Denham Deep Lock

Here I am Rune

Distance 3.5miles

Total 1892 Locks 88 Tunnels

Running total mileage 2663.9 miles

A short cruise through Uxbridge brings us back to the pound above Denham Deep Lock where I think we will probably moor until Tuesday. The weather held up today in that it didn’t rain but the temperature has dropped again and felt a bit cold after a while steering.

Cowley Peachey Junction

Here I am Rune

Distance 10.6miles

Total 1889 Locks 88 Tunnels

Running total mileage 2660.6 miles

A lock free day’s cruising up the Slough Arm to the  ‘basin’ at the end. It is a little flattering to call it a basin since it is basically the back of a builder’s yard but we got there eventually. Despite the fact that it is very straight, it is actually quite a reasonable bit of canal, the only area we had any problem was halfway along where there are a collection of residential moorings. For the entire length of the section of moorings the canal was covered in weed which constantly wrapped itself around the propeller. I would guess that the reason for it is because in that concentrated area the boats are emptying their grey water into the canal (quite lawfully) but the water contains nutrients that the weed thrives on. It becomes just a mat of weed and some of the boats have a coating of weed on the bottom of their boats several inches thick. Other than that I quite enjoyed our excursion along the Slough arm.

We are now moored not too far from a Tesco’s ready for the weekend shop and then we’ll decide where we are going from there.

The weed on the Slough Arm....

.....and the large pad of weed we were pushing!

Uxbridge/Cowley

Here I am Rune

Distance 4.2miles

Total 1889 Locks 88 Tunnels

Running total mileage 2650 miles

We have moored up for the day below Cowley Lock in preparation for the trip up the Slough arm tomorrow. It will be between 10 and 11 miles but no locks, so little for the crew to do, she can regard it as a day off! I’ve heard a variety of reports about the Slough Arm regarding weed and lack of depth but since we are fairly early in the year I’m hoping that the weed hasn’t had time to grow since winter and I believe that it has been dredged in recent years, so I’m sort of optimistic.

When dealing with our refuse I met up again with the couple we shared locks with a few days ago and they seem to have gone down below Hanwell Locks before turning around again.  They seem to have met up with a grump who was complaining to them about leaving lock gates open. He said that they had closed all of the lock gates as they went through so they had apparently drifted open again, a not uncommon occurrence, and certainly not something that I’d bother having a go at anyone about.

Denham

Here I am Rune

Distance 3.8miles

Total 1886 Locks 88 Tunnels

Running total mileage 2645.8 miles

Today was again just a short hop down to the area of Denham so we were pretty much done by lunchtime. Managed to double up with another boat for the five locks which speeded things up a bit, as it always does when there are more to share the work. Have to say that whilst the rain held off (pretty much) the temperature has certainly gone down a bit. The forecasters say it is about 12 degrees but as we were travelling along the canal this morning, breathing out my breath vapourised so I think it may be a bit cooler than that.

May move on to Uxbridge tomorrow with the possibility of doing the Slough Arm on Friday, we’ll see what the weather does.

Rickmansworth

Here I am Rune

Distance 5.9miles

Total 1881 Locks 88 Tunnels

Running total mileage 2642.0 miles

As soon as I had finished posting yesterday the rains came (unforecasted), and what rain it was! The fun began with a couple of boats approaching the bridge just beyond where we were moored, I’m not sure exactly what the cause was but they came to a halt the other side of the bridge and then just drifted across the canal (I would suspect something around the propeller). Whilst they were trying to resolve whatever the problem was the rain began and turned into a proper thunderstorm with the rain coming down in stair-rods. They eventually solved whatever the problem was but in their eagerness to press on to find somewhere to moor they passed the line of boats at pretty much full canal speed (3mph) which had the effect of pulling out the mooring pins of a whole load of boats, which obviously went down well (out mooring pins held!). So you then have a whole troop of happy boaters having to re-moor their boats in the driving rain, there were one or two complaints!

So on to today, and we have indeed made it to Rickmansworth although there are still a lot of boats moored here from the Festival, since it is 14 day mooring here they will probably be here for a while.

Langleybury

Here I am Rune

Distance 4.0miles

Total 1871 Locks 88 Tunnels

Running total mileage 2636.1 miles

No sign of any rain today to gaily chugged on down the Grand Union towards Rickmansworth. We weren’t able to team up with anyone today so we’ve had to do all the locks ourselves which makes it a little harder. All of the traffic we have met has been travelling in the opposite direction, mostly having come from the Rickmansworth Festival, I don’t think we’ve seen a single boat going in the same direction as we are.

Now that we have passed under the M25 I suppose that technically we are within the confines of London, although still slightly north of Watford (isn’t that where ‘The North’ begins?). We were quite late stopping for lunch (about 2.30pm) and after we’d eaten, decided we couldn’t be bothered to move on any further so have stayed here near to Hunton Bridge, which is about 700 metres from the M25 so I don’t suppose it will be a quiet mooring. 

Forecast for tomorrow, at the moment, is also good so we should at least reach Rickmansworth.