Victoria Park to Bishops Stortford

Our visit to London came to an end and we travelled a short distance before turning off the Regents Canal and onto the short Hertford Union Canal.  1 mile and 4 locks later we joined the River Lee and turned north.  The banks of the River Lee proved to be as congested with moored boats as the canals we'd just left.  We were surprised to see several lifeboats moored up and given a new use.  

One of the lifeboats moored up on the River Lee

I was pleased to find Tottenham Lock was electrically operated but the next day discovered this didn't apply to all of the locks; some had an unusual combination of an electric operation of the heavier bottom gates but manual top gates and the rest were all manual.

We stopped at Waltham Abbey where the abbey church dominates the small town and the peaceful grounds of the former abbey make a good stroll. 

The church at Waltham Abbey

At Hoddesdon we turned onto the River Stort, a narrow, winding navigation with natural banks and low bridges. 

Bridge 7, a railway bridge, is luckily the lowest bridge on the River Stort.  Our chimney was laid down in readiness.  

The locks on the Stort are only 13 feet wide so can only take one narrowboat at a time, it also means we have to open both gates but handily they can be left open as we leave.  Interesting sculptures are a feature at some of the locks.  

3 carved balls at Burnt Mills Lock, Harlow

When we spotted a rare stretch of pilings we pulled over and moored up.  It was only later we realised how many trains were running to Stansted on the rail track which was about 10 yards from the canal.

On Saturday we sailed through Sawbridgeworth which has an interesting complex of new residences on the river side. 

New buildings line the river at Sawbridgeworth

We continued on to Bishops Stortford where the navigable river ends.   We were a bit miffed to find there were only 8 mooring spaces and they were all taken.  We were able to leave Brent III near the water point to go shopping and then had to sail back the way we had just come.  Shortly after leaving the town we found a place to stop but it had one drawback; we were under the flight path for Standsted.  

Ryanair coming in to land at Stansted

Our journey from Victoria Park to Bishops Stortford

Hemel Hempstead to Victoria Park, London

On Monday morning we resumed our journey towards London.  Brent III was travelling faster than the commuters in a mandatory traffic jam on the M25.

Sailing under standing traffic on the M25

The canal took us into Cassiobury Park, near Watford, where we moored up surrounded by woods and walks.  Nearby a rare breeds centre was home to flamingos, pelicans and other water birds; the next morning the dawn chorus was more raucous than usual.  After our first lock of the day we sailed under a pale blue London Underground railway bridge.  

The London Underground which is on the surface at Watford.

We sailed on into the quiet Colne Valley and from there into Uxbridge.  On Thursday we had only 1 lock to come down, the last of 52 locks since Marsworth.  Shortly after the lock we spotted a Tesco so called in for a big shop not knowing where the next supermarket would be, 5 minutes further on as it happened.  The canal was very quiet as we headed east with no-one else on the move and hardly any boats moored up until we reached Bulls Bridge Junction where we stopped for the day, opposite another supermarket.  

The next day we took the Paddington Arm heading north, initially through Southall and Northolt before emerging into an open area at Horsenden Hill.  Here we saw a green woodpecker, a turtle on a tree root and plenty of coots busy nest building and sitting on eggs. Before long we were back among the suburbs; Perivale, Alperton and then over the North Circular Aqueduct.  

Brent III apparently sailing herself over the aqueduct because Kev has ducked out of sight

In places there are long lines of moored boats along the canal so when we spotted an isolated spot near Kensal Green we moored up for the day.  At Willesden Junction I purchased an oyster card for travelling on London Transport, in my case the tube, and took my first trip into London emerging at Charing Cross for Trafalgar Square.  

Trafalgar Square from the balcony of the National Gallery, the weather could have been better.

On Saturday we decided to move further on as there were more visitor moorings ahead.  As we passed long lines of boats moored two abreast we realised our chances of finding a space were slim.  Little Venice is a canal junction and a renowned area with stately buildings overlooking the waterway.  Sadly the moored boats didn't compliment their setting.  From the junction we took the Regency Canal which took us under the short Maida Hill Tunnel.  

Leaving the Maida Hill Tunnel

The canal then wound round Regents Park and passed London Zoo but apart from the birds in the aviary we didn't see any animals.  Turning towards Camden we saw an unusual boat which is a chinese restaurant.  

The floating chinese restaurant

At Camden we had 3 locks and a small audience gathered with their cameras.  Bess sat proudly on the roof and as always attracted some attention.  After descending St Pancras lock we faced the 960 yard Islington Tunnel which is only big enough for one-way traffic.  Luckily no-one was coming in the opposite direction.  We continued east and the line of moored boats seemed continuous but it was interesting to see the various styles of buildings lining the canal.  Kev spotted one building which was constructed from shipping containers.    The towpath was busy with walkers and a lot of joggers. 

A shipping container building

Then we spotted a free mooring conveniently next to the large green open space of Victoria Park, for us the best mooring in town.  A London overground station, connecting to the tube network, wasn't far away and I enjoyed using the tube knowing I would never be far from a station.  Kev, however, was not impressed when we went to Camden Market which disappointingly was mainly a tourist market selling souvenirs,  a variety of fancy goods and clothes and although there was a mouth watering selection of takeaway food.  Market stalls were crammed into every available space and it was interesting to see them in the old stables and under the railway arches.  

Back at the mooring we found it was very quiet even though we were surrounded by other boats, with mooring space in such short supply we were very lucky to find the space.  

Our journey from Hemel Hempstead to Victoria Park, London

Yardley Gobion to Hemel Hempstead

On Sunday morning we left the countryside near Yardley Gobion and headed into Wolverton on the outskirts of Milton Keynes.  Here we stopped on the visitor moorings which are surrounded by new flats but no-one seems to stop on them overnight.  They are however useful for Tesco and when we returned with our shopping 3 other boats had also pulled up. We continued east though more Milton Keynes suburbs and then the canal turned north into Stanton Low country park which is a good place to stop.  I enjoyed a good walk with Bess and Brinny and spotted a kestrel in a tree; it stayed put for a while as I tried to creep up closer for a photo.  

The kestrel perched in its tree as I tried to creep close enough for a photo

  The next day the canal took us on its winding course round Milton Keynes.  We saw some of the new towns residences in a variety of styles but the majority of our route was flanked by public parks and footpaths.  At Fenny Stratford we encountered our only lock of the day but with a climb of only 1 foot it hardly seemed worth having a lock there.  We sailed on a couple of miles to find a quiet spot to moor up.  

On Tuesday we passed the Wyvern Shipping Company hire boat base at Leighton Buzzard and judging by the number of boats strung across the canal there weren't many hire boaters out.   

Wyvern Shipping Company leaves a small gap for boaters to pass.

Shortly after the town we stopped for the day.  On our afternoon walk I spotted the large white chalk lion carved on a slope at Whipsnade Zoo.

Whipsnade Zoo's chalk lion

The canal then cut across open countryside with locks at regular intervals.  At Seabrook Lock we were surprised to see a cat strolling casually across the lock gates.  It stayed to watch the proceedings as we went through the lock and luckily Bess and Brinny were fast asleep inside.

The cat at Seabrook Lock

We continued on up through Marsworth Locks and this took us onto new waters; in 2014 we turned back between these locks.  We passed the recently developed Marsworth Wharf and up the 7 locks to Bulbourne Junction where one of the old waterways buildings is now a decorative ironworks.

Kev's photo of the ornamental ironworks on display at Bulbourne Junction

After Bulbourne Junction the canal starts to descend steeply on its journey south and on Friday I used the bike to go ahead to set the locks.  The canal wasn't in a good state of repair; the towpaths were muddy and rutted and most of the lock chambers were leaking so badly they had to be left empty. This meant none were in our favour and we had to fill each one before before we could go down.  At Berkhamsted a large rubbish bin was floating in the lock but as it stayed against one corner we were able to pass through without a problem.  

Hemel Hempstead was the next town on our route and once again the bike came in handy for working the locks.  The visitor mooring outside Sainsburys was useful for shopping but as we prefer somewhere quieter to moor up we continued to the outskirts of the town.  And here we stopped for another day, after 2 busy days coming down 24 locks we decided to have Sunday off.  

Our journey from Yardley Gobion to Hemel Hempstead

Hawkesbury to Yardley Gobion

The Easter weekend brought out the boaters who seemed undeterred by Storm Katie.  On Easter Monday we underestimated the volume of rain due our way and had a soggy trip to Rugby where we stopped for shopping before continuing out into open countryside.  Once we'd moored up the sun came out and so did a water vole on the opposite bank.  We quickly had our cameras out to capture this now rare sight.  

The water vole on the opposite bank

The next day we sailed under bridge 69 which is painted to depict 'canals then and now'.

Canals then and now

There are three pairs of locks at Hillmorton and two of the pairs of locks have been used to display lines of verse written by Roy Fisher to commemorate the Canal and River Trust taking over from British Waterways.

Roy Fisher's words on the lock gates

On Wednesday we sailed into Braunston and were lucky to find a mooring as it was very busy.  The sun was shining so I enjoyed a walk around the picturesque village and later we walked up for an excellent meal in the Boathouse pub.  

Braunston cottages in the sunshine

We decided to have an early start on Thursday and we sailed through the mist to Braunston Locks.

Early morning at Braunston

Braunston Tunnel followed the locks, a long tunnel with a couple of kinks in it.  We had the tunnel to ourselves so Kev didn't waste any time, creating an interesting bow-wave in the confined space.  

As we approached Napton Junction we spotted Jules Fuels working narrowboat so tied up alongside for diesel and coal.  Our journey continued down the Buckby Locks and on to the outskirts of Weedon, a good days travelling.  

April Fools Day started with ice on the roof and as it was cold travelling we had a much shorter day, finishing at 9am having covered 6 miles.  I made good use of the spare time by sorting out some materials for a new patchwork project.  This, ironically, will be a storage bag for my fabrics which are stashed in various locations around Brent III. 

Kev doesn't like tunnels and on Saturday we had the 3057 yard long Blissworth tunnel ahead.  We passed the Blissworth boatyard and large red brick warehouse before disappearing into the black opening of the tunnel.  

Blissworth Tunnel boatyard and warehouse

Blissworth is a very wet tunnel with water streaming through the roof vents giving us several icy showers.  But at least it is straight and the small spot of light in the distance gradually increased in size and we sailed through without meeting other boaters.  We sailed on to a quiet spot near Yardley Gobion.  In the afternoon sun I enjoyed a walk with Bess and Brinny during which I spotted a heron which obligingly stood still for a photo.  
  

The heron watching us as I take a photo

Our journey from Hawkesbury to Yardley Gobion