The Colne Valley

The good thing about not needing to rush to London this year is that I can stop and explore the area. Today I walked into Denham, a place I had never been before. It is really pretty and comprises a couple of pubs and an Italian restaurant. Also it has one of the tallest chestnut trees I have ever seen. The walk took me to Denham Country Park and the Colne Valley visitor centre. I only did five locks today and shared them all with Destiny No 2 who are also on their way to the Cavalcade at Little Venice. Warmest cruising day so far :-).

To Rickmansworth

Another good day. I started with a walk to Whippendell woods, which was bursting with bluebells. Met my second batch of Duke of Edinburgh awarders. I met some at Nash Mills and they seemed whacked whereas this group were coping well. I couldn't carry the packs that they have. I coupled up with Zwei,a sea Otter on its way to the Cavalcade at Little Venice. (For my non boater friends this is a boat not some rare wildlife). We shared 7 locks after which I had reached my destination. We met another boat heading into London to live. They had no idea how far London was, how dangerous locks were (one guy was balancing on the front of the boat trying to prise the bottom gates open with his hands), they had no licence and were planning to moor at Camden. I do hope Crt are policing the visitor moorings or we will have no places to stop over! I had a little look at Ricky which has some nice coffee shops and plenty of chazzers.

North of Watford

I'm nicely settled enjoying the evening sun just North of Watford. I've had good company since leaving Cowroast. I have shared 21 locks with Malcolm and Harry on nb Malcarry and another five with others so only four by myself. Apart from the wind on Saturday the weather has been perfect for cruising. I should make good time in order to get to Hollie's second birthday party :-).

Cowroast

I did get to the Natural History museum yesterday and it was packed out with both specimens and visitors. Some of the animals appeared to be either bigger or smaller than the live version of the animal. It's a great place to study the small differences in species. I would be tempted to visit again but I would choose a quieter day. Today I made my way through the Marsworth flight and was helped throughout by the volunteer lock keeper. They seem to like helping single handers like myself. The weather was warm even when we had a half hour shower. I'm still car hopping so walked back to fetch it and as I had no food on board I stopped at The Angel's Retreat for a pizza. It was very good when it came but I had to wait an hour and they didn't tell me that when I ordered A couple of people left and got there money back when told that their meal would be another half an hour. Only eat there if you are not in a hurry.

Tringing

I'm spending the day in Tring today and hoping to get to see Rothschild's stuffed animals shortly. It has felt a bit chilly in the evenings so I had to get another sack of coal this morning. Yesterday I had a great day sharing 9 locks with two very nice chaps on steam tug Hasty. They had her made to the original plans of the old Blisworth tunnel tug of that name, an 8 year project. They not only eased my workload at the locks but also made me a coffee! So thank you Andy and Keith and do enjoy the Tideway on Thursday.

Slow boating is nice when the wind drops

Saturday was pretty cold so I had to ferret out the gloves and the woolly hat. Sunday and Monday were nice, sunny days but a chilly wind remained. But Tuesday, Tuesday was a proper warm Spring day. On Monday I had a lazy day as I was sidetracked by a visit to IKEA. I was moored so close that it would be rude not to and I needed some drawers for the boat so I can hide away yet more of my necessities (aka my dross). I'm going to swap it for the table that I never use. I moored not far from Fenny Stratford (where I have previously had a very nice Chinese meal). On Tuesday I had a much more successful cruise, making up for lost time. The car hopping is becoming a drag and I had to walk another 6 miles or so to retrieve it. No cruising for a couple of days as I have lots of non boat work to do.

I've said before that most people on the cut are thoughtful, chilled, helpful and like minded BUT you always get ONE. While moored close to The Plough at Simpson one oik played his music at a level that was not very friendly. I might not have minded so much but his taste in music was not that special. Why do some people think that they should impose their lifestyle on everyone else? Luckily he had moved on when I got back from my walk. However, he had left a horrible black slick on the surface of the water! Can you get waterway ASBO's?

Two days running at a pub :-)

I'm making my way around Milton Keynes this week. At Cosgrove I got talking to fellow boater, Heather, and when we had drunk our fill of tea we went to the beer and cider festival at the Barley Mow. The music was a bit loud for chatting but the cider was good. The next day four friends came to join me and we made our way to Campbell Park via lunch at The Black Horse. They kindly treated me to lunch as they had enjoyed their trip. Today I have walked about 8 miles. I started with Willen Lake as I'd never been there before. Then I walked to Fenny Stratford where I spotted Mick's boat, Nell, but he wasn't on board. Now I am resting my feet and planning tomorrow. By the way, I did fit the new bow fender BUT I had to do a Heath Robinson with the chains as I haven't got any the right size and I ran out of D shackles, so here it is for now:

My buddy from the Buddhist Temple gardens at Willen Park:

Just a short trip

I went down the rest of the locks at Stoke Bruerne and moored not much further along the pound. The bottom two locks were difficult to open as there was a good flow resulting from activity in the locks above me so that water was flowing down over the gates. I got some help from a very nice CRT volunteer who arrived just in time. Yesterday was lovely and mild but today was chilly so I didn't move on. Instead I had a productive day fitting the new stern fender and then painting the bow so that I can get on with fitting the bow fender. I think I've found the best way to do it and the fenders weren't as heavy as I had expected. I'm moored opposite a field of lambs who are happily playing together and gambolling around. Ahh!

The stern fender: