LOCKS LOCKS AND MORE LOCKS.

The journey from Kings Langley to Milton Keynes is 34 miles and 48 locks, and we had less than a week to complete the trip, and see the Captains cousins from South Africa.

The first day we did 9 locks 3½ miles which took us to Winkwell. At one of the locks we met a large widebeam boat. He was actually backing into the lock as I arrived to return to his mooring after filling up with water. It was a sight to see, and I was joined by the Captain who lent a helping hand. There were a couple of lady gongoozlers who were fascinated by what was happening and life on a boat in general.

After a long day we made it to Winkwell and the pub, the Three Horseshoes. A lovely canal side pub with a reasonable selection of beers, and food that looked very yummy indeed. But I had already cooked roast beef with all the trimmings on the boat so we gave it a miss.

https://www.the3horseshoeswinkwell.co.uk/

Monday, 7 locks 2 miles and the day of the Queens funeral, but unfortunately we didn’t get to see much of it as we needed to move. At the second lock of the day we found we could go no further due to the pound above being empty, luckily we were informed of this by a passing cyclist, and later a father and daughter. The Captain walked up the next few locks to see what was occurring, whilst I stayed with the boat and chatted to the couple. It turned out he had just bought a 65ft boat called Lady Sarah, and intended to live on it in a marina for the first year to see how he got on. He showed me some pictures and we chatted about this and that.

The Captain returned with the news that some CRT guys were running water down to fill the pound, and that it should now be passable with care. So off we went. I made the mistake of getting back on the boat after the first lock, only to find out we couldn’t get to the side to let me off at the next one. The Captain said something about throwing me off, but I know he was only joking, well I hope so. Then a knight in shining armour came along and opened the gate for us, and I was able to jump off just as we entered the lock. Having realised my mistake I walked up to the next lock. After this the water levels improved and we had no more problems. We found good moorings near the Crystal Palace pub in Berkhamsted, but decided strangely for us to give it a miss.

A quick shop at Waitrose next day, and after being quite surprised how quiet the Berkhampsted mooring were we set off, and did 8 locks and 3½ miles to Cowroast. But disaster struck in one lock. We had joined an old working boat in the lock, and as the Captain was manoeuvring the good ship Avalon Two out of the open gate, the front cratch cover caught on something, and there was a terrible ripping sound. We moored up in the MONW for the night and the Captain examined the rip. It had made quiet a mess and had actually stretched the fabric. A running repair using gaffer tape will have to suffice until we return to Swan Lane.

Although the 2 previous days had been busy it was nothing compared with the next day, 18 locks and 12 miles. There was a good reason for this, we really wanted to spend a night at Leighton Buzzard and do some shopping the next day.

The Marsworth flight of 7 locks was our first challenge, but luckily for us we had help from a couple of volunteer lock keepers. At the bottom of the flight we chatted to Jami and Chris, and I let Jami try working the lock as she wanted to see how hard it could be.

We also met a couple of not so bright boaters, the first decided to wind his boat even though he could see us coming and we had to stop and wait. The second didn’t wait to share a lock with us even though we were in plain sight. So a few grumbles from both of us.

We got to Leighton Buzzard around teatime, and after a short rest went to the pub, firstly a micropub called The Bald Buzzard, unfortunately they had sold out of the stout and the Captain made do with a lager.

https://www.facebook.com/baldbuzzardmicropub/

Then on to the Black Lion, one of our favourite pubs. Last time we were here they had a Gin and Jazz festival with with over 250 gins to try. They also always have Sam Smith’s stout on, but some how the Captain forgot this, even after being told by me and the barmaid, and he decided to try a black ipa which was okay. I reminded him about the stout and so we stayed for another.

https://www.blacklionlb.com/

It was to late for me to start cooking, so we called for a kebab and chips from Kebab Ye, and it was lovely, and huge, very good value for money.

https://www.kebabyetakeaway.co.uk/

We were nearing the end of our journey and next day only 5 locks and 5 miles, including the 3 at Soulbury, were we found a hire boat moored on the lock landing, and fishermen blocking the towpath. Words were had with both parties. 2 very helpful lock keepers helped us down the flight and we moored up in the MONW for a quiet night.

The last lock was at Fenny Stratford, and this lock has a swing bridge in the middle of it which has to be opened to use the lock. As there was already a boat in the lock I didn’t need to open the bridge, we let the other boat out first, but when I went to close the bridge, I discovered that locking mechanism was broken and the bridge wouldn’t lock in place. We informed CRT and put some hand written warning notices on the bridge, hopefully it will be repaired asap.

Fenny Stratford Lock

Our moorings were at Peartree and we got here in plenty of time for the get together.

We have hardly gone a day without spotting beautiful kingfishers, and red kites have been plentiful in the sky. The views are stunning along this part of the canal, and the weather has been kind to us.

That’s all for now folks.