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2003 Cruises - Part Two
London and the Tideway
Work commitments caused changes of plan again, which at least shows that
shared ownership was not really a option for us. I get offered a job that
takes in all but the last week of the school holidays, so we take Elizabeth
out of school for the first four days of the new term, the Monday being
an inset day. I figure that what we have planned will be a education....
Saturday 23rd August. Having flown back from Ireland last night,
there is a great deal of packing, organising and general life to get on
with. We get to the boat around 5pm, unload and head for a meal and planning
meeting at the Queen Victoria at Gayton.
Sunday 24th August. I decide to do some maintenance on the boat
before we set off, including tightening the alternator belt. This has
almost run out of adjustment, so I fit a new one, which involves removing
the water pump belt, so I replace that one as well. Much struggling to
adjust the pump belt, which later turns out to be one size too big, but
because of the mounting arrangement I eventually get rid of the slack
- by too much I'm to find out. The whole arrangement is not that satisfactory
and I plan to re-engineer it one day - after a few other jobs. 
The
practical upshot is that we don't leave the marina until 12:30, and then
our progress is halted by the number of boats jockeying for position at
Gayton Junction - being the only winding hole for many miles and a combined
sanitary station it can get busy, and the scene of many a good argument!
The new marina just to the south that we had heard would be open in June
is still just a hole in the ground with a digger in it. Having passed
through Blisworh tunnel we moor above the museum, but its 2:55 before
we get to The Navigation for Elizabeth's Sunday Roast. By now the weather
is glorious and we are there seems no point in hurrying anything. However,
the Stoke Bruerne locks are all set for us, and all seven take 1 hour
20 mins - not bad. We decide to moor at bridge 57 and take an early evening
stroll into Grafton Regis. The church is very picturesque, but just as
we reach the White Hart, the sun goes in. We pop in for a quick drink,
and observe that they are now doing food on Sunday evenings and are very
busy, but as we didn't have lunch until late, we aren't tempted. Over
a nice pint of Abbot, I contemplate the cruising plan, and realise that
we are only 2 hours behind my rather relaxed schedule, while Elizabeth
is entertained by the Pringle Eating Parrot. Back on the boat, we cook
some supper snacks and decide not to put the heating on. In fact, it didn't
go on for the whole holiday! 4 hours 35 mins. 9 miles and 7 locks.
Monday 25th August. Underway by 9am in cloudy weather, which slowly
lifts through the morning, Spotted the first Kingfisher of the holiday
just before Cosgrove, and then continued to potter along the familiar
territory of Milton Keynes.
We decide to moor for lunch on the boat at 1:50 opposite
Milton Keynes Marina, and I indulge in a pint of Bass in the Peartree,
which saves me from temptation (and the digestive effect Bass has on me)
by closing at 3pm. We share the comically shallow Fenny Stratford Lock
with a boat belonging to the vice-chair of the Bedford-Milton Keynes Link
campaign. With their enthusisiam, the link could be in with a good chance!
It's 6:35 when we exit the top of the Soulbury 3 and decide to call it
a day. Elizabeth has taken to picking Blackberries, which we do for a
while, and I recognise the owner of the very nice boat we have moored
next to as he heads for the pub - the actor Timothy Spall. We head for
the pub too, while Fiona has a shower, and it being Bank Holiday Monday,
they have either run out of food or staff to cook it. I admire Mr Spall's
solution to the problem - a taxi to the nearest Indian restaurant. My
solution is to phone Fiona (she is all of 50 yards away) to suggest she
puts a pie in the oven, then join us for a drink. The meal, with the addition
of some veg, goes down very well. 7 hours 5 min. 18.7 miles and 6 locks.
Tuesday 26th August. We are now only a little behind schedule,
the weather is still good and we are nearly on canals new to us - apart
from a day boat at Marsworth, we have not traveled south of Linslade before.
Setting off just before 9am, the locks start to turn up at closer intervals,
and we pull over for lunch and blackberry picking about 1:30pm. I'm not
sure what we are going to do with them all. It's still fine after lunch,
and although alone we make good progress. We meet both the Grebe wide
beam boats returning to base and before we know it we are at Marsworth.
This as a location we visit frequently, often strolling round the reservoirs
on Sunday afternoon, or walking the canal. We have visited the White Lion
quite
often, but never eaten there, so although it's only 4:35, when a mooring
appears right opposite the pub, we decide to stop - we are back on schedule,
after all! I shower while Elizabeth and Fiona walk up to the reservoir
to do a little bird watching, and return with even more blackberries.
Then to try out the pub food, which was a little disappointing. After
deciding to order a bottle of wine, we chose one, then another, then another
from the long list until they told us they only had two types - white
or red. Red then. It also seems to have the loudest air conditioning in
the world. 12.3 miles and 12 locks, 6 hours 50 mins.
Wednesday 27th August. Casting off at 9:35, we join Barron No.1,
just up from the Aylesbury arm. Jim and his wife have been out for most
of the summer, and the next batch of locks are enlivened with chat about
moorings, boats and the suggestion we make a crumble with all the blackberries.
Elizabeth is thrilled when she discovers they have a dog - a small terrier
named Wee Ben, and with many of the locks so close together walks the
dog along the towpath for many miles. We soon reach the Tring summit,
and as we ran out of gas last night and Barron needs a pumpout we both
stop at Cowroast Marina for servicing, than lock down Cowroast lock and
moor for lunch. The Cowroast pub is only a short walk away - it used to
be very good, went downhill a bit, but is now rumoured to have a Thai
restaurant attached. This turned out to be true, so lunch was a interesting
mixture of Thai soup, chips, bagettes, prawn crackers and lychees. 
Elizabeth
also finds some kids to play with in the garden, so we are stopped for
nearly two hours. Happily, our companions are ready to set of as well,
so we can continue to share the locks. It's strange to have a holiday
almost on your doorstep, as we are heading very close to home now. The
afternoon is taken up with a short hop to Berkhamsted, where we moor beside
the Waitrose supermarket that we sometime use at home; it's time for some
shopping, which includes a crumble mix for all those blackberries. That
evening we visit Monsoon, an Indian restaurant that we have visited from
home as well. 5 miles and 12 locks, 5 hours 55mins
Thursday 28th August. A 9:40 start in light rain, after visiting
the supermarket again to get the things we forgot the evening before.
We hook up with Barron No.1 again and make very good progress down the
locks - so good, that I've had to recheck my calculations for today's
lock miles - but is seems we achieved more than 4 lock miles an hour today!
We are looking forward to going through Winkwell
swing bridge, as it's our turn to stop the traffic rather than being in
the queue of cars waiting for the boats. However, as we approach the bridge
it is opened for a pair of boats working up the locks, so Fiona doesn't
get to press the buttons. A word of warning - the bridge is operated by
a BW watermate key, but will not release the key until the bridge is closed
again, so the lady who opened the bridge had to wait for all four boats
to pass. It's been drizzling on and off and we decide to stop below the
next lock, just past the new offside moorings at Herts and Middlesex Boatyard.
Fiona has not brought a fleece with here and we know of a very good outdoor
shop in Bourne End, so while she walks up the hill I take Elizabeth to
sit outside the Three Horseshoes where we order a children's meal and
some baguettes. Fiona returns without a fleece but with a waterproof for
Elizabeth which comes in useful almost straight away as the heavens decide
to open. It's quite a comedy sketch as a dozen or more outdoor diners
decamp into the pub, but Elizabeth resolutely remains sat outside, "testing"
her new coat. By our standards this is a short lunch stop, 70 minutes,
and when we return to the boat Jim is ready to set off in Barron No.1.
Our quick lock work continues as we past landmarks we normally pass on
land - Boxmoor, the outskirts of Hemel Hempstead, "our" Sainsburys
and the new Marina at Apsley. We sadly say goodbye to Jim and his wife
as they stop for water and the rain gets heavier and then pass the vandalised
remains of the Ovaltine factory. We start to look for a mooring at Hunton
Bridge, but it's too shallow to moor close to The Kings Head, and we are
almost at the next lock, and rather close to the A41 before we find enough
depth. At this point the rains starts lashing down again. We decide to
eat on the boat, but while the meal is cooking I trudge to the pub to
recce it for the return trip. Nicholson's Guide talks about it's ability
to defy brewery revamps, but for you traditionalists I'm sorry to say
it has finally succumbed! It's a wet night, we haven't moored too well
and are very near a busy road, but with all the locking today, sleep comes
easily. 9 miles and 22 locks in 7 hours 30 mins
Friday 29th August. It's still raining in fits and starts this
morning and as we set of around 9:30 we fall in with a boat with three
men on it who have travelled down from Birmingham over the last couple
of weeks. They are making efficient use of their bicycle to go ahead and
set locks, so despite some of the gate paddles leaking, progress is fairly
good. At Bridgewater Basin we decide to stop for a pumpout, and while
we are stopped top up the desiel and water, then continue alone to Batchworth.
The recently restored working boat Roger is moored just below the lock,
opposite quite a strong outflow, and we have some trouble not to hit it.
It's going to need more work if it's left there for any length of time.
Decide to stop for lunch and discover the the White Bear is a cheap place
to eat - it's all standard fried/grilled/microwaved stuff but £4.99
for an 8oz steak on the outskirts of London is not to be turned down.
The weather is starting to improve as we travel south and the locks are
spaced further apart, some of them in delightfully picturesque settings
that are hard to believe are so close to London. We tie up quite early
right next to the Horse and Barge, not to eat but because it has a large
playground for Elizabeth to let of steam - while the weather was poor
she settled down in front of the laptop and has now watched the entire
first two series of "Citizen Smith" on DVD. As the sun begins
to set we notice signs in the pub - "Disco Fri & Sat 9 to 1"
and realise that we might not be moored in the most peaceful spot, so
find ourselves moving the boat in semi darkness 200 yards or so down the
canal. We are lucky to get close to the bank, but it was worth the move
as we don't hear a thing. 9.3 miles and 15 locks in 6 hours 50mins.
Saturday 30th August. After a leisurely breakfast we set off in
fine weather at 9:50, and as we approach London begin to encounter more
boats moored online. Although Elizabeth has two lifejackets we don't have
any, and as it looks like we will be making our trip on the tideway it's
time to invest. 
We
reach Uxbridge Boat Centre at 11:20, but as there is a boat being craned
into the water we don't try to moor at the yard, but it's a bit of a trek
from the towpath side. We shop in two shifts and settle for non-inflating
jackets and a throwing line. It's 12:00 before we are underway again,
but decide that with our lack of knowledge of mooring on the outskirts
of London we should try to get to Little Venice tonight. Once through
Cowley lock we are not going to see another one for the rest of the day,
and it's interesting to see familiar parts of London from canal level.
We pass both ends of the new Aggregate barge route that is hoping to save
thousands of lorry journeys, and it's great to negotiate Bulls Bridge
junction instead of looking at from a trafficjam on the flyover. We even
pass a couple of work places such as the HDS Studios at Hayes, Willowtree
Marina where I've shot Family Affairs locations, and White City. We spot
a few possible places to stop, but don't do so, except at the supermarket
at Alperton for supplies, so it's 18:20, when we reach Little Venice.
On arrival we pass a couple of moored boats from Bugbrooke, and end up
tied up under the footbridge some way before the BW office. There are
no obvious places to take Elizabeth to eat; we are now referring to Mike
Stevens excellent London Waterways site as well as the usual guides, so
we head towards the Cafe Rouge he mentions. Before going in, we do a little
more exploring and find Cafe Laville over the entrance to the Maida Vale
Tunnel and cannot resist - and the location, food and service make the
expense worthwhile. On the way back to the boat we use the BW key to walk
along the towpath - I must look up the cost of a mooring here! Back on
Pollyanna, with Elizabeth in bed, the music from the bar opposite stops
at 11pm exactly, and the noise has completely stopped 20 mins later. 21
miles and 1 lock, 7 hours 10 mins. 
Sunday 31st August. It's a pleasant morning for sitting at the front
of the boat, drinking tea and watching the world go by on the towpath.
I do a little maintenance, check the weed hatch and prepare the boat to
set off, then a large wooden cruiser blasts past, rocking every moored
boat. We set off, there is no one behind and we are in no hurry, so I
pootle along at tickover. The boatman aboard Jason's Trip Boat comments
that I'll never catch them at that speed. We pass Browing's Island, navigate
Maida Vale Tunnel and are soon passing through the north side of Regents
Park. The scale and architecture of the houses here can only be marvelled
at, and made me feel very poor! Passing the Zoo and the Chinese "Junk"
restaurant we are soon at Camden lock, where there is a familiar looking
wooden cruiser hanging onto the wall by a piece of string. Shopping for
drugs, I suspect. Camden lock, by the market, Sunday morning; probably
the busiest place on earth. I'm answering questions before I've even put
the windlass on the paddles, and yes, we've got a toilet on board and
everything. At the tail of the lock a large bleary-eyed lad asks me how
deep it is, because he's going to jump in to win a bet. I point out what
a fool he will look just up to his waist and that he ought to put his
trainers back on because the bottom is bound to be littered with broken
glass. A helpful passing Australian alerts him to the dangers of Weils
disease and I ask him to have the courtesy to wait until we have passed.
We never heard the splash...
There is a trip boat coming up. We are still mystified at the behavour of the steerer, who seemed to want to get into the lock at the same time as Fiona was leaving, despite there only being one gate open.
By the time we had passed through Islington Tunnel, our
thoughts turned to Lunch. From Little Venice we had not seen space available
on any of the official Visitor Moorings. Then at 1pm after leaving City
Road Lock, we encountered what I thought at first must be a mirage - an
open pub, serving lunch, with about 200ft of completely empty mooring
space! 
The
Narrow Boat served us a very tasty Sunday lunch for £5 a head, and
by the time we returned to the boat, the sun was blazing. We are now passing
through some of the rougher parts of London, but apart from witnessing
some cars drag racing, and being asked for a lift(!) by one rather shady
looking individual, it's not that threatening. Indeed, many families are
out walking the towpaths. At Salmons lane lock I have a pleasant chat
with a local who wants to know how the lock worked. We finally lock down
into Limehouse basin at 17:50. I have phoned ahead to book a mooring here;
they were surprised we wanted to pay rather than use the free 24 hour
BW places on the wall. We like the idea of a pontoon with gated access
and a power hookup, and I've read that the free moorings can often be
full, although this evening they are not. Collect the key from the Cruising
Association Bar, tie up and then after a look round we take advantage
of the shower block. That evening we sit outside the Narrow Street bar
overlooking the Thames and indulge in some starters. Just as the light
is about to go a huge cruise ship, escorted by tugs makes it way out to
sea. We hope that we don't meet anything like that tomorrow! 8.5 miles,
12 locks in 6 hours 20 mins.
Monday 1st September. Today was to be the highlight
of the trip. With the tides dictating a 15:30 start to the trip to Brentford,
we took the DLR into Central London and took a ride on the London Eye,
returned to Canary Wharf for lunch at Cafe Rouge and then prepared the
boat for the voyage. The weather was OK, with patchy cloud and not too
much in the way of wind. We visited the lock keeper for instructions and
then brought the boat round to the lock with 30 minutes to spare. All
ropes out, throwing line and lifejackets deployed, we were the only boat
to enter, and then looked foolish as the nose drifted across the lock
before I had a chance to get the front line round the bar. Fiona said
something about a bowthruster, but the lock keeper shouted back that he
didn't allow them! Onto the tideway at 15:32,
it was hard not to be impressed with the scale of things. For once, the
camera clock was set correctly so the times of the voyage can be easily
followed from the filenames. Because of the number of photos, I've set
them up in a web gallery of our TIDEWAY
TRIP - please visit! Fiona steered, taking the wash of the larger
boats as much at right angles as possible. We were soon in sight of Tower
Bridge, but realised that a very large trip boat was bearing down on us,
so we took the safer option of the right hand channel, not risking being
overtaken under the central span. The further upstream we got, the smaller
the waves, so by 16:00 we were really enjoying ourselves, pointing out
the sights and even interpreting the sound signals of the trip boats correctly.
We encountered the first of the trains of rubbish barges, warned that
something big was coming by the flashing bridge lights, and then I got
to take the tiller. Engine temperature had crept up a bit, so a blast
of reverse was used to clear the prop.. Within an hour, we had reached
Battersea bridge. I knew this part of the river well, at least from the
bank, and enjoyed the sights from a different angle. Once past Wandsworth
Bridge the presure was off - no more rubish barges, and all we really
needed to do was keep a lookout behind, as a lot of cruisers were returning,
making much more speed than us, and an eye on the temperature gauge. This
is the safer way to do the trip, but the end of the voyage is a bit of
an anti-climax - I even made some coffee. At 18:15 we turned into the
River Brent, and were locked onto the GU by a friendly keeper. The tide
was still too high for us to pass under Brentford High Street bridge,
so we tied up above the lock and decided what to do. I went on a recce
into Brentford, visited the supermarket for some food for supper and checked
out the pubs, none of which seemed that suitable to take a child into.
By the time I returned the water levels were ok, and another boat had
appeared. Although we had almost decided to stay where we were, the other
boater was single handed and clearly knew what he was doing, so we decided
to share locks to the bottom of the Hanwell flight. All a bit of a rush,
it was pitch black by the time we got there, but the moorings were quiet.
We ate on board, as The Fox did not serve food on Mondays, but it was
getting too late for Elizabeth anyway. 2 hours 50 mins to complete the
16.5 miles and 2 locks of the tideway passage, another 90 mins for the
remaining 3 locks and 3 miles.
Not the end of this trip, but the page is getting too long, so the return trip is described in Getting Home, the next "cruise".....