Slapton Lock

Here I am Rune

Distance 4.5 miles

Total 445 Locks 8 Tunnels

Running total mileage 593.1 miles

                                                                                                                                                   

Today's weather is what narrowboating should be about! Hot and sunny all day (almost tempted to say too hot, but not quite). 4½ miles and 9 locks, so that equals 13½ ‘lock miles’ I’m happy with that. Have to say that the countryside around here is quite stunning English countryside and, having never been in this neck of the woods before, I’m quite impressed. Following the earlier photo of the view  from Ivinghoe Beacon, today we have the view of Ivinghoe Beacon from the canal. Also included is a photo of the quite impressive chalk Whipsnade Lion which, I am reliably told, is over 400 feet long.

Have to see if we can get to Linslade/Leighton Buzzard for tomorrow night.  

Marsworth Junction

Here I am Rune

Distance 2.4 miles

Total 436 Locks 8 Tunnels

Running total mileage 588.6 miles

As stated yesterday, another easy day today made even easier by the presence of volunteers at Marsworth Locks to help ‘speed’ us on our way! The trip back down the Wendover Arm seemed much quicker than the trip up it but then there is a small current flowing from Little Tring  (where the reservoirs for the canal are) down to Bulborne Junction which may have assisted. The exit from the Wendover Arm to turn north is quite tight but unfortunately I was so busy with the manoeuvre that I forgot to photograph it, so all we’ve got today is a photo of the end of the Aylesbury Arm.

Hopefully as long as the swing bridge at Seabrook (bridge 125) is repaired by tomorrow we shall continue on our way towards Leighton Buzzard.

The end of the Aylesbury Arm

Little Tring (Wendover Arm)

Here I am Rune

Distance 4.5 miles

Total 429 Locks 8 Tunnels

Running total mileage 586.2 miles

Another short day’s travel today, and no locks, so all in all an easy day today. The trip involved going up the Wendover arm of the canal which is currently undergoing restoration so it is only possible to get about 1½ miles along it. It is quite a shallow piece of canal so with the size of our boat it has been necessary to travel quite slowly since we are alomost on the bottom. All increasing the engine speed does is move more water but it doesn’t make the boat go any faster! 

Looks like we’ll have another easy day tomorrow, at least in terms of distance, since CRT are shutting the canal at bridge 125, Seabrook Swing bridge, to carry out some repairs. Due to this we will only be able to go as far as Marsworth Junction which is only a couple of miles although there are 7 locks between here and there.

Little Tring, the current end of the Wendover Arm

Cow Roast Lock

Here I am Rune

Distance 2.7 miles

Total 429 Locks 8 Tunnels

Running total mileage 582.7 miles

It feels very good to be back on the move on the boat again, although we only managed 2.7 miles today there were also 7 locks so that adds up to 9.7 ‘lock miles’ which amounts to about 3 hours work. The delays were caused by the fact that we had to stock up at the local Waitrose, fill up with water and empty the toilet cassettes, so all in all it was a fairly busy sort of day.

Matters weren’t helped however by having a seriously disturbed night’s sleep due to our deranged swan! Whilst it is mildly irritating to have the swan banging the rear fender against the boat at 4.45pm in the afternoon, at 4.45am in the morning it becomes seriously annoying. I only just managed to resist the (entirely justified) temptation to go out and beat him to death with the aforementioned fender but how I resisted that temptation I’m still not sure. A few minutes of fender banging is sufferable however this swan can keep it up for HOURS!! Imagine someone knocking on your front door for 3 hours continuously would give you the gist of what he was doing.  Having now moved on a couple of miles to Cow Roast Lock should hopefully give us a quiet night’s sleep before we press on tomorrow towards Leighton Buzzard and the North. For those with an interest the hamlet of Cow Roast (where we are) is believed to be a corruption of the name Cow Rest as this was once on the drover’s route to London when they’d be herding their cows. The local area was good grazing for them whilst they rested overnight before continuing on to London. 

Cow Roast Lock at the start of the Tring summit pound

Berkhamsted (still)

Here I am Rune

Distance 0 miles

Total 422 Locks 8 Tunnels

Running total mileage 580.0 miles

Well after a few days of walking we are now back on the boat and tomorrow moving off and heading north towards Leighton Buzzard and Milton Keynes. The walking that we have been doing has been the completion of The Ridgeway National Trail, the section between Goring and Ivinghoe Beacon which my hand navigator calculates to have been 47 miles. It has been a pleasant walk with a few more hills than the first half from Overton Hill (Avebury) to Streatley and a lot more woodland to walk through. Given the weather forecast before we set out, the walk wasn’t too bad with only Wednesday having a lot of rain. So I can now say that I’ve completed the Ridgeway National Trail. A couple of photos taken en route are below (it’s quite surprising how close to the Prime Minister’s residence at Chequers that the footpath passes).

View of Chequers from the Ridgeway Path

View at Ivinghoe Beacon

Back at the boat we seem to have a bit of an Obsessive/Compulsive swan to deal with! For some reason it has taken a dislike to our rear starboard side fender and has taken to repeatedly attacking it. Now it had started this odd behaviour before we left the boat but has clearly spent most of the last week constantly pecking at the fender. Now I can understand an animal persisting at something for some appreciable benefit, but to spend hours every day packing at a solid fender that it is clearly not going to have any real effect on suggests to me that there is something mentally wrong with the swan! There is nothing to eat on the fender, it is solid rubber so despite the repeated pecking there is little effect on it, it is just becoming a bit annoying with the swan constantly banging the fender against the side of the boat, I have now taken to throwing canal water at the swan which deters him for about 5 minutes. At least tomorrow we move on so he will have to find another toy to play with!