Grand Union canal – Page 2 – Narrowboat Firecrest

Whatever happened to Autumn

I’m sitting here frozen in, telling myself to get on with sharing another blog post before I forget where we have been. Family and friends have played a significant part in our gentle autumnal cruising, as we took advantage of several close train stations for visiting. We left Apsley mill with the leaves still green back in October.

During the next 10 weeks we have travelled all of 20 miles north through 40 locks, through rain, shine, wind, snow and ice. We spent an enjoyable two weeks in Berkhamsted

A lovely little town that has embraced the canal running through it, where commercial sheep dip was first created.

And has some real history to explore with its 11th Century castle ruins

Berkhampsted castle, and improvised cricket pitch

And its quirky but genuine Canadian Kwakiutl totem pole, given to the people of Berkhamsted as a thankyou for the kindness shown by John Alsford, a local business man who owned the timber yard where it stands (now a residential area)

And for the days when it rains so hard you’re glad you already live on a boat there’s the wonderful art deco Rex cinema, which has the comfiest seats I’ve ever enjoyed in a cinema as well as the best toilet graffiti

I went to see “Mrs Harris Goes to Paris,” a real feel good movie, And I took a trip to London to meet up with Amanda at the British Museum to look at the Egyptian artefacts

Me and Amanda outside the British Museum

We could easily have stayed put in “Berko”, we met friends, made new friends and thoroughly enjoyed our visit.

But it was time to move on and we found ourselves a wood to walk through. Even though it was now mid November there was still a lot of green to be seen in Ashridge Woods (easily reached from Dudswell mooring)

And it wasn’t just the leaves that were the wrong colour, when we got to CowRoast lock the water wasn’t just crystal clear, it had a blueish tinge to it, almost like an aquarium so clear that we could actually see the lock paddle mechanisms below the water level.

We had reached the top of the Tring Summit and we would now be descending along our route. But we planted our pins at Tring Resevoirs and settled down for another 14 day stay. (Our header photo) Lots of lovely walks around the area, and a reasonable bus service into Tring.

Knowing that Eric was in a nice place, (good internet, and plenty of solar) I jumped ship and caught the train up to the Lakes to have a week with mum, I also went to see my dentist, but didn’t confess to eating jam and scones or drinking creamy hot chocolate.

Threlkeld village hall cafe, The place to go just outside Keswick

And I think whilst I was in the Lakes, winter arrived

The view from my bedroom window back home

Apsley Mill

Little did we realise that our next stop would have so many connections with home when we moored up at Apsley Mill.

Looks like the solar panels will do well here

We needed a trip back home to Suffolk and decided that Hemel Hempstead was the ideal place to hire a car, and then nip straight onto the M25. Apsley ticked all the boxes, close enough to the hire company, sunshine on the solar panels, Sainsbury’s and Wicks over the bridge, and CRT facilities just along the towpath.

Ideal. And after the essentials had been dealt with, Eric drove back to Firecrest for a week of DIY whilst I stayed out of the way enjoying a week with the family.

Heather and Ant keeps chickens, but sadly they (the chickens, not Heather and Ant) are confined to their enclosure for the foreseeable future as bird flu wreaks havoc on the East Anglian poultry business. Chickens (and turkeys) haven’t got big enough brains to understand the need to remain socially distanced from the wild birds so they are having to endure yet anther season of Flockdown. Even more sadly we have seen the evidence this virus is having on our water fowl. The day we cruised out of London we saw 2 dead swans and 2 dead ducks. Frustratingly we hadn’t seen the Defra guidelines at the time so didn’t report our sightings, but we would urge everyone to report finding dead birds in an effort to help eliminate this devastating disease.

“….Reporting dead wild birds
You should call the Defra helpline (03459 33 55 77) if you find:
• one or more dead bird of prey or owl
• 3 or more dead gulls or wild waterfowl (swans, geese and ducks)
• 5 or more dead birds of any species
Do not touch or pick up any dead or visibly sick birds that you find. For further information see our advice to the public……” Defra website
What we did see however (3 weeks too late) was a report on the local London tv news with the reporter travelling along the Regents Canal…. past Firecrest moored at Islington back in August.

Once I was back on Firecrest, we took advantage of a walk-in clinic to look after our own health and got our booster vaccines for both covid and flu. And I took the opportunity to walk around the area, which has embraced the canal as an area for the community to enjoy now.

The papermill bridge opposite Apsley Marina

But 200 years ago Apsley was only just starting to thrive when the Grand Union was built bringing and taking goods to and from London. There had been water mills along the Rivers Gade and Bulborne, milling flour and fulling wool for centuries. But the early 1800’s John Dickinson established the first mechanised paper making plant, and in 1911 the brand Basildon Bond was created. And just seeing the name on the clockface brought back happy memories of letter writing. Unfortunately some **** decided to set fire to the historic buildings in January so the visitor centre is closed for the time being. It would have been fun to look around. Basildon Bond is now owned by Hamblins and made in Europe.

Although the main street through Apsley seems a bit humdrum now with factory units and retail parks, whilst Eric popped into Wicks for some more paint brushes, I happened to notice the neighbouring unit was Kent Brushes, now there’s a name I remember from my childhood home. I used to have a Kent Hairbrush, and this is where they are still made today. And just my luck the onsite shop was closed. But outside, the most interesting sculpture sat brushing her hair. I’m not entirely sure if I like it, her pose looks a bit sad to me.

From a galaxy far far away, to somewhere beyond Watford

Cassiobury Park came from a large area of land that King Offa gave to the Abbey of St Albans in 793 but when Henry VIII dissolved the monasteries in 1539 , the estate became home to the Earls of Essex. (I always wonder why the aristocracy don’t live in the county of their title) However as times changed and fortunes were found and lost, parts and parcels of the huge estate were sold off . In 1909 Watford council bought the parkland that we are enjoying today. It really was a lovely place to cruise through,

At least that’s what Jar Jar Binks thinks, as areas of the woodland were used as the planet Naboo in the film Star Wars, The Phantom Menace. However the only menace we were in danger from was the crocodiles in the canal.

We moored up just beyond the current park outside the Grove Mill

and looking at the beautiful bridges the 4th Earl of Essex really did insist on the canal being an asset to his properties

Nowadays some bridges need to be a little more heavyweight, especially this one which carries the link road onto the M25

and it wasn’t long before we found ourselves cruising parallel to the bain of our past life, although its outlook from the canal was somewhat more tranquil

And the image of its mega structure, somewhat more impressive from below than above

So that was it, we had now been released from the inner circle, cruised past Watford, where we now officially back in the north?

Turning Right at Bulls Bridge

Not sure where we’d end up or if its 87.5 miles or 187.5 miles we turned right at Bulls Bridge to begin our journey back up north. We suspect it should say Braunston, but maybe Birmingham. We settled for a few days in West Drayton soaking up the sunshine,

Opposite the train station at West Drayton

Enjoying the sunsets,

and the sunrises

All of which reminded us that we were still, infact, pointing west, not yet going north. And still just about within the Greater London confines inside the M25. Our autumnal cruising plan is to meander slowly up the Grand Union overwintering around the Milton Keynes area, roughly 50 miles and 67 locks. We decided not to venture down the 5 miles Slough arm, because although it is lock free, having chatted to the local boaters, we weren’t sure we could moor easily. Perhaps we missed an opportunity. Perhaps we’ll do it next time.

Cowley Peachy junction for the Slough Arm

but immediately past the junction we were climbing uphill and the locks, thankfully not all 11 foot deep like Denham deep lock

And under some high railway bridges

And past some railway bridges not yet built as HS2 passes over the canal around Harefield. We have to take a deep breath and remind ourselves what an eyesore building the canals must have been in the 18th century, but how glad we are to have them now.

In the late 1700’s William Capell, 4th Earl of Essex, was similarly concerned when sat of the board for the building of the Grand Junction canal, that would pass through his extensive estate, of Cassiobury and Watford. He insisted on the canal being aesthetically pleasing. And so it is.

The Paddington Arm

Our journey continued up the Grand Union main line just another 2 miles until we reached Bulls Bridge Junction, conveniently site of a huge Tesco, close enough to wheel a loaded trolley back to the boat. So I took advantage and stocked up on the heavier store cupboard necessities (eg, bottles of wine and cans of beer), whilst Eric filled up Firecrest with water.

It could have been such a pretty bridge if the graffiti vandals hadn’t wanted to make their mark.

But we were pleasantly surprised by how nice the canal is along here.

Yes there’s a lot of residential mooring off side, but also long rural stretches, which we hadn’t expected already being within the boundarys of greater London (the first section of the GU roughly follows the southern and western edges of Ealing) and the first section of the paddington arm, skirts south of Northolt.

And we found ourselves a peaceful overnight home in Paradise Fields, at Horsenden

We were within walking distance of the Brompton folding bike factory, but they were still following covid distancing guidelines, so weren’t running their usual tours. Just as well as we had a long day ahead of us so needed a prompt start to the day. We had been warned by many that “London would be double moored for mile after mile after mile, but we were pleased to find that we continued seeing places to moor for a few more miles. Although the duckweed and rubbish was becoming an annoying feature.

The debris thrown in along the canal is hard to ignor, but the Stowe Youth Club has created a fabulous mural

And it was only when we looked closer we realised it was made up of rubbish pulled from the canal

We are always heartened to see the enterprising art works along the canal,

But our views were about to change dramatically as we passed through Little Venice and the blue bridge marking the start of the paddington basin

Goodbye River, Hello Canal

Goodbye River Hello Canal

This looks like an original Grand Junction canal sign

An hour and a half after leaving Teddington we were back onto the Grand Junction/Union Canal. Although for the first mile or so the canal and River Brent intermingle and there is still a tidal element at times. We had hoped to stop so we could visit Kew gardens, But we couldn’t have moored in Brentford even if we had wanted to, it was nose to tail with boats, even on the water point. But never the less we were treated to some interesting views. Brentford Bridge was a pleasing sight.

It had undergone a makeover in 2021 and now celebrated the canals wildlife.

These paintings adorn both sides on the inside and outside

But it wasn’t long before reality of urban canals ground us to a halt, weed, plastic and rubbish, hidden under the water waiting to wrap itself around our prop, making it near impossible to steer. It is one of the foulest of boat jobs that falls onto Eric’s shoulders, because his arms are longer than mine and the physical strength needed to cut away the twine tying us up. Thankfully most vegetation can thrown off with a burst of reverse throttle but fabrics, plastics, fishing line, bicycles and shopping trolleys are all a boaters nightmare.

All three of our convoy had to defoul our props more than once, but we gradually left the urban sprawl and found ourself cruising along some genuinely beautiful and historic canal. We stuck with our Lock buddies to work the Hanwell flight, passing the victorian paupers and lunatic asylum. The wall along the canal and the flight of locks are now a scheduled ancient monument. When the asylum was first opened in the 1830s it wasn’t as popular as the workhouse or jail because there was a fee of nine shillings per week to stay there. But needless to say it wasn’t long before it was full. It currently houses the West London Mental Health services headquarters and is known as St Bernards Hospital

We passed “through” the three bridges (officially windmill bridge) which was designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel so that the railway could be routed through a deep cutting, so as not to obscure the views of Osterly Park.

https://canalplan.org.uk/place/236g

From the trains perspective, image taken from canalplan

And found ourselves a nice quiet mooring for the night. Which was just as well because the rain we had been expecting when we set off at 7am arrived with a vengeance just after we had stopped.

Riding the Tide, from Teddington to Brentford

We rose early as our Teddington Lock booking was for 7am.

Looking back to say goodbye to the Thames that we had spent 4 months enjoying

Eric had plugged in the VHS radio and erected the aerial, to comply with the Port of London Authority (PLA) bylaws

And off we set

We were sharing the lock with 2 other boats, also going to Brentford. And as they had both done the journey before, were happy to take the lead and keep us in view.

Teddington Lock is actually a triple lock system, the “great” lock or barge lock accommodates the largest boats such as the floating gin palaces, the launch lock for the little boats like Firecrest and the skiff lock, which is a tiny narrow affair for the rowers. Although there are lockies on duty 24/7, they hold back the majority of boats until the tide is high and turning so that we are carried with the down stream flow instead of fighting against it. Hence the need to book our passage. Because we were being given safety instructions, I forgot to take many photos, and because the tide was high, it was more like going through a 6 inch stop lock than the colossal deep trench that we had seen the evening before.

Soon we were on our way, unfortunately the weather was not obliging with the view, and we can only imagine what Ham house up on its hill ought to have looked like.

We soon approached Richmond Bridge

And then Richmond half tide lock. This is a barrage lock that manages tidal river levels, you can pass under the designated arch freely 2 hours either side of high tide, at other times, you have to pay a fee to use the manned lock.

We duly went under the arch and continued speeding downstream. The journey from Teddington to Brentford is about 5 miles, and it had taken us an hour. To put it in perspective, on the canals we travel at roughly 2.5miles per hour. The london skyline was now visible, but we also saw our lead boat turning left.

And the glint of the stainless steel sculpture known as Liquidity that was our marker point to guide us back onto the Grand Union Canal

Liquidity, where the Grand Union Canal joins the Thames

Its quite a tricky manouver to take a narrowboat across the river which has both a downstream and a tidal flow to compete against, but Eric put full throttle on and Firecrest behaved beautifully. We didnt overshoot or get swept downstream backwards. But oh what a difference, from a flowing river that was easily 100m wide, to a much narrower channel, which at this point is still tidal, and into Thames Lock 101. Thames lock also needs to be booked to accommodate the tide levels.

And then we were here, back onto the canal system, goodbye Enviroment agency, hello CRT, hello duckweed, hand cranked locks and urban jellyfish (aka plastic bags and other detritus)

A short journey

We could have stayed in Barrow for a few more days, just soaking up the peace.

Until the joy riders arrived on their bikes. Yes, Barrow Boating brings new meaning to travelling by water.

That looks more like hard work than fun.

There were several of these bike boats and swan shaped pedaloes, and once the frost had melted happy families joined the emerald drakes adding to the rich colours. The ducks seem to have disappeared, I can only assume they are now sitting on their nests and we’ll be rewarded with fluffy ducklings soon.

But Barrow wasn’t always fun and frolicks as this poem pinned up at Barrow deep lock reminds us.

Barrow Deep lock is the deepest lock in the East Midlands region having a fall of 2.9m (9.7′) but it didn’t faze us, the deepest canal lock in this country is Tuel Lane on the Rochdale canal at 6m

The rest of our day saw more wide open river sections.

The navigable Soar between Barrow and Pilling Lock

Although we didn’t plan to cruise far, just beyond Pillings Marina under Woodthorpe Bridge

And onto Loughborough Moors, a journey which took us all of an hour to do of just over 2 miles. We are easing ourselves into the sort of boating we love.

Promises of spring, blown in on the North wind

So much for our cruising plans, there was no way we could get through this obstacle that had come down overnight. The north wind doth blow.

We joined the others waiting patiently at Blue Banks for CRT to leap into action – which they did with great efficiency.

It turned out to be such a lovely mooring that we stayed for a whole week.

This is a mooring spot to mark on the map

Walking and exploring the nature reserve and country park adjacent to the canal. The old train line has been developed into a cycle/foot path right into the city centre. The river Soar meanders the meadows here so I suspect it’s land that floods regularly. Unsuitable for residential development, there is a huge retail park nearby, and for any boater needing to stock up on non essential fashions and sports gear, this really is worth marking on the map.

Admittedly we didn’t feel any desire to wander around a deserted retail park, and won’t be going anywhere near it in the next few weeks when it opens up, but it was nice to be able to buy some M&S hot cross buns. I had a go at making my own simnel cake, but took my eye off the grill for a mini second and the poor apostles got slightly singed.

And with it being a bank holiday weekend we got a merry mix of English weather, beautiful blue skies one minute and biting cold north winds with snow the next.

But on the whole it feels like spring has well and truely sprung.

Sunshine on my shoulders makes me happy

The lure of cruising in this mini March heatwave proved too much to ignore. Although I did wonder if a new snowy mountain range had appeared in Leicestershire.

Snowy mountains or a storm on the horizon

But no it looks like spring has well and truely arrived.

We decided to interpret the guidance issued by CRT on 23rd February

“…….potentially from 29 March, when it is anticipated that the official stay at home order will end but people will be encouraged to stay local. Limited local boat movement may be possible but you should avoid travelling if your boat is not located close to where you live, and only those living aboard are permitted to make an overnight stay…..”

We’ll keep our social contact to a minimum and stay close to our home. But we aren’t the only ones enjoying the liberation being outside in the sunshine brings.

And just to prove this is home, I even hung the washing out to dry.

You can’t beat hanging the washing out to dry in the fresh air

And Eric has been touching up the paintwork