WHAT A SHOW !!!!!

 

Sunset in Little Venice

As you can imagine this blog won’t be that boaty as we stayed in London for 6 days and didn’t have to move. This was down to great planning by the Captain, we had enough water in our tank and the toilet didn’t need to be emptied until we were due to leave, so happy days.

Unfortunately everything didn’t quite go to plan as the Captain hurt his leg, not sure how or what he did, but for a few days it made walking very painful.

We did venture out on the day we arrived and headed down to Leicester Square to check on the ticket office there (we wanted to catch a show whilst in London). Only to find it was shut for refurbishment and would have to go on the website instead.

So of course we headed off to The Chandos, a Sam Smith’s pub nearby, we always make for theses pubs as in the past the have been the cheapest, even cheaper than Wetherspoons, and they always have a stout on for the Captain. But not any more, the Captain got the shock of his life when 2 pints came to £15.50, so only the one in there. I checked the Wetherspoons app, and found that not only they were a lot cheaper, but at the Ice Factory in Camden they had Broadside on, one of the Captains favourites, so that’s were we headed. Camden was buzzing and the pub was busy but we found a table and ordered on the app.

We had a quiet day Sunday and only headed out for a couple of pints at pubs near the boat, the Captain didn’t really feel like walking far.

Monday and we went nowhere, but at teatime we went to meet my cousin Gary who works in London a couple days in the week. This turned into a bit of a session at the Warwick Castle.

https://www.warwickcastlemaidavale.com/

Tuesday, and although we set off to visit the Victoria and Albert museum we didn’t get far at all, the Captain couldn’t walk due to the pain in his leg, so back we went and booked to see Starlight Express a couple of days later.

After resting his leg for the rest of the day he felt up to heading out to Covent Garden and a pint or 2 in the Harp, I would say the best real ale pub in London, and still cheaper the Sam Smiths.

The Harp

https://www.harpcoventgarden.com/

We did make it to the V&A next day and really enjoyed what we managed to see, there is so much stuff in there it would take at least a week to see everything.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victoria_and_Albert_Museum

As we were seeing Starlight Express later we decided to stay out for tea and tried Wahaca’s, a Mexican chain of restaurants with various locations in London, we tried the one in Paddington. I had always wanted to visit one of these, as the founder Thomasina Miers had been the first winner of Masterchef and I had followed her career ever since. The food was to die for, and very reasonably priced.

What a meal at Wahaca'a

https://www.wahaca.co.uk/location/paddington/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomasina_Miers

Then off to the show and words cannot describe how good was, it was AMAZING.

https://www.starlightexpresslondon.com/

After a long day it was good to get back to the boat. We decided to leave next morning, getting a pump out and water at the services in Little Venice, but not before the Captain executed a very good exit from our moorings. We still had Water Witch at the side of us, so it was not just the case of setting off, we had to untie us both, let their nose drift out and whilst I held on to their centre line the Captain steered the good ship Avalon Two out and into the main channel of the canal, we then pulled Water Witch back in and tied her securely back up.

Unfortunately when we got to the services there was a queue, so the Captain decided we would cruise down to the next services on our way out of London, and that’s what we did. On the way we had to stop and retie 2 boats which had come a drift and were blocking the canal. The first a large wide beam we pushed back to the bank using our boat, and a very nice gentleman got the rope and secured it. The next one, a narrowboat this time, was right across the canal, there was a boat coming towards us who nudged it just so he could get by, we pulled over and while I held our boat the Captain went off to secure this one, unfortunately the nudge given by the on coming boat wasn’t quite enough to move it to the banking and boat didn’t stop to help, and it was down to my Captain and the very nice gentleman from earlier on to sort it out.

We got our pump out and water after a short time brested up to the 2 boats already on the service point, we had a lovely chat with their Captain and crew whilst we waited.

After shopping (Tesco and Lidl), at Bulls Bridge junction we rejoined the Grand Union canal and headed for the Hanley flight, 10 locks which took us into Brentford ready for our trip onto the Thames on Wednesday. We had help which was nice, a couple of Vol Lockees, one of whom was training helped us down most of the flight, there were also quite a few Gongoozlers who wanted to chat, and kids who wanted to help made doing the locks fun, and the time passed quickly.

These locks are not in the best of repair, but I had no problems until we reached the very last and I was helping a boat lock up. Even thought there were 4 of us trying to open the top gate it would not move, eventually we had to use the boat to gently push the gate open, not something I would recommend but on this occasion needs must.

We found moorings, but the Captain decided to walk forward and see if there were any better ones closer to the town, there was, which meant to save him walking back I had to take the boat and steer it into the space, I managed it and was very proud of myself, the Captain keeps telling me I can, I just have to have a little more confidence in myself.

After mooring up we headed to the pub, The Black Dog, and great real ale pub were the Captain was spoiled for choice, and was really happy with a chocolate oatmeal stout, and cheaper than what we had been paying in London. The food menu looked really interesting, and the food that we saw come out looked lovely.

https://www.blackdogbeerhouse.co.uk/

So now we are sat in Brentford for a couple of days, the Captains leg is a lot better, and I am looking forward to be on the Thames once again.

Wildlife, just one thing, I have seen the cutest goslings ever, the young of Egyptian geese are soooo pretty and its the first time we have seen them, hope we see some more soon.

The Egyptian Goose and gosslings

18 miles, 10 locks, 2 canals (Regents and Grand Union) and 1 river, (the river Brent).

WILDLIFE AND ANGRY BEES

A Leaky Lock

I usually talked about all the different wildlife (well mainly birds) we have seen as we cruise serenely along, but I haven’t really had the chance up to now. So here I go, along with the usual mallards we have seen quite a few mandarin ducks and even a pochard. Geese, we have seen Canada, Greylag and a few Egyptian geese. Herons have dotted the bank and wood pigeons fill the air with their cooing. A Little Egret was fishing by one of the overflow weirs. We have spotted noisy parakeets and beautiful Jays. Robins, Wren and Blackbirds fill the hedgerows. Gulls, Terns and Cormorant fill the sky above us with the ever present Rooks, Crows and Magpies. The magnificent Red Kites have been with us on every step of the cruise, soaring above the boat with their distinctive forked tail. Swans with their signets, Ducks and ducklings, Geese and goslings, the pretty Moorhen with its not so pretty chicks, and Coots with their I have to say ugly chicks, have all swam by the boat.

A Pochard Duck

The Captain inadvertently snapped a picture of the elusive Kingfisher, but never actually saw the bird itself, only by zooming right in did he notice the familiar shape sat deep in the shadows.

The Captain also spotted a Deer running through a field, and I caught sight of a Water Vole and Terrapin on one of my walks.

But the funniest encounter was with a very small and very angry black and orange bee. This is the story, at the first lock of the day on Monday (we spent Sunday moored in Berkhamsted, but more on that later) I went off to set the lock in as usual. The towpath paddle had something written on it but I paid no attention to it until it was too late. I wacked the paddle up and walked away, suddenly there was the sound of loud angry buzzing in my ear, I brushed away the offending insect but it didn’t stop, I must have looked so silly trying to get away from the annoyed bee. When I eventually got away I read the note on the paddle ‘beware bee’s nest in paddle’ Oop’s. Problem now is I still have to lower the paddle when the boat is in the lock. I left it right until the last and then did at arms length and walked away thinking I had got away with, it but oh no!, the bee came after me once more, this time with more determination and managed to fly up my nose, and I felt what seemed like something sting the side of my nose I swatted it away again, then the bee decided it had defended its family well enough and returned to its nest in the paddle, and I felt very sorry for myself. I have to be careful with insect bites and stings as I have at times, have a bad reaction to them, so I got straight back on the boat and took an anti histamine tablet. The Captain did inform CRT as other boaters may not have been so lucky, and you know some people can die from a bee sting.

Right back to our cruise, as I have already said we stayed in Berkhamsted Sunday and had a quiet day, only going out to try a couple of pubs before tea. The Rising Sun first, a great real ale pub right on a lock, a happy Captain with a choice of 2 darks on. Then, just because we haven’t been in for a long time the Crystal Palace, well what a transformation, from a quite run down back street pub to a thriving gastro pub, but no real ales so a lager in there.

https://www.facebook.com/@risingsunpubberkhamsted/?locale=en_GB

https://www.crystalpalace-pub.com/

Monday and the locks started coming thick and fast. A boat set off just before us, but lucky for us they stopped at the water point before the next lock and we managed to buddy up with them, and do the remaining 9 locks together. NB BOB (Both On Board) with Geoff and Sue and Ned the dog, we had a lovely day travelling with them. We moored just above Fisheries lock, and more fool me I suggested we wash and polish one side of the boat, after 10 locks it wasn’t the best idea, and I was truly knackered by the end. So no pub for us.

Berkhamsted Lock

Tuesday and we managed to buddy up with Geoff and Sue again, well at least for part of the way as they moored up after 5 locks to visit Sue’s dad who was in a nursing home nearby. We continued on and did another 7 locks before a quiet night in the MONW.

The next day and the aim was to get to Rickmansworth and hopefully get moorings there for the night. This is a very popular place for boaters as there is a Tesco right beside the canal, and it has a good range of shops, pubs and restaurants. But we lived in hope.

7 locks later, and after being told we would struggle to find moorings, we did in fact find a very good mooring spot and took a walk into the town. We tried 3 pubs, The Western, a sports bar with an interesting food menu but no darks, the Coach and Horses, a more traditional pub but still no darks, and eventually the Pennsylvanian a Wetherspoons and still no darks, so the Captain wasn’t very lucky that night.

After shopping we set off and managed to buddy up once again, this time with NB Tilly, not the most talkative of Captain and Crew so never got their names.

We could tell we were getting closer into London as the lines of moored boats were getting longer and longer. After 7 locks I really had had enough and fancied a pint or 3, but we were struggling to find a mooring spot near a pub. Just past Dolphin Bridge which has 2 pubs nearby we managed to stop, and after a little rest we set off and tried The General Elliot first, a quaint country type pub and very nice. We had a bit of a chat with one of the locals before moving on to The Dolphin, more of a sports bar, but we were made to feel very welcome. The Captain, still not finding any darks has resorted to drinking Guinness Zero which has a very nice flavour and its quite close to the original Guinness.

https://www.generaleliottuxbridge.co.uk/index

https://www.thedolphinuxbridgepub.co.uk/

The end of the all the locks into London was in sight as I only had one left to do, and then a run of about 4 miles to Bulls Bridge were we joined the Regents Canal, but not before shopping at Tesco which is right on the canal side, and topping up with water.

We did 5 miles on the Regents canal before stopping for the night and heading to The Railway, a bit of a walk from the canal but well worth it, the Captain treated me to tea and it was a very good meal at a great price.

https://www.greeneking.co.uk/pubs/middlesex/railway-hotel

The end of our journey was in sight, and on Saturday we left early and headed for Little Venice, not knowing what we would find in the way of moorings, but we fell very lucky and found a spot on the 14 days moorings. A couple of hours later we were joined by Water Witch who brested up against us, this is pretty normal for Little Venice and we didn’t mind at all. TBH there was more moorings available than we expected, but once we settled there was no point in moving.

One thing I will mention is that CRT have in the past couple of years turned parts of Little Venice and all of Paddington basin into bookable moorings which cost £25per night, and these were practically empty, so I just cant see the point, if they haven’t not been booked you should be able to use them rather than leaving them empty when boats are struggling to find places to moor, but that’s just my opinion. 

39 miles, 38 locks and 1 moveable bridge.

ORCHARDS AND APPLE BLOSSOM

 

Apple Blossom

Our next port of call was Milton Keynes, and we were stopping here for a couple of night to catch up with the Captains sister Ann and her husband Chris, and to celebrate the Captains birthday with them.

We have always been pleasantly surprise with Milton Keynes, the route the canal follows is lovely with open green spaces and well kept towpaths. It is a real green corridor in a city of 264,000 people. Milton Keynes was built in the 1960’s when the government decided a further generation of new towns was required, it attained city status 1n 2022 as part of the late Queen’s platinum jubilee celebration. Covering 22,000 acres it’s roads are based on a grid system similar to the America’s.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milton_Keynes

We arrived on Sunday in glorious sunshine, and after lunch decided to try a new pub called Ye Olde Swan, the walk to it took us through the community orchard, it was beautiful as the apple tree’s were in full bloom, there was even an information board (with no graffiti) showing all the types of apples and where they were planted in the orchard. It made for a very pleasant walk and the pub at the end wasn’t bad as well, we sat in the beer garden and had a couple of pints. The food menu looked good too.

https://www.chefandbrewer.com/pubs/buckinghamshire/ye-olde-swan

As arranged we met up with Ann and Chris for the Captains birthday and went for a meal at the Peartree Bridge, its a Stonehouse so the menu was a carvery, pizza and burgers. We had a nice meal and then they came back to the boat for a slice of celebration black forest gateaux.

The Birthday Boy

Next day just 2 locks, the first at Fenny Stratford has a moveable bridge in its centre, this has to be opened before the boat enters the lock and closed when you leave, last time we were here the locking mechanism on the bridge had been damaged and we reported in to CRT. On this occasion I did not have to move the bridge because as we approached there was a boat already in the lock and as we left the lock another boat turned up so we left it to them. We stopped at the water point and also dropped some rubbish off at the bins there. The next lock was at Stoke Hammond and we moored just after it for a quiet night, as we knew the next port of call would be Leighton Buzzard and another of our favourite pubs, The Black Lion.

The Back Lion

3 locks to get there. At Soulbury another great pub called not very original but the Three Locks. As we set off, quite early (for us), the pub was closed and the volunteer lockee’s were only just turning up to start their shift. The first lockee spotted us and came to give us a hand. It made easy work of the locks, and meant we got to Leighton Buzzard just before lunch. We had hoped to moor near Tesco but unfortunately there was no space, so through the bridge and round the corner and we tagged on the end of the moorings there. After a good shop at Aldi, which is next to Tesco and very accessible from the towpath, we walked into the town looking around the shops, picking up a few bits here and there. Then to the pub, The Bald Buzzard a micropub at the top of the town, of course they had a stout on for the Captain and I tried a lager, not really to my taste but ok. Then onto the Black Lion, never disappointed in here, they have a range of real ales on, and more importantly Sam Smith’s stout a real favourite of the Captains, plenty of choice for me too. We went and sat in the beer garden where a Thai street food vendor was setting up, we had to try something so 3 spring rolls were ordered, and at £5 they were a real bargain and very tasty too. Before we left we took a look in the Gin bar, were they have over 200 gins on offer. A great pub and just to mention its the only place I have seen Bedfordshire clangers on sale, for those who don’t know, these look like a large sausage roll, but at one end is a savoury filling and the other is a sweet one. Didn’t try one but maybe next time.

https://www.facebook.com/theblacklionleightonbuzzard/?locale=en_GB

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bedfordshire_clanger

After the indulgence at the Black Lion we decide to spent the next night in the middle of nowhere. So after 2 locks we moored behind a wide beam, which turned out to be a bit of a mistake as later in the night they let their dog roam the towpath and it barked and barked at our boat. It sounded very aggressive, and the Captain was concerned as we had our side hatch open with only a fly screen to stop it jumping in. Eventually someone came out and it went quiet, but we closed the side hatch just in case. Not a nice experience.

9 locks next day and we definitely need to get to Marsworth to use the pump out machine there, as our toilet was full. Luckily after the 2^nd lock we met up with another boat, Cut Loose from Yelvertoft with it’s Captain Gordon and crew Jackie. It was really nice to share the double locks with someone as we cant believe how quiet the canal has been, we have seen hardly any boats moving. I enjoyed chatting and doing the locks with Gordon, and my Captain had a good time chatting to Jackie. After the last lock we parted company as they were stopping as soon as they could find a spot, and we still needed to get to the services which are at the bottom of the Marsworth flight and on the junction of the Aylesbury arm. After a much needed pump out and the water tank filled we found good moorings just before the first lock and then headed to the pub of course. Firstly The Red Lion in Marsworth village, a proper village pub with a good selection of real ales, but no darks of course, so a lager. Then on to the Anglers Retreat which was closed the last time we were here, but after a refurbishment it has reopened and was very pleasant, so a couple in here.

I wished later that I had asked Gordon if they wanted to join us in doing the Marsworth flight, but we ended up doing it on our own, we had waited for awhile to see if they came, but had to go in the end. There are 7 locks close together, so I walked. Between the first 2 locks there was a RCT floating market on for the weekend, I recognised the very last boat NB Wobbley, we had shared locks with it in the past, so I stopped and had a short chat with its Captain.

We only met 2 boats coming down the flight, the first was a little stand offish and its crew didn’t approach the lock until we had exited and I walked away from the gates, the second was a couple doing a helmsman course, so they took a bit of time, but hey ho we weren’t in any rush. The top of the locks is Bulbourne Junction and the turning on to the Wendover arm of the GU.

In the Lock

7 more locks to get us to Berkhamsted were we were stopping for a couple of nights. Again we didn’t see many boats at all, it is so quiet.

We found good moorings and headed to the pub (again), the Highway Man and the first one we have not tried before, no real ales but a lovely pub which serves food on a lower level and then onto the Mad Squirrel micro pub, very good beer but pricey.

25 miles 31 locks and 2 moveable bridges