Category Archives: Grand Union Canal

Windlass In Hand. 16th July

Ballot Box Bridge to ( The Fox ) Ontario Bridge 205A, Grand Union

Time for us to push off. Whilst Mick pootled us along towards Bulls Bridge I had a catch up phone call with the production manager for panto and then tried to complete my technical drawings before we reached the junction. With just a couple of measurements to add to the last plan I bobbed my head out the front to make sure the way was clear, we turned left.

The water point moorings were mostly full, enough space for us at the end but sadly too far away from the tap, even if we used both our hoses. Water would have to wait until later. First lunch and then a biggish shop, we’re going to be venturing into the unknown soon so we wanted to be prepared, also the white wine stocks were getting low!

I’ve still a few bits left to do for Panto, but they can all be done on A4 paper, so the drawing board has been stowed away until the next show. Hopefully I’ll fit these bits in between boating over the next few days.

We pushed off and soon arrived at Norwood Top Lock. Here the water point was empty, so as the tap trickled into our tank we had the pleasure (!) of listening to car wheels being spun and a shiny convertible zooming around the area just looking for an accident to create.

Now at the top of the locks that would lead us down towards the Thames, a bit later than we’d hoped, we decided to push on down the Hanwell flight to save time tomorrow. Between the top two locks the pound was quite low, but Mick took it steadily. The bottom gates were leaking a lot so the quicker I could fill it the better, less water lost all round. Oleanna made it over the cill.

We could have moored in the next pound, there was space but we’d got in our stride so continued. A chap was watering his wonderful floral display on his boat and said they’d only just come up the locks, so they should all be full for us.

Three Bridges, road above, canal and rail below, not strictly three bridges

A tour were being talked to about Three Bridges as we approached. A local landmark and one in Mick’s life, the Hanwell flight is where he got attracted to boating at an early age. The tour moved off so I could get a picture of Oleanna.

The next two locks were empty and bone dry, either the sun was doing a very good job or it had been a while since the floral boat had come up. We adopted our method of going down a flight. I walk on ahead to fill the next lock, Mick finishes closing up the one Oleanna is in and lifts a paddle, I return to finish emptying the lock, open and close it before walking down to open the now full one.

The distance between the locks is a touch far, but it was worth doing it so as not to waste too much water. There were plenty of people about on the flight out for a walk or just sitting in the shade. This if the fourth time we’ve been down the locks, the black bricks on the corners of the Asylum wall caught our attention this time. These must be where ropes used to ware the brickwork, near the lower locks you can still see the groves.

The day had taken a lot longer than originally thought, most probably due to not being able to fill the water tank whilst we had lunch. The tap being sooo slow didn’t help either. We pulled up where the grass was long on the River Brent, a bit past the footpath upto The Fox, however we refrained from visiting. Too late for shore leave for Tilly, once she realised her charms wouldn’t work she retired to the bedroom to sulk.

If we couldn’t go to the pub, Tilly couldn’t go out

8 locks, 8.76 miles, 1 left, 1 full water tank, 3 boxes wine, 1 sulky second mate, 1 empty box of model bits, 2 storage plans to do, 8 groundplans to do, 1 stir fry knocked up, 2 hours away from the Thames.

https://goo.gl/maps/5AttcrRfvYFaJeEx6

Pausing, Power and Phone. 15th July

Ballot Box Bridge

Just as well we’d decided to stay here another day so that I could carry on working.

Notice Alert

Grand Union Canal
Starts At: Lock 101A, Thames Lock (House side)
Ends At: Lock 101A, Thames Lock (House side)

Monday 15 July 2019 09:00 until further notice

Type: Advice
Reason: Repair

Original message:

Due to a local power supply fault, Brentford Thames Lock is currently not operating until further notice.Engineers are currently working on restoring power to the Lock and an update will be provided when this becomes fully operational.

However these things don’t tend to take too long to mend so Mick checked on the C&RT website and made a phone call to book passage down onto the Thames later this week. At first he was told that they weren’t taking bookings, but then he was passed onto someone else. This person then told Mick that the lock was operational again. Sure enough a notice to that effect dropped into our inbox as he was on the phone some 52 minutes after the first one.

Apparently in the summer you don’t have to book 48 hours in advance to use Thames Lock, Brentford, but at least we now knew when it would be manned, as the river is tidal there this alters.

I spent the day doing technical drawings for panto, working my way through the list I’d made yesterday and sadly spotting a couple of things I’d missed too! By the end of the day my box of bits left to draw up only had a few things left in it. Only a few hours left and I’ll be ready for my final design meeting.

Tilly spent the day dodging bikes and runners. There is definitely a rush hour or two between 5:30 and 7:30pm. The speed some of the bikes go at! So much so her shore leave was curtailed for her own safety and hour earlier than normal. She wasn’t impressed, but then she has had two whole days outside and decided to have a nap. This nap lasted until we wanted to make up our bed and had to disturb her.

Mick caught up on the Tour de France and then headed off to get a bus into Ealing, this is where he grew up and lived until he moved to Scarborough. He successfully managed to walk past The Red Lion without going in for a pint, but also successfully managed to loose his mobile!

Being in Ealing he knew there would be an EE shop and an Argos, so that he could get sorted . But where were they? He’d look on his phone…Oh. He’d give me a call…..Oh. He’d use a phone box, found one, it did have a phone but stank of wee…Oh. At the library he was signed onto a computer so that he could see where his phone might be, the outcome likely to be on the 297 bus….Ah.

He succeeded in getting a new phone, identical to his last and a new sim card then headed back to Oleanna. As soon as his new phone was working he gave Perivale Bus Garage a call, they had a phone that matched his description and when he called in he was able to unlock it. One phone not stolen, just misplaced.

0 locks, 0 miles, 2 buses, 1 bus garage, 2 phones, 2 boxes of bits, 1 almost full, 1 almost empty, 10 hours, 7 taken, 5 talking tress, 73 mph bikes, 4 running paws, 1 lock booked.

Tense. 14th July

Ballot Box Bridge

There was only one thing for it today, we had to stay put. Last night the TV signal had been checked and double checked. We really would have had to move on if the signal was patchy, but luckily it was fine.

Boats started coming past fairly early, the first being NB Lottie Jane heading in towards London. Our New Zealand friends Clare and Graeme had introduced us in Manchester, sadly we were still having our morning cuppa in bed as they passed. A while later one of the boats that had been in Paddington cruised past at quite a speed, at least if Lottie Jane had booked one space would have become available.

Soon after breakfast I set myself up for a day of model making, hopping that today I would put my finishing touches to my panto model. Mick turned the radio on, followed by the TV, there was an important cricket match that needed to be watched. Today because England were in the final of the World Cup it was to be shown on terrestrial TV, a first in a long time.

10 hours! Those trees out there may have thought that they had disguised themselves, but I could see straight through the ivy. Plenty of climbing, pouncing and bicycle avoidance today. My back legs were in need of a good stretch and they certainly got it.

With the commentary from the Test Match Special team keeping us company for much of the day, the delay of around five seconds before the TV caught up was handy, apart from when they went to adverts. Blimey it was tense, time after time. How close could one match be!

We celebrated with a glass of Crabbies each as I did my best to finish my model. By 9pm the last bit of dressing was added, security boxes repainted, the list of model jobs was all ticked off. Just the long list of Tech Drawings to work through now. Thank goodness we had a good portion of Paella left to eat cold as soon as I’d finished.

0 locks, 0 miles, 0 steps off the boat for me, 1 load washing, 10 hours, 8 taken, 1 tenser than tense ending to the match, 1 shade of pink which became yellow, 1 model completed, 20 rows of knitting.

Bubble Failure. 13th July

Paddington Basin to Ballot Box Bridge

Our time here was up, well at midday it would be. Check-out time is at midday and check-in at 1pm, not that there is anybody to check in with. Some people have opted to stay for longer in the basin, once their booked mooring has elapsed they keep their eyes peeled across the way. As soon as a space becomes available they move over to the hospital side, giving themselves more time, but this time for free.

We could easily stay for longer, loads more people we could catch up with. It’s been great to see those we’ve seen, but we both were looking forward to heading out of town away from the constant hum of the buildings around us and into the cool of some countryside.

It looked like there was nobody on board the boat behind us, but as soon as we’d pulled away a chap appeared out the back, time for them to nudge up and be able to use bow and stern. We moved on down to the end of the basin and winded, turning our back on central London.

When we’d returned to Oleanna last night we’d been surprised at the amount of duck weed that had reached the basin, yes there had been numerous boats moving through the bubble barriers, but the amount was more than you’d expect to be pushed through on bows of boats.

The bubbles were working at the first barrier, maybe too much duck weed had now crossed and it was multiplying at a rate of knots. Ahead of us was a green lagoon that had been Little Venice. Hardly any water visible anywhere. People queued for the trip boats, students threw bread in for the ducks off Rembrandt Gardens as we pushed our way across.

At the services there are two taps. The first one was in use and as we got closer to Westbourne Terrace Bridge we could see two boats there. No option for us but to wait today our tank was down to 1/8th and the next tap would be past where we wanted to pull up for the day. We pulled up to wait in the bridge hole, hoping no wide beam would want to pass.

Go boats came past, the narrowboats through the bridge swapped positions, one leaving, the other sounding like it had a very empty tank. After quite a wait the boat just behind us moved off and we wee able to pull back. Oleanna’s length too much to tuck into the gap so her bow stuck out in the bridge hole. A while later a work boat approached, wider than a narrowboat, would it fit through? I pulled the bow as far over as I could and there was just about an inch spare, phew! The bubble barrier here wasn’t working, the amount of duck weed on the move explained the green lagoon.

Slipping away from the services with the help of Custodian of the Bins

As soon as the other boat had finished filling on the other side of the bridge we pulled Oleanna through so that we’d be out of the way, one lady asked if we’d broken down! Coal Boat Indus came past, so Mick flagged him down for a bottle of gas which turned out cheaper than in Uxbridge. Bottles were swapped as the dog on the roof helped cut back the overhanging tree.

As we continued to fill we emptied the yellow water and the next boat wanting the tap breasted up against us. once full we crept out from the inside and headed outwards, a mile along realising we’d gained a boat hook on our roof. I could have walked back to return it, but he was likely to have moved off, three directions he could have gone, it seemed pointless.

Slow going past all the moored boats not helped by the thick layer of weed. We had to wait for a line of work boats to be nudged out of the way for us to pass, a weed collector and a couple of skips fighting a loosing battle.

The moorings at Ladbrooke Grove Sainsburys were full, we’d hope to pull in to do some shopping and then have lunch before continuing on our way, but no chance. Happily a short distance around the bend a suitable gap showed itself, so we moored and headed off with our bags, the shopping list reducing to supplies for the next couple of days, we’ll do a bigger shop at Bulls Bridge.

How dare they! They’d moved the outside and there were trees! Yet I wasn’t allowed out. They came back, sat around, and then carried on. Didn’t they know it was getting late!

The weed stayed with us to about a mile before we moored. A length of towpath empty opposite the golf club on Horsenden Hill was appealing, but this length is closed at the moment due to the towpath being resurfaced.

We pulled up around the next bend more or less where we’d left a week ago. The shouting from inside Oleanna so SO LOUD, Tilly was excited! Within seconds she disappeared into the nature reserve, showing her face a couple of times and returning for a late Ding Ding.

Our evening meal got later and later. I’ve been wanting to make a quinoa crust quiche for a while and we’d stocked up on the ingredients today. The crust is made from cooked quinoa, ground almonds and Parmesan. The quantity of this seemed a touch too much, but I forced it all into the quiche tin.

Chicken, bacon, spinach, onion, feta, garlic, quinoa, parmesan, almond. Yummy!

The quantities in the recipe were cups, so I’d converted them, despite the amount of filling I had being a touch short I still had way too much! We’ll have spare chicken to eat for lunch for a while. Six eggs were needed for sticking factor, but I felt this was maybe a touch too many. So instead I used three with some creme fresh and a glug of milk. It smelt fantastic, but maybe the creme fresh had given off a touch too much moisture and I’d have been better using more eggs as the centre of the crust had more slop factor than crunch. However it tasted very good accompanied by some of the new potatoes Marion and John had given us.

0 lock, 7.69 miles, 1 wind, 1 left, 1 green lagoon, 2 familiar faces, 1 hour wait for water, £33 for gas, 1 load of washing, 2 boxes wine, 1 reduced shopping list, 1.75 hours of freedom, 1 HAPPY cat, 12 meals worth of quiche, 4 years of being an amputee, 1 TV tuned in for tomorrow.

https://goo.gl/maps/WGAZsEFg4oWNL6Si6

Shiny Boat Central. Day 6

Paddington Basin

A cuppa in bed, then a shower and we were ready for the day. Bang on time another familiar face walked under the footbridge into the basin. My college friend Kathy coming for breakfast on her way to work.

Kathy has worked her way around the drama colleges of London through the last few years and now is head of Production Design at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, possibly the highest thought of design college in the country. Kathy was the first person I met when I moved to Croydon for college and our first day in the student house together we just didn’t stop talking. We don’t get many opportunities for a catch up nowadays, so it was great that we’d managed to find a couple of hours today.

We headed over to Kupp for breakfast, Kathy must have know where we’d be going as she matched the decor perfectly. Mick and I opted for poached eggs with bacon and hollandaise sauce, whilst Kathy had wild mushrooms spinach and a poached egg. It was all very tasty, my only criticism was that just because my gluten free bread was smaller than Mick’s sourdough slice shouldn’t mean that I got less sauce than him!

A touch more hollandaise would have been nice

We talked about friends, family, theatre and boats. During the week Kathy lives on board Dora May on the Thames, her mooring just down stream from Tower Bridge, a fantastic view from their wheel house. All too soon it was time for her to head to work. Hopefully she may come out and join us for a day when we’re on the Thames, but we’ll see, she’s a busy lady.

Some shopping was needed, so Mick headed off again into central London this time in hunt of some new clothes for himself and a stock up of tea for me from Whittards. I in the mean time did my best to finish scanning my Dad’s second diary. Not as many pages as the first one, but this one has the account of his journey by ship to India.

I was determined to get the diary scanned today, the only thing distracting me was the GoBoats. Several of them had been hired out to teams all in matching fancy dress. Dalmations, Rabbits in hats, Blackbirds, Elfs. Each one set off from the next pontoon and just about all of them managed to collide with us. We may now have access both bow and stern but it does mean we are the first and most likely boat to get hit. No wonder the boats have had more and more padding added to them from when we first saw them.

A new boat arrived for the pontoon, having to hold back under the footbridge as there was no space. Who was overstaying? Yesterday a not so shiny boat had pulled in and the chap carried his bike along the gunnel and disappeared, he was an obvious choice, but being shiny isn’t a prerequisite for mooring here, anyone who books and pays can.

There followed a bit of complex boat moving. The central boat moved out, the one on the inside then pulled out and moored on the Hospital side (they were the ones), before the boat from the outside moved into the inside, the central boat moved back into position followed by the new boat onto the outside of the pontoon. Everyone was happy now.

Mick returned with a stash of my tea, showered and put a new polo shirt, far less creased than normal but with tell tale signs of it being new. I still had 20 pages left to scan, we decided to be slightly late to our next engagement so that I could finish.

Across London to Homerton, here I’d spied a stockists for Charlie and Ivy oils and bread dippers. One of these I use on lamb and veg kebabs and I’m having to cobble together my own version, which isn’t quite the same, the lack of juniper lets my version down. We hunted the shelves of Eat 17, but nothing from the range was to be found.

At my brothers they have been joined by Jac’s Mum over from Australia for six weeks. Not bad doing that journey in her mid 80’s. Helen is as inquisitive as her daughter, just with a Scottish accent. We were asked endlessly about life on the boat, my favourite question being ‘What do you eat?’

A lovely evening with them as ever and Andrew cooked a wonderful paella on the barbecue, packed with fish chicken and prawns.

Helen had made a lemon tart, the crust having been made with corn flour for me, very tasty it was. A good evening to mark our last in London.

Helen, Mick, Pip, Jac, Andrew, Josh behind the camera

0 locks, 0 miles, 4 tubes, 2 buses, 1 overground, 1 best friend with a beaming smile, 5 poached eggs, 2 hours to catch up, 157 pages scanned, 0 juniper balsamic dipper, 1 huge paella, 1 slightly nutty Scottish Australian, 2 diaries handed over, 1 slow journey home, 1 fruit cake of a cat, it’s time for Tilly to have some shore leave.

Shiny Boat Central. Day 4

Paddington Basin

There were movements outside early this morning. The boat next to us had dropped it’s pram cover by 6:30. They were being considerate keeping the noise to a minimum, eventually pulling away at 7am. They were soon followed by two more boats, including the one in front of us. Once we were up Mick pulled us forward all of 60 ft. This end of the pontoon is longer, so we can now use front and back doors, better for visitors.

No work today, just some scanning of my Dad’s diary before we headed out. The memory card in my camera has been playing up a little recently so Mick formatted another card. But the camera didn’t like it as I tried to take photos of the female Tufted Duck with her 9 ducklings that she proudly displays around the basin. So a quick trip back to the boat to sort it and we were on our way again.

This delay was quite fortuitous, as we walked towards the end of the basin our route across to the bus stop was blocked. Blocked by the very bridge we’d intended crossing.

Several times a week the Fan bridge is opened to show it off. It does this very well. Made of five fingers, it pivots it’s digits up into the air until all the counter weighted ends lie level on the ground, this produces a fan above the water.

The buildings got in the way of a good photo

We paused to watch it reach it’s highest point. I felt sorry for the chap who had his finger on the button, knowing how much your finger joints start to ache after a while lifting or swinging a bridge. At least he didn’t have the added pressure of traffic being held up and if the bridge broke whilst up fully it would only slightly inconvenience some pedestrians.

The Number 27 bus runs up to Camden where we alighted and walked our way through several streets, the hubhub of Camden soon falling silent on the calmer side streets.

Christine (Mick’s eldest sister) and Paul have a lovely house in Kentish Town where tall hollyhocks grow around trees in the street. We had a lovely few hours catching up with them over a very nice lunch of salad, bread and cheese. The cheese was very tasty, a Caerphilly, a goat, then something blue which was tasty but the best one which was slightly creamy, sadly I can’t remember the name of it.

These were followed by some Lebanese cannoli, based on Sicilian cannoli but with an almost almond brittle brandy snap outer. The insides were reminiscent to Halvah just not as crystalish. These were very tasty indeed.

The London Transport lady on the buses doesn’t know how to say Hammersmith Grove, she falls silent instead after announcing the number of the bus. Maybe that bit just hasn’t been recorded yet.

Back at the boat we gave Tilly some fusses, two more boats had arrived, leaving one available space. Soon I spotted a familiar face walking towards us, one of my best friends from school in York. Big hugs all round and then we were straight onto the wine.

Morag has recently started a new job helping to smooth existing arrangements world wide which have been and will be affected by Brexit. Her daughter today became a barrister and her son now 17 works hard at school and hopefully has stopped growing having now reached 6ft 1.

We caught up on each others news and then passed on that of other school friends. Later in the summer there is hopefully going to be a get together of our A level Geography group. I had a few leads to pass on of other members of the group. Mick did well listening to tales of Tim going for ‘Gold’, Jason’s wild card to Wimbledon and many others he’s never met.

A lovely evening which we finished off with a visit to Pizza Express.

0 locks, 60ft, 3 boats gone, 2 new boats, 13 pages scanned, 1 fanning bridge, 2 buses, 4 treat cheese, 1 sister-out-law, 1 best friend, 6 hours of catching up, 1 allusive school friend found, 1 too many glasses of wine.

Shiny Boat Central. Day 1

Paddington Basin

One boat pulled out from the pontoon at 8am this morning, the boat next to them pulled across so as to reduce the amount of footfall directly outside their window. The first GoBoat filled with Japanese tourists went past at just gone 9am, no popping of presecco corks on that boat. The world was waking up around us.

The yellow water tank needed sorting and thanks to Tilly the boat floor really needed a wash this morning! We had a good tidy up and then Mick headed back to Little Venice on a bike with recycling and the yellow water for disposal. The custodian of the bins was still on duty. With fewer feet about the place I gave Oleanna’s cabin floor a good wash down.

The forecast had been for lower temperatures today, but it still seemed quite warm. To make sure we didn’t get hypothermia I popped the oven on for a couple of hours to roast a couple of small chickens.

Kath and Sean arrived for Sunday lunch. We haven’t seen Sean for some time, he’s been working when we’ve arranged a meet up. Today, as the weather this last week has been so good, he had a day off. He is a sound engineer and has been working at Wimbledon, no rain meant no play today so he had a day off.

We had a lovely afternoon with them, chatting and eating. The handy M&S next door meant that we could have some ice cream with our strawberries and raspberries despite not having a working freezer at the moment.

After filling our bellies we had a walk up to Little Venice before returning to the boat. Kath and Sean had come by car so that they could pick up a couple of boxes of Geraghty history we’d brought back from the house. They had been fortunate as the nearest parking space to our mooring had been available and free on Sundays, so there wasn’t far to stagger with the boxes.

Mid afternoon our nearest neighbour pulled out, Motor Boat Willow. For two years they worked at Bollington Wharf on the Macclesfield but when they had a baby earlier this year they decided to head south. Tilly now has a better view out of the windows, but there is no longer Thea the cat to stare at.

The title of todays blog? Several boats have come down into the basin today, most of them local boats looking for their next mooring. One such boat spotted the two free spaces on the pontoon and was starting to reverse back into one of them, he then saw the sign. As he moved his boat away he said to Mick ‘Shiny Boat Central!’ Followed by how nice it was to see such boats in Paddington. Just before dark another boat arrived and pulled in to an available space,they looked shiny too!

0 locks, 0 miles, 2 boats gone, 1 boat arrived, 2 chickens, 2 visitors, 2 boxes removed, 0 toe stubbings now, 4 lovely hours, 1 sunny day, 1 bored cat.

Plunging Into The Green

Ballot Box Bridge to Paddington Basin

Time to make our final plunge into London this morning. We had a two and a bit hour cruise ahead of us and also wanted to top up with water at Little Venice. It being a Saturday and there not being many taps along this stretch we expected that we’d have to wait.

Alperton, nice balcony of the flat by the tube bridge just above an elsan!

Whilst Mick pootled Oleanna along through, Perivale, Alperton and Stonebridge, across the north circular I got on with a bit of a tidy up.We’ve got visitors whilst we’re in London so my panto model won’t be able to stay out. Stuff needed to go away, we’re bad at that.

That secret passageway must come out here!

A spare duvet needed putting back under the sofa in a vacuum bag, Tilly helped especially when she thought she’d found a new entrance to the secret passageway. Winter cloths were also put in a vacuum bag and shrunk ready to be put away.

A sweep through, the shower had a once over before I used it then I could join Mick up top.

As we got closer towards the centre the canal got greener. The duck weed being pushed aside by our bow. To us it’s not that much of a problem, but water cooled engines, especially outboards it really isn’t good. Along the Old Oak stretch a wide beam came past towing a cruiser with a homemade wooden top. Not much further along we could see that someone was having difficulty. One of those box boats, a bit like a square caravan was sat too far over, a lady seemed to be doing circuits along the narrow gunnel.

I popped up to the bow to see if they needed any help whilst Mick slowed our progress, not that hard against all the duck weed. They had been over taken by the widebeam and pushed across getting grounded, their outboard had also stopped working not helping things. After checking which way they were travelling (it’s hard to tell with such a vessel) I took a rope from their bow, passed it over our bow T stud, Mick backed us off and they came free. It hadn’t taken much effort on our part but without a pole they were stuck.

We carried on the duck weed getting thicker.

Ducklings stood in a line infront of some moorings having a preen, an orange wiggle on the towpath with an ideas cafe sat underneath the A40.

We spotted a few spaces should we have needed them, then as we came round the last bend we could see up to the water point, empty!

There used to be a group of men who loitered here, today there was only one chap, a Custodian of the Bins. He offered to help with our ropes and admired Tilly as she posed in the window. We topped up the water tank, disposed of rubbish and the contents of our solids bucket.

Just ahead of our bow a line of bubbles pushed back the duck weed, trying it’s best to keep the green out of Little Venice.

A slow tap, but once filled we pushed on through the bubbles assisting some of the green to cross the line. Two boats were moored at Rembrandt Gardens. We’d managed to book a place there in 2014, but when ever we’ve tried to get a place since they have been booked up months and months in advance.

On we continued across another line of bubbles and under Harrow Road Bridge. Normally by now we are trying to be cool about finding a mooring whilst being slightly pensive inside. Today we hoped our space would be waiting for us.

Is the criss cross structural or just decoration?

There were a few spaces by the tube entrance, opposite the new tall criss crossed building which is still a building site. The final bend into Paddington Basin and there was a vacant spot waiting for us. We pulled in onto the slightly too short pontoon, not enough cleats to tie to so some jiggery pockery had to be done with the centre line. We’d arrived.

Since early June C&RT have been running a trial. This pontoon is now pre-bookable. A maximum of 7 nights, there is space for six boats, the outer two spaces can be used by widebeams. There will be another couple of sights across London, Kings Cross and Sweetwater on the Lee which will be introduced this year. These will be reviewed in the autumn, hopefully they will continue to encourage more visitors into London, I just hope there is space available when we next want to visit without having to book a year in advance. Details here

This evening was our first catch up. We caught the tube across a hot sticky London to Tufnell Park where our friends Nick and Kerry live with Harry their dog. A lovely evening followed with much beer and wine drunk, a great chicken curry all followed by homemade Chilled Medication! You can tell he reads the blog every now and then.

Lime water ice and ginger ice cream, the curry had been good, but this, yumm. We might have to return for seconds. The evening had brought rain with it, but we were fortunate that one last drink meant it had stopped for our journey back to Oleanna and Tilly.

0 locks, 7.65 miles, 1 blanket of green, 1 rescue, 1 free water point, 1 straight on, 1 last mooring, 0 shore leave, 1 miffed cat, 4 tubes, 2 bottles of wine, 1 chicken curry, 2 varieties of chilled medication, 1 lovely evening.

https://goo.gl/maps/q6Za2snsLSxbfj2V9

Last Lock To London. 5th July

Uxbridge Lock to nearly Ballot Box Bridge, Paddington Arm, Grand Union Canal

After watching a chap lower a pump into the canal, presumably to water his garden (bet he doesn’t have an extraction licence) we pushed off and rounded the bend to Uxbridge Lock. We dropped down and then turned into Denham Marine, for once we didn’t have to wait in line the mooring was empty.

Here is possibly the cheapest diesel in London, if you spend over £15 you can also fill with water. The tap now has a lock on it, so you can’t hog the service mooring just for water. The tank was topped up to the top but we refrained buying a bottle of gas, the price a shock after the cheap ones in Stoke. We’ll hopefully see a coal boat at some point and we’d rather give them the money.

A couple more miles and we had reached the last lock before London, Cowley Lock. We’d thought of emptying our yellow water tank here, but on seeing lots of people enjoying the sunshine with pints in hand we decided to wait until later. The yellow water has a touch of a wiff when it is pumped, also people just can’t help talking to Mick as he holds the hose spurting urine into our black container for disposal at the elsan.

Below the lock there was a handy space, we pulled in and had an early lunch. This is where I gave Oleanna half a wash a couple of years ago, a bird in flight had relieved itself all over her. I’ve recently been refraining from giving her a wash, hoping that a layer of dust would help us not to stand out too much amongst the London boats, very few are polished to within an inch of their lives. But most people can see through our thin disguise and make complementary comments.

Over the next stretch I bobbed down below, only needed for navigational reasons now I could get on with some work. Now I have my paint colour charts again I decided to use them to select what colour I would use as my base for the panto portals and floor.

My helpful assistant decided to join in on the decision, however pink is not the right colour for the job.

After a short while I could tell we were near Murderers Bridge. West Drayton is where we said goodbye to our first Second Mate, Houdini, in early 2015. We crossed the bridge with a full cat carrier and returned with it empty, cancer having gained another victim. So I always pass under here with a tear in my eye.

There were lots of boats like this on the Lee in 2014

From below progress seemed to be very slow. Oleanna seemed to be in constant tick over, but where were the moored boats? There was only one boat, a big wide beam taking their time in front of us. On a long straight they pulled over to let us pass. Thank goodness we could have been there all night!

No need to stop for water at Bulls Bridge so Mick swung the tiller out and Oleanna turned onto the Paddington Arm, straight ahead to London Town.

I managed to get a base coat on my model, then a first coat of green. I really hope I’ve chosen the right colour this time. A week ago it was all too bright and busy, so I thought a grey would be better. But earlier today grey didn’t seem jolly enough for a panto, I opted for in between, now i’m not so sure! I hate designers who can’t make their mind up!!

We pootled along, passing numerous boats. In Southall nobody was feeding the swans, only one coot visible and the water point looks like it is now in use. Plenty of boats, piled high, their own shanty towns on water. I quite like them, but wonder how they see to move their boat.

At 5pm we reached our chosen destination near Ballot Box Bridge. We’ve stopped here a few times now. Next to a nature reserve, a couple of hours away from Paddington, in Zone 4 and should you need it, a big Tescos a good walk away in the old Hoover building.

2 locks, 12.01 miles, 1 straight on, 1 left, 60 litres, 87.5 miles to ? 2nd colour, 3 portals, 1 floor, plus extra bits.

https://goo.gl/maps/AQE3jUnxDm1uxHv5A

Oy! That’s Not Your Boat!! 4th July

Debham Bridge to Above Uxbridge Lock

NB Augustus came past us whilst we were having our cuppa in bed, there wasn’t enough time to get the covers rolled up and pushed out to join them for Denham Deep Lock, anyway I hadn’t finished my tea.

An hour later another boat came into view, we started to get ourselves ready when Mick spotted another boat behind them, they were obviously already sharing the locks, so no need to hurry. We pushed off and followed on behind them knowing we’d be the odd one at the back of the queue.

Chatting to the two boats ahead as they descended the lock, they both were heading into London, one to take their chances with the masses, the other has a booked mooring.

With nobody coming from below we filled the chamber up, all 10ft 6″. A large group of students came up to the side of the lock to watch.

They just about filled the towpath side and I suggested that some of them move, just in case Mick knocked the bottom gate as he left, we didn’t want anybody tumbling into the canal or onto our roof. A chap sat on the off side closed the gate for us meaning we could be on our way.

We were now looking for a mooring close to Uxbridge, one with cover would be ideal. Soon there was space in the shade and Mick pulled us in, both of us doing our best not to get nettled as we moored up.

An early lunch then Mick was off to make use of his 60+ oyster card. He headed across London back out to Hackney where my panto model was sat waiting at my brothers. Hopefully I’ll be able to get on with finishing everything so that as soon as we turn out onto the Thames I can concentrate on boating.

Tilly headed off and soon found gaps in the mesh alongside the towpath to be able to access the trees and find friends for the afternoon. This left me with the panto script and a spread sheet to compile a props list. It is way bigger than last years, but with fewer tricksy makes. A set builder also needed more information so some of my technical drawings had to be scanned and emailed off.

The shade that we’d arrived to was short lived. I had about an hours worth before the sun crept along the cabin sides, this lasted well into the evening. Inside I was at least sheltered from the sun, but the temperature kept on rising. Tilly even had to return for spells to be a long cat on the floor.

When Mick returned we made use of the shade Oleanna was now creating and sat out to enjoy a barbeque, the towpath just wide enough. Sweet corn, followed by some chicken thighs marinated in ginger and garlic with a hint of chilli and veg and halloumi kebabs.

1 lock all 10ft 6″ of it, 1.17 miles, 1 shady mooring for an hour, 1 bright mooring for 7! 1 oven, 1 long cat, 4 tubes, 2 buses, 118 props, 4 kebabs, 3 thighs, 1 model back to be finished, 1 cat preffering a wider boat roof, 1 big hello again to Ali!

https://goo.gl/maps/CEdsoKLHjrK2wnTC7

Narrowboat Oleanna

Travels of Narrowboat Oleanna

Category Archives: Grand Union Canal

Windlass In Hand. 16th July

Pausing, Power and Phone. 15th July

Notice Alert

Original message:

Tense. 14th July

Bubble Failure. 13th July

Shiny Boat Central. Day 6

Shiny Boat Central. Day 4

Shiny Boat Central. Day 1

Plunging Into The Green

Last Lock To London. 5th July

Oy! That’s Not Your Boat!! 4th July