Tube Trains and Peacocks

Weds/Thurs. 4/5th August 2010
Cassiobury Park to Harefield
6 miles 8 Locks.

Wednesday.  Narrowboat Tarka, who we had shared 24 Locks with turned around this morning and headed back to their home mooring.

Narrowboat Tarka heading home.

 After breakfast we moved down below Iron Bridge Lock at Cassiobury Park and found the water a little bit deeper so that we weren't grinding on the bottom and, got the TV working. Later in the morning I got the bike out and rode a couple of miles further down the Canal but it started to rain and by the time I got back it was a full Thunder Storm, it rained on and off all afternoon.

Thursday. The weather was sunny again as we set off about 9.00 o'clock, the frequency of the locks is easing now as the land flattens out, we saw a Tube Train today so we must be getting close, we reached Rickmansworth, scene of the Annual Historic boat gathering and moored outside Tesco, who ever designed the moorings for Tesco didn't seem to have much idea about Narrowboats, I think they were expecting only large cruisers or Dutch Barges to use them as the step up from the back of No Direction onto the landing was 16 inches, then you had to walk along a narrow edge or climb over the railings.

Gymnastics Required to shop here

 Somebody found the moorings OK,  he was asleep

 Jayne came back with very little shopping and gave the Store 2 out of 10, most of the sell by dates on their fresh food was today.

The Tesco site used to be Frogmoor Wharf and the premises of W.H.Walker who built many of  the Grand Union Canal Carrying Company working boats, the first in 1907 and the last in 1952

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There are some strange boats along here, this one looks a bit underpowered

We moored up for Lunch, afterwards it was 3 more Locks to tonight's mooring which is just above Black Jack's Lock at Harefield, on one side of the Lock is Black Jack's Mill which used to be a Restaurant but is now a B&B, their was a Mill on this site recorded in the  Doomsday Book, and on the other side is Black Jack's Cottage with it's collection of wildfowl, the Peacocks are very loud tonight.

The water in this section of the canal is very clear and you can see a lot of vegetation on the bottom, this is because the Canal is joined by a small river further back which flows down the Canal and out under the Mill.

After mooring up this afternoon I washed the Towpath side of No Direction and touched up the black paint along the Rubbing Strip, that side now looks beautiful again but the other side will probably have to wait until we get to Little Venice.

 

Waiting for the Lock, Somewhere on the Grand Union Canal

We don't know what to do tomorrow yet, we will decide in the morning.