Friday, 25 August 2017

Rickmansworth to Abbots Langley

Thursday 24th August

Before we set off I made a quick trip to Tesco on the other side of the canal. On the way I saw these 2 beautiful old cottages.
I made lunch so we could eat on the go if necessary and then we set off about 9.30am.
Batchworth lock was just a few yards away so we soon arrived there. There are 2 locks here, the right hand one continues along the Grand Union canal and the left one leads to the river Chess.

 Under the bridge was a reminder of the old days with horse drawn boats. 



There was even a model canal system at this lock but sadly it wasn't working despite their claim to fame!


The nearby cafe however was open but we weren't stopping. 
You will see on our roof there is an old paddle. We aquired this along the Paddington arm when another boat heading towards us pointed out that this had got stuck on our bow! I fished it out and we decided it would do nicely in place of a bargepole as ours got pinched in Reading!
At the lock I saw this man carrying a load of shopping and then getting in this funny looking boat with wheels. It clearly is great for doing shopping trips. Perhaps we can put some floats on our trolley!

Another first was this boat complete with roof swing and pedalo!
On to the next lock, Lot Mead lock. It was very pretty. 



 I got a great shot of this heron who was happily posing by the lock. Clearly no shortage of herons as we see at least one a day. 

After the lock we went under this pink railway bridge 
I was on my own to the next lock as John was walking with Dex along the towpath. If I keep to 4 miles an hour he can usually keep up with his walking sticks. 
 I had the easy job of steering! 
Was there really a lion guarding these moorings?
 I liked this smart boat with the fruity portholes!

 Come on Mr Brookes put your back into it!
After Common Moor lock we went through some residential areas 


A lot of the moorings were beautifully kept. 
At Cassio Bridge Lock another boat was coming down and I saw him coming just before I emptied the lock so managed to top the lock back up and let him in. Grandad was steering the boat and I had help with the gates from 3 year old Cal and his mum. 


 Finally it was our turn to get in the lock. 
After this lock we pass alongside Cassiobury Park. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cassiobury_Park
 At the next lock, Iron Bridge lock there was quite a crowd of onlookers. Not much help but a lot of waving and moral support.

In 2014 a boat was sunk in this lock, most likely due to being caught on the cill. The Watford gazette report says it is unclear how it happened but most likely due to boater error! 😃
This can happen to the best of us so we are not taking any chances!


 As we left the lock these anglers were having a fishing lesson. 
I loved this boat with it's striking flower display



Soon we were approaching Cassiobury park locks which are a small flight of 2 locks with a short pound in between. 

We managed the first lock without any problems and I walked on to the second lock to get it ready. As I was opening the paddles, John gave a shout and I rushed back to see what was wrong. The boat was stuck on the bottom as the water in the pound was so shallow. We thought that I would have to open the paddles up and allow some water to flow through into the pound but luckily after revving the engine it finally came unstuck - phew!

The lock keepers cottage at the second lock was really pretty. 




A canal and river trust man was painting the lock gates and he gave me a hand to open them.


At the next bridge it looked like this old building could have once been a toll house.

After this the canal twists and turns as we pass Grove park and Mill.






 There is a nice patch of open parkland on the right. We are planning to moor after the next bridge so this will be ideal for walking Dex!

Soon after we arrive at Grove Bridge.  There are some great old pictures of the bridge and Cassiobury park and locks if you follow this link: http://www.hertfordshire-genealogy.co.uk/data/places/places-w/watford/watford-canal.htm
 It really is a wonderful structure.

We managed to find a mooring space right behind one of the orange lifeboats. John is really good at parallel parking now! He can squeeze us into spaces we would never have tackled before.

It was a beautiful spot and very quiet. After we had got settled we took Dex to the common nearby for a walk.







 Back under the bridge to find Prairie

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