Category Archives: Grand Union Paddington Arm

A True Boater. 1st July

Rembrandt Gardens to St Pancras Cruising Club

Our booked seven days at Rembrandt Gardens were up today. After a leisurely start we pushed off at 11am, waving our new neighbours goodbye. The moorings under the trees are not so good for solar, but in warmer weather the shade would be welcome. One thing however that I’m not going to miss is the almost constant smell of weed. It seems as if nobody smokes cigarettes anymore, they just roll joints and find a boat to smoke them by!

We rounded the island and turned onto the Regents Canal. NB Muddy Waters a Finesse boat is still moored along the stretch before Maida Hill Tunnel, it looks like their tunnel light is as rusty as ours after four years. The tunnel was clear so no need to wait, popping out the other side where there are permanent moorings.

At the far end work is being done, it looks like new jetties are going in. Mick’s tug being put to work.

The stretch through Regents Park is always interesting. The big expensive houses with immaculate lawns, there will be a good crop of brambles on the other sides of their railings in a few weeks time! The towpath was busier than we’ve seen it before, so was the canal. Paddleboarders, trip boats and narrowboats all managing to be in the same place at once.

The Snowden Aviary at the Zoo is empty of birds, instead scaffolding was being erected and a chap stood on tip toes angle grinding another hole in the mesh. The aviary a Grade 2* listed building is being transformed by the architects Foster + Partners. It will become a walkthrough exhibit with colobus monkeys overhead, red duiker on the forest floor and African grey parrots will fly up to the top of the structure. More information can be found here.

As we rounded the bend by the Chinese floating restaurant we are still amazed that four years ago on Oleanna’s first trip to the capital we managed to get one of the 7 day moorings in Camden. Today it was crammed full, just like every other time we’ve been along this stretch. Good job we weren’t wanting a mooring today.

Just under the railway bridges we could see Christine walking towards us. She’d come to watch us go through Hampstead Road, Hawley and Kentish Town Locks as she only lives a few minutes walk away. Mick slowed Oleanna down and prepared to pick Christine up, however she decided to walk along the towpath.

A few minutes of us pootling along and chatting was brought to a very sudden stop!

How does time know when to slow down? It always manages it on such occasions.

I saw Christine put her right foot down, expecting there to be a solid surface below to meet it. Her foot just clipping the edge of the towpath, then there was nowhere else for it to go but into the canal, very closely followed by the rest of Christine!

Engine out of gear straight away. Oh blimey!!!

We still had momentum going forward getting further away from Christine. Mick shouted to a lady on the bank to help, ‘Please could you just hold her hand’. At least we hoped that would help until we could get off Oleanna to help her out.

In the meantime other people came running, we didn’t quite see what happened as we tried to get close to the bank without the prop becoming a danger. As soon as we looked again Christine had been helped up onto the towpath and was proceeding to empty her bag of water. Thank you’s all round and the samaritans who’d helped just seemed to vanish.

A sit down on Oleanna to assess any damage and to recover from the shock. Poor Christine, thankfully apart from a wet none functioning mobile she only seemed to have gained a grazed knee, which may have happened when she was pulled out of the water. We offered her a shower, but she decided as she was close to home she’d walk back an have one there. A short rather wet visit.

Up at the lock two canoes were coming up, then we were waved in. I hopped off to help the volunteer and take photos.

With volunteers at the next two locks we were a touch mob handed. The help was welcome, but when one of them commented that I was doing his job, I just carried on doing mine, I at least wait for confirmation from the helm before I start emptying a lock!

Four years ago there were cranes overhead, the general area a big building site. Today the railway arches are being converted into a cinema, a screen for each arch by the sounds of it.

I love that these two little blue houses have been allowed to keep an eye on the canal, with a gap between the modern boat like apartments.

Then as we ducked under the railway bridges and the repurposed gasometers came into view we knew we had reached our destination. St Pancras Cruising Club. We slowed and then started to back in towards NB Floradora who was to be our neighbour.

There had already been a discussion onboard as to whether it would be frowned upon to use our bow thruster to assist in mooring, but the amount of weed in the basin prohibited it’s use anyway. Terry from NB Floradora popped out to lend a hand, our centre rope passed over a t stud on the roof, this meant Oleanna could be brought into the gap almost sideways.

The weed made this a slow job, but after a while we were close enough for Mick to be able to catch the bow line and help pull her in to nestle up in the 60ft space below the HS1 line. Terry very kindly gave us a tour round, elsan, bins, garden, toilet etc, during which we met various people who all seemed to know who we were, well Marty did anyway!

We’d originally booked in for a few more days in Paddington Basin, but had been given the heads up by Heather Bleasdale that one of the longer boats at the cruising club was out at the moment, meaning that we might be able to use their mooring. We got in touch with the Harbour Master and booked our stay here instead, cancelling Paddington Basin as soon as we had confirmation.

Once we’d settled the first thing was to check if Christine was okay. She’d made it home safely, had a shower and was in the mobile phone shop trying to sort a replacement. Thank goodness she was okay.

Not long after we’d arrived there was a knock on the roof. Heather is down in London for a few days and staying on a boat in the basin. We made plans to meet later in the garden for food and then headed off to explore the area.

The new development around Kings Cross goes on for miles. It is a nice mixture of old warehouses mixed with modern architecture. Retail units, bars, restaurants, Central St Martins art college, plus exhibition spaces and gardens.

The gasometers now have flats built inside them, if you have a spare £825,000 you could buy one too! The old structure surrounds the new and gave a very vocal Blackbird a good perch to sing it’s heart out. Plenty to see and explore, we’ll have to come back to see more.

Once our evening meal was cooked, we loaded a bag with wine, crockery and cutlery and carried our two pans all the way round the basin to the garden. Heather joined us as did others to chat away the evening, a selection of gin and tonics spread across the table. It was dark by the time we decided to call it a day. After three glasses of wine each we made sure we walked carefully back round the basin to Oleanna with our dirty pots.

3 locks, 3.25 miles, 1 empty wee tank, 1 wind, 0 birds, 1 true none boating boater, 1 drip dry Christine, 1 reverse, 60ft under the railway lines, 1 visitation, 1 blackbird, 1 Tilly eyeing up the wall! 1 Tilly grounded, 2 spag bols in the garden, 3 glasses of wine, 4 gins, 1 very pleasant evening.

https://goo.gl/maps/KA1pq4wv9GRqeY7B9

Where To Now?

Over the last few months our aim has been to get to see family. Heading to London meant we’d be able to see all our siblings bar one with relative ease. But what about that missing one, Anne! How could we get to see Anne?

Anne isn’t in the south. In fact Anne is quite a lot lot further north. This would take some planning.

The first part of our route would see us leaving Rembrandt Gardens and retracing our steps back to Fradley Junction. Here though we would turn left and head up to Great Haywood, Stoke, Middlewich. Onto the Bridgewater Canal (you have to book that online now), up to Leigh and join the Leeds Liverpool Canal. West to the Rufford Branch, turn down there to Tarleton. Another booking would need to be made to cross from the River Douglas to the River Ribble, then up Savick Brook and The Ribble Link on to the Lancaster Canal.

Just over 22.5 miles of the Lancaster Canal would bring us to the Glasson Branch where we’d head down the locks to the Basin. This portion of the journey would amount to 315 miles 2.75 furlongs and take us through 197 locks so a bit more effort required than our trip to London from Goole. According to Canalplan this would take us 153 hours and 36 minutes, so at 7 hours a day (which we rarely do) it would take us 22 days, add in a few days off for bad weather, waiting for the tides to be right crossing to the Lancaster Canal, so make it 29 days.

Then our journey would require a touch more planning, mostly on the food and wine stakes as I’m not too sure whether we’d find many shops on route. We could visit The Port of Lancaster Smokehouse before we left, their smoked goods would last us a while.

Choosing a suitable tide we’d exit through the lock out onto the River Lune, keeping to the channel away from the numerous sandbanks, heading southwards before we turn to the west, crossing Morecombe Bay and heading to Barrow-in-Furness where we’d pull in for a night at West of Duddon Sands Windfarm.

This would be 19.42 miles, so at 6mph 3.25 hrs cruising time, we may however have had to wait for the tide to turn so as to avoid all the sand banks on Morecombe Bay.

Continuing northwards we’d pop out alongside Sandscale Haws National Nature Reserve, hugging the coast passing Sellafield to near to St Bees, where the coast to Coast walk starts. We’d beach here for the night. 32.6 miles, so a 6 hour day.

Still hugging the coast we would pass Whitehaven and pull in at Harrington Marina. A short day with only 10.5 miles, 1.75 hours. I think we’d have a meal at The Lifeboat Inn, except it doesn’t look like they serve food, so it would be smoked salmon again!

From here we’d set a course to the North West and Scotland. Yes we could pull in to Kirkcudbright but I’d rather beach at Brighouse Bay a favourite bay from my early college years. 25.75 miles , 4 to 5 hours cruise avoiding the rocky headland.

Our course would now be South West, crossing to the Isle of Whithorn, just over 11.8 miles, 2 hours, but there is a small harbour here and a Post Office with a shop where we could pick up some milk.

Brighouse to Isle of Whithorn to Cairnryan

From here we’d go back out to sea, cross from Cutcloy to the Mull of Galloway, then hug the coast, keeping an eye on the lighthouses at Crammag Head, Killantringan and Corsewall, popping into Loch Ryan to moor up with the P&O ferries at Cairnryan for a much needed break after the 69 miles of concentration taking 11.5 hours.

An almost due north course of 20 miles, 3.3 hours, would have us pull up on Ailsa Craig, where we’d make use of the little jetty.

Heading back to the west coast near Turnberry we’d skirt our way northwards to pull in at Troon. Here we’d stock up on a few bits and bobs at Morrisons and check in with the RNLI. 28.25 miles, 4.75 hours.

From Troon we’d cut across the bay avoiding the SSSI of Bogside Flats and what looks like a lovely beach. Hooking round into Ardrossan Harbour, an Asda and a Castle to visit here, well it’s only 9 miles so we’d have to fill the rest of the day.

Maybe we’ll stop off at the islands on the way back

We’d keep along the coast then to the east of Little Cumbrae and Great Cumbrae where we would take advantage of the Clydeport Road which stretches out into channel. 10 miles, maybe 2 hours to avoid larger vessles.

Northwards to Inverkip where we’d seek shelter in Kip Marina, hopefully they have a visitor mooring suitable for a narrowboat. Just over 11 miles, so 2 hours cruise.

Round to Gourock where it looks like there is a pontoon in the bay. Tilly may have to swim ashore for supplies. 6 miles, so we might just add this onto the day before or after, all weather dependant of course!

From here a North Easterly course will bring us across the mouth of Gare Loch and Helensburgh Ferry Terminal, 4 miles, so under an hour. Hopefully we won’t get in the way of the PS Waverley for a few days. From here we are kind of hoping that Anne might just come and pick us up by car as I think they live up the hill a touch.

So in total we would have 45 hours cruising at sea, over about 12 days, so back to our more normal cruising times, with one long day.

So Anne we’ll see you around the 11th 12th August. Hope that’s okay!

198 locks, 572.7 miles, 41 days, 4th sister, 1 plan, or maybe we could go up the east coast!

Kath. 27th June

Rembrandt Gardens

Living under trees for days on end isn’t good for solar, it also isn’t so good for our batteries. This morning we woke to no power, none what-so-ever! The battery bank had turned itself off to protect itself, only one thing for it turn the engine on. Fortunately it was 8am, but we did feel bad about it being a Sunday morning and having new neighbours very close to our stern.

Despite the engine running we had a lazy morning reading the Saturday paper in bed, that was until we heard the unmissable sound of a coal boat engine popping it’s way into Little Venice. NB Emu had just turned out from the Regents Canal, paused, and then reversed back down under Westbourne Terrace Bridge. Mick gave them a call to see if we could have a top up of diesel when they returned.

Our neighbours also were after a top up, which gave us the opportunity to apologise about having to run the engine early on a Sunday morning. Mick asked the chaps on Emu about their supply of Calor gas, they stopped getting it direct from Calor a while ago and since then they haven’t had any problems. Brian from NB Alton on the Macclesfield Canal is having serious trouble getting hold of stock or anyone to talk to about the matter, he’s pulling his hair out about the situation.

After breakfast we gave Oleanna a good tidy up, my work things had been packed away yesterday, now she needed a wipe down and a sweep through before our lunch guest arrived.

Picnic lunch had indoors due to grey skys

Mick has lots of sisters, four in fact. Today we had a visit from Kath, whom I used to work with at the Stephen Joseph Theatre. Over the last 18 months we’ve seen quite a lot of each other on zoom, but not in the flesh. So it was lovely to see her again and spend several hours just chatting and being in each others company.

Having been on the boat for the last two days I decided to have a walk around the block once Kath had left us. I headed along the path under Harrow Road Bridge. The permanent moorings here have created a barrel garden stretching alongside their boats. The half barrels are filled with lots of lovely flowers, very pretty and creating a bit of a buffer zone to their boats.

I walked down into Paddington Basin. NB Billy on the outside pontoon, another boat just tying up, but still several spaces available. There is a big screen that will show Wimbledon and a cinema screen that over looks the winding hole. I wonder what films have been shown here, would it be best to sit on the roof of your boat or better to hire Goboat to watch the main feature?

Liz West‘s installation under the Westway

I worked my way round the end of the basin, waved to Billy, then carried on to walk back down under the Westway and Harrow Road. This was mainly so I could get a photo of Oleanna across the way on our Rembrandt Garden mooring.

My circular route was completed by crossing Westbourne Terrace Bridge and then Warwick Avenue Bridge bringing me back to Rembrandt Gardens. Not a long walk but enough to stretch me legs. It was now time to get baking as I had an important birthday cake to make.

0 locks, 0 miles, 0 power, 8am engine, power restored, 1 cat unimpressed with the outside, 84 litres, 90p, 1st sister,1 pate, 1 salami, 1 ham, 3 cheeses, 1 absent Shropshire blue, 1 lovely afternoon, 1 queen of sheba.

Busy. 26th June

Rembrandt Gardens

A busy day on board today.

NB Billy had booked the mooring here for a couple of nights so it was time for them to move onwards to their next booked mooring in Paddington Basin. Shortly before midday they walked down to check it was available. There was plenty of space waiting for them so they moved down.

Saturdays are busy round here. The popular Go Boats are constantly coming and going from Paddington Basin. Paddle boaders, canoists, then boats looking for a mooring. Add to that the trip and restaurant boats. Billy joined the masses going through the bridge.

Their space only remained empty for about 5 minutes, another boat pulling in who’d tried to book a mooring here but hadn’t succeeded. They stopped for a couple of hours for lunch, then pushed off again. An hour later our new neighbours arrived, so thankfully nobody was already on their mooring.

Today I had set aside for work. Costume designs to finish off for #unit 21, a budget breakdown, an updated storyboard of the coloured model for panto, alterations to the props list and a gentle nudge to the director as there is a props maker chomping at the bit to make a start on things over the summer.

Mick headed off to stock up on supplies and furnish himself with a new polo top or two, most of his tops are starting to disintegrate so need replacing. This meant that Tilly and I could take over much of the boat. Drawing board out, printer scanner, bits of model, laptop etc.

As I worked away a Scout narrowboat arrived wanting to moor on the Community Boat mooring in front of us. This should have been easy, but there was already a boat tied to the rings. They tapped on the roof of the boat, but no-one was home. So they breasted up alongside us whilst they made space for themselves.

The community mooring must be quite long as the Scouts managed to pull the other boat to one end and get themselves moored up in front of us. The restaurant boat however wasn’t too pleased as they wind and then reverse down the arm to their mooring and the other boat was just in the way for where they wanted to put their stern.

Mick returned with some sad gits Cajun chicken from Waitrose for our evening meal meaning I had longer to work. Sadly not quite long enough there is still a list of things I need to do before work can sit on the back burner for a while. The budget for #unit 21 is extreamly tight and spending £350 on two large sheets of perspex to make a lift is simply too much, I may have to use Twinwall instead which comes in at a quarter of the price and hopefully will still back light once painted to create nice shadows.

0 locks, 0 miles, 5 neighbours in 1 day, 34 Go Boats, 5 paddleboards, 2 canoes, 9 costumes designed, 1/7 on Perspex! 1 storyboard, 1 props list, 1 gentle nudge, 2 sad gits chicken breasts, 1 boat in the way, 4 old scouts, 1 new top.

Leckenbys. 25th June

Rembrandt Gardens

A mini cooked breakfast to start the day

Last night we did our first lateral flow tests, we’ve had the kits since we left the house but never felt the need to do one as we’ve not really been mixing with people. Thankfully they both came out negative. Just because you’ve had both jabs doesn’t mean you can’t get Covid or give it to someone, so even though the tests are not guaranteed to be correct they offer some form of reassurance. Whilst we are in London we’ll be doing them regularly.

Over the next few days we will be doing a lot of catching up with family. Today we saw the London Leckenby’s for the first time since December 2019. They are not fans of zoom so we’ve only seen them virtually once in the last 18 months. So today was quite emotional but lovely.

We had a tour of their house which is currently undergoing some major building work, so much so only Finn and Ziggy are residing on the ground floor of the house currently. The only way to see the top floor, well what there is of it was either by standing on a ladder and peering upwards or by climbing out of the window onto scaffolding to walk in where the roof will be returned later in the summer.

In temporary accommodation down the road we all enjoyed each others company again. Josh has obviously grown, he’ll be 15 in a couple of months time and is currently sitting end of year exams.

As always we had a lovely evening with them, enjoying their company, food and drink.

We did do other things today, but if I told you about them now I’d most certainly have to kill you all, as they are secret. I will divulge all later.

0 locks, 0 miles, 2 dodgy geezers, 18, 30 buses, 1 family reunited, 1 pack of tissues, 0.5 of a salmon, 15!

Billy Mates. 24th June

Ballot Box Bridges to Rembrandt Gardens

At around 3:15am we were woken by what sounded like an outboard motor. We laid in bed fully aware of the noise hoping that it would pass by us reasonably quickly, but it stayed constant. Constantly annoying with a bit of revving added into the mix, or may that was a motor bike. After a while Mick opened up the hatch to see what he could see, it was quite dark. A small strange looking cruiser was pulled up quite close to our stern with it’s engine running.

Currently Mick’s tool box has a nomadic life and yesterday had been left out under the pram cover. Just in case someone was eying our possessions Mick popped out the back to bring it inside. Other than move there wasn’t really anything we were willing to do about the noise. Yes one of us could have politely asked them to move to turn their engine off, but at that time of night it didn’t seem wise.

The revving stopped, possibly a motorbike had headed off. Then after at least half an hour we noticed the engine noise had stopped too. Thank goodness! We fell back asleep.

On waking this morning I opened up the side hatch to inspect our new neighbours. Well the canal bank was just as empty as it had been when we arrived, not a boat in sight! Maybe whatever happened last night was the reason for there being no boats on this stretch!

Thankfully no alarm was required this morning as we hadn’t really got that far to go. So we had a relaxed breakfast and pushed off a little before 11.

I wanted to pick up a few bits of shopping so we pulled over so that I could visit Alperton Sainsburys which was thankfully not heaving. We pushed back out to move over to the water point through the bridge on the off side. Mick admitted we’d actually pulled out in front of another boat, they were the kind of distance away where up north it would have been polite to wait for them to pass.

I looked behind us and there almost angel like a chap stood at the helm, highlighted by the sun before dipping into the darkness of the next bridge. I knew who that was!

As the bow came back into the light my suspicions were confirmed, it was NB Billy with Pete at the helm, Clare soon popped her head up at the stern lifted binoculars to her eyes, we waved back.

Last night on Facebook people were making comments regarding the new eco moorings in London, Clare had made a comment that she hoped her booked mooring at Little Venice would be unoccupied on their arrival. Well we were going to be neighbours! We last saw NB Billy last year near Newby Hall on the River Ure, they were returning from Ripon as we were heading there. Earlier in the summer we’d shared most of the western locks on the Leeds and Liverpool Canal.

What a stupid configuration, fine if approaching from the other way

We pulled into the water point and let them pass, we’d catch up later. Now the elsan and waterpoint at Alperton are not the easiest to get to. A railing has been put in to stop people from falling in, but this means we’d have to pull along onto the permanent moorings and hope our hose would reach to the tap as there was nowhere else to get off your almost 60ft boat. We decided against it and would fill the tank on reaching Little Venice.

We followed at a reasonable distance, both boats catching up with another who waved us past. The going was very slow, plenty of weed below the waters surface.

A temporary bridge has been put in over the canal for HS2 even though the line is a touch further away from the canal. From here numerous pipes, possibly containing electrics snake along the bank and through the water for quite a distance.

We passed more colourful boats, piles of rubbish and strangely enough several mooring spots big enough for us. But we knew there would be space for us up ahead so there was no need to take note of them.

The row of terraced houses that back onto the canal in Kensal Rise always make you wonder how many more such streets used to back onto the canal and do they have a problem with rising damp! Imagine the outcry from London boaters should the canal walls require repointing and a stretch be dewatered.

One property has a lot of satellite dishes on the back wall. Is it flats? Why would someone need so many dishes? Well it turns out it is the rear of Jamal Satellites, so that’s why.

It felt as though there was a lot more graffiti about. Mostly tags, some quite good, but very little of serious artistic merit.

Two years ago, where the Westway offers shade to the canal there was a series of wooden ramps and a drop in centre of sorts, but that is long gone, instead piles of rubbish line the wall, rather sad really.

A short distance on a red haired lady was chatting to a chap on the towpath, she pointed at something on the canal. I recognise that face! It was Micky whom we’ve met several times up at Crick in fact when Oleanna was brand new she was one of the first to make a bee line to have a nosy.

The water point on the near side of Westbourne Terrace was occupied, but the one on the other side was vacant. Oleanna is a touch too long to slot in here, but the water tank needed filling up, so we slotted in as best we could, stern sticking out under the bridge. Thankfully no widebeams came along which would have meant having to move.

Micky came and joined us for a chat as the trickle from the tap did it’s best to fill our tank. It was nice to see her and have a catch up. When she left to head home we decided we’d cope with what water we had, we can always top up the tank later without loosing our spot if needs be.

We followed the one way signs round the island and pulled into our spot at Rembrandt Gardens. A catch up and compare cruising stories was had between us and Clare and Pete, very good to see them again. Sadly their hope of finding the other half of the original Billy on the K&A didn’t pay off, but they’d had a good time cruising there and back.

Rembrandt Gardens back at the beginning of 2015 had only just started to be a bookable mooring in London. The day we arrived in January that year was the day we met Heather Bleasdale. Today is our second visit and we find ourselves sharing the mooring with Clare and Pete. I wonder if we’ll know our next neighbours here?

Back in February when the roadmap out of lockdown was announced I suggested to Mick that we look to see if any of the moorings in London were available. I think we looked within ten minutes of the announcement being made. Paddington and Rembrandt Garden bookable moorings are usually booked up months and months in advance, but we were lucky, we got in before anyone else had the idea. We booked our slot, we just needed to get to London and escape from Goole!

Little Venice with the Lady A going past

So over the last month we have accomplished our mission to get to London. 293.15 miles and 143 locks. Now it’s time to actually see some family in the flesh.

0 locks, 7.33 miles, 3:15 noisy neighbour, 2 pints milk, 5m wrapping paper, 1 glowing Pete hopscotching us, 2 boats for Rembrandt Gardens, 1 Micky, 0.75 full water tank, 1 bemused cat, 29 days, 293.15 miles, 143 locks, 1 escape plan accomplished, 1 happy Oleanna, 2 happy boaters, 4 humongous trees!

https://goo.gl/maps/7QHs8QFvk2kyrzcd9

Taking A Left. 23rd June

Black Jack’s Lock to Ballot Box Bridges 13, Paddington Arm, Grand Union Canal

Over the years we have been gifted a few things by the God of the London Waterways. On Lillian we had a hose pipe brush javelined onto our roof whilst we were on the Lee Navigation. We still have this and it occasionally gets used, although the plastic that holds the bristles in can scratch your paintwork. Then on our last visit we were breasted up to by another narrowboat at Little Venice waterpoint. We didn’t notice until much later in the day that the chap had left us with his rather good lightweight boat hook, this is now the preferred hook to use.

So our mooring today was offering us a blue trolley with accompanying yellow bungee. All we had to do was bring it out from the friendly cover and pop it on the roof. We actually noticed it when we pulled up yesterday, then we debated about it. A trolley would be handy, moving heavy things around such as gas bottles (the chap yesterday used his mobility scooter to great effect) and our yellow water container to elsan points, coal bags etc. But it would have to live on our roof which we prefer to keep uncluttered as we cruise so much. In the end our roof stayed uncluttered and we left the find either for it’s original owner to reclaim or for someone with a greater need, anyway it hadn’t been placed on our roof like the previous gifts had.

The lady at Jack’s Mill Café was putting tables out in the sunshine this morning getting ready to open up. The crocodile that used to lie on the grass below the lock seems to have moved off to pastures new, a shame as it was one of those things you look out for.

The local opposition to HS2 is very obvious by the time you reach Wide Water Lock, as is the big crane a little bit away from the lock. Once we’d dropped down and passed a few boats we could see the start of the works. Fencing along the towpath marks the spot where the line will cross on a viaduct. Another area fenced off part way across all the trees felled, waiting for construction work to start. Here there used to be a protest encampment, the trees which surrounded it now gone.

We could see mounds of gravel, diggers and cranes. Further along plenty of green fencing stretched out parallel with the canal, upturned black boxes sat by the fence at regular intervals. What was this all about? It wasn’t on the route for the railway. Was it a compound for the works? But there was a lot of water in between. In the end we think this area is where they will be adjusting the overhead power cables, maybe dispensing with the pylons and dropping the cables to underground.

As we cruised on, Mick was somewhat distracted by the works, Oleanna’s line drifted off centre. The first we were aware of this was a horrible scratching squeaking noise of pointy branches doing their worst down the port side cabin. This is the first time I’ve ever shouted at Mick, I did apologise quite quickly as did Mick. Just what damage had been done now?! Poor Oleanna!

Denham Deep Lock required filling so this gave me plenty of time to take in the damage. At least two more big scratches along the cabin side. These are more wiggly than the one created yesterday. We’ll try polishing them out, we have some blue polish. If anyone has any handy advice please pass it on, we are not shiny boaters but we also don’t want to look like a well used hire boat!

Denham Deep is suitable named, not the deepest lock we’ve been through, but still deep. We dropped down, only one paddle usable on the bottom gates and a queue was forming for Fran’s Tea Rooms at the lock cottage.

Approaching Uxbridge Lock we had a tight squeeze past a breasted up pair and a work boat carrying a big reel of cable or pipe. Luckily there was space for us all and the neat gardens on the offside didn’t give us any cause for concern over more marks on Oleanna’s cabin side.

Mick brought Oleanna into Uxbridge Lock, closely followed by the local swan family. We did our best to move them out, or in, we didn’t mind which just one or the other would do. But the cob had other ideas sitting in the open gateway, going one way then coming back, he was refusing to let Mick close the gate. In the end a crust of my new loaf of gluten free bread had to be brought out, food was what he was after along with the rest of his family. We could now close the gate.

Is the lock cottage still for sale or just on the market again?

We swung Oleanna in to the service point at the marina below, the diesel renowned for being the cheapest in the area. No price showed on the pump. A head popped up from behind a boat on the offside to give us the news that the marina was closed on Wednesdays! Pooh!! Oh well. I hopped back on and we reversed out, we’ll hopefully find a coal boat, we still have half a tank.

It’s actually the lock cottage for sale looking the other way https://www.alldayestateagents.co.uk/properties/13842790/sales price on application!

The next lock Cowley Lock was to be our last, the last lock down into London. We topped up with water and disposed of yellow water at the services then swapped with two northbound boats to drop down onto the Paddington Level of the canal.

All on the flat from here. Lots of building work about. A widebeam had difficulty coming through the bridge by Packet Boat Marina, it seemed he’d got his bow thrusters the wrong way round, but the amount of tyres on his bow suggested this happens frequently.

Straight on past the Slough Arm, we may do this on our way back, we had to abandon our cruise down there back in 2015 due to ice and sadly it was the day before we had to say goodbye to our first second mate Houdini.

At Bulls Bridge there were plenty of boats moored up on the offside, only one boat on the visitor moorings. We have enough stocks on board so we left the rest of the stretch to the magnet fishers. Oleanna was swung round to the left and passed under the bridge onto the Paddington Arm.

We decided to have lunch on the go, our chosen mooring still a distance off, but if we saw anywhere before hand we’d pull in. Plenty of boats moored up, not many moving. Some familiar, like the one that looks top heavy and wouldn’t fit through bridge holes now sat on a mooring. Boats that invite themselves to be painted by graffiti artists, life rafts of different shapes and sizes.

At Willow Tree Footbridge it looked like most people had moved in and onto land. The possessions next to one cruiser made you wonder how they would move if they had to take everything with them! I think they’d sink.

At Black Horse Bridge bend building works are still on going, high rise buildings going up. A wharf with mooring bollards and what might be an elsan looked all very smart. On we went, not much further till we reached Ballot Box Bridges.

As we rounded the bend we were surprised to see not one boat moored where we’d managed to slot in last time. The towpath has been redone, the hard surface getting quite close to the edge, but we thought we’d be able to get some spikes in, which we did. Was there something we didn’t know?

5 locks, 15.4 miles, 1 aborted left, 0 diesel, 1 left, 0 shopping, 1 crust, 2 strawberries, 2 lunches on the go, 0 swans, 1 warmer day, 0 boats at the mooring, 1 super speedy boat, 1 nature reserve, 2 loads washing, 1 fox, 1 cat not so keen.

https://goo.gl/maps/KBH7fNiaWyZyo7jeA

In other not so good news a C&RT update regarding Selby Swing Bridge

Update on 23/06/2021:

Since Selby swingbridge was damaged by overweight vehicles our team have been reviewing options for carrying out repairs to rectify the damage. We regret to inform that the design detail of the temporary pedestrian footbridge is still being finalised. This alternative means of access over the canal must be in place before it is possible to put a road closure in place to lift-off the defective bridge and re-open navigation.

We now expect the defective bridge to be removed and navigation re-open in mid-July. In recognition of the additional disruption this causes we are investigating whether it is possible to perform and emergency swing of the bridge for a limited period to allow boat passage should those moored in the area wish to move. We will make a further announcement on this as our plans develop, and not before Monday 28^th June 2021.

Narrowboat Oleanna

Travels of Narrowboat Oleanna

Category Archives: Grand Union Paddington Arm

A True Boater. 1st July

Where To Now?

Kath. 27th June

Busy. 26th June

Leckenbys. 25th June

Billy Mates. 24th June

Taking A Left. 23rd June

Update on 23/06/2021: