our previous wet day record to TODAY as being the worst day of the summer. Torrential rain has spoiled things well and truly.

This morning we teamed up with The Beech Nuts on their narrow boat and made our way down to Batchworth, through very oily waters - someone had allowed oil or diesel to spill into the canal, and did it stink.

We paid a brief visit to Batchworth Lock Canal Centre, Bob was curious to see their model narrow boats - but nothing on show.

Batchworth Tesco with canalside moorings was the next stop - much more worthwhile!

So, now we are moored below the farm, but more precisely, opposite the field where we believe the filming of the tv series Black Beauty was located. Who knows!

Looking forward to better boating weather tomorrow.

Thursday 13 August 2010

Winkwell to Hunton Bridge, Grand Union Canal

As we entered the first lock of the day, a heron stood patiently on the lock edge staring into the depths. Eventually, he gave up and flew a few feet away and started staring again. May be they fall asleep!

As we approached Winkwell swing bridge we could see the crew of working narrowboat Hadar enjoying holding up the traffic as they kept the bridge open for us too. We know of this boat from passing it last year and following their blog with interest, recounting their experiences in London.

We made our way down through Hemel Hampstead, past B+Q where Rose's limejuice in barrels, was once loaded onto barges, and on to Apsley, where many John Dickinson paper mills at Croxley Green once stood. Now smart new houses and a marina have replaced the mills, but good old Fullers have a canalside pub called The Paper Mill.

The final demolition is ongoing and no doubt it will be replaced by more houses, now 3 + 4 floors a piece.

The heavy rain in the afternoon drove us to moorup as we got to Hunton Bridge, but we did pair up with some ex hotelboat crew as we made our way down the locks.

Wednesday 11 August 2010

Bulbourne Junction to Winkwell, Grand Union Canal

Well yesterday was just about the worst day of the summer so far! It rained and then it poured and poured. Fortunately, we called in at Cowroast marina where they had the new issue of Waterways World, so mooring up at lunchtime and staying put was no hardship. Immediately opposite our mooring on the summit level, was a boat named Griffin, which had all the appearance of a Fullers marketing medium!

Today was much better, and we paired up with another boat we had accompanied a couple of days ago, and made our way down now, to Berkhamsted. Today there is water cascading over the lock gates - no big surprise after yesterdays drenching.

We shopped at the canalside Waitrose and then walked down the towpath to Berkhamsted castle. Now just a shadow of its former self, but the part flint walls, and motte and bailey mounds remaining of the Norman castle were fairly obvious. This castle had three moats to deter tunnelling.

Later, as we made our way through the Port of Berkhamsted, we passed Castle Wharf, the boatyard owned by Lindy Foster and recalled the nationwide campaign she launched to save the wharf from developers. It looks as if she suceeded. There is totem pole to mark the years of trading between Castle Wharf and Canada, and wood used in huge quantities for boat building and cabinet making.

A good day, but the barometer is falling!