Narrowboat Annie: October 2 -12 up the Grand Union Canal

October 2 Leicester to Brentford

We had a difficult journey after leaving the car in Leicester. The train was late, there was lots of walking on the tube with few lifts, and the train from Vauxhall was not going to Brentford because of vandalism on the track. We got off at Richmond and caught a bus to Brentford. There, we had a McDonalds meal, followed by a half mile walk to the basin and a quiet night in .... but aren't we lucky to be having such holidays this year in Australia, New Zealand, Scotland and England! Woo hoo!

October 3 Brentford to Bulls Bridge (6 miles, 10 locks)

We squeezed out from behind the widebeam which had breasted up with Annie, bade farewell to Brentford and set off up the ten locks to Southall and Bulls Bridge. There was a huge log, 40cm across and 3 metres long in the second lock, plus loads of rubbish, so we flushed out much rubbish and small branches. John got Annie in beside the big log, which ended up behind her, blocking the bottom gates. We were ok, but Liana rang CRT to alert them. The weather was cool but fine, and we made good time, even though the locks were almost all against us, and got up the “thick” of six Hanwell locks in three hours, and had lunch. After, we completed our final two locks and passed through Southall to the Tesco store moorings at Bulls Bridge, where John squeezed Annie in between two cruisers. We did a big shop in Tescos and had their hot roast chicken and bread for tea. It was a noisy night, with motorbikes, planes, trains and automobiles keeping us both awake at times ,,,,, odd, as last time John slept fine here.

October 4 Bulls Bridge to Rickmansworth (13 miles, 8 locks)

The morning was dry but threatening rain, with a cool breeze. The iconic Nestle factory has been flattened for housing, so there is little left of the old industries here now. We reached Yiewsley and passed Morrisons, then left the long pound and ascended Cowley and Uxbridge locks. At Denham Deep Lock a gentleman came to help us (he was waiting for his Boat Safety Certificate examiner to finish, and was bored). Two more locks saw us at the Coy Carp Vintage Inn, but we didn't stop (no beer October – sob!) until just before Rickmansworth, above Stocker's Lock.

Saturday October 5 Rickmansworth to Kings Langley (7 miles, 12 locks)

After a quieter night, John got up early, made tea and had porridge and banana slices as part of his new leaner regime (sigh). Setting off about 0800, we passed lines of moored boats throughout the day, far more than two year,s ago even. This shows that the (mainly young) people moving onto the water to live in London cheaply have now spread all the way to Brentford and up the Grand Union Canal to the M25 and beyond. Watford has the last station on the Metropolitan Line, so liveaboards can commute easily from here. Kings Langley and Apsley have rail stations too. We have to say that we now travel at slightly more than idling speed, but not enough to move boats. Otherwise, we would take forever, past continuous boats. As many of these boats are not too well maintained, the scenery is worsened, and it has made us think twice about coming down to London again. The boating folk are mainly cheerful and friendly, thankfully, although many are not too aware of the usual boating conventions. Anyway, moan over.

Our first lock, Batchworth, has a lock next to it where the river Chess joins the canal. There are private moorings just above the lock. The next stretch of our trip was along the River Colne until we turn up the River Gade valley, up Mead Lock 80. Just past this we saw the Metropolitan Line pass overhead.

We passed a number of boats coming down the locks, which was a nice change, as we got help to work the stiff mechanisms and heavy gates, thankfully.

Past more boats and near Croxley station, we passed up Common Moor and the pretty Cassio Bridge Lock, the nearest to Watford Metropolitan Line terminus. Cassiobury Park is still one of the prettier parts of the canal hereabouts, as you pass up the next three locks. Between Grove Mill and the ornate white ballustraded bridge 164 is one of our favourite mooring spots. Just after this the pleasant \lady Capel's lock precedes the M25 link road. We filled up with reasonably priced diesel at Bridgewater Boats, just before the two Hunton Bridge locks. The attendant was both friendly and chatty. A local biking family were delighted for their two children to help us through one lock: The boy had ridden into the canal earlier, but was still keen!

Once under the huge high M25 bridge is a good mooring spot, close by the Kings Langley station, where we have left the boat before.

We moored about 2pm above Home Park Mill lock 70, Kings Langley, so we could eat a late tuna sandwich and crisps lunch. Then John watched Liverpool beat Leicester City with a goal in the 95^th minute – a close thing!

Monday October 6 Kings Langley, Apsley and Hemel Hempstead to Bourne End (5 miles, 10 locks)

After a wet night, the forecast was better than expected. John checked the prop shaft, plus engine and gearbox oil, changed the air filter. The engine has been vibrating at low revs, plus the revs have kept varying when the throttle is increased – odd. He has tried to alter the throttle cable to adjust the idling speed, and checked the two sedimentation filters for water and blockages, to no avail. He has also added diesel bug killer plus Redex to clear carbon from the engine. The next thing is to change the cartridge fuel filter attached to the engine block, plus try Redex particulate fuel filter cleaner and more Redex to clean out the engine. John's back is not too good, so this will have to wait a few days.

Tuesday October 7 Bourne End to Berkhamsted (3 miles, 8 locks)

Wednesday October 9 Marsworth bridge 129 through Leighton Buzzard to Old Linslade church (9 miles, 12 locks, 1 swing bridge)

John's back is still fragile, so he has to move carefully. The short pound between locks 38 and 37 was empty, so we opened the lock 38 top and bottom paddles and waited half an hour for it to fill the pound below from the mile long pound above. There seemed no obvious reason for this, so we guessed someone had left paddles open, then someone else had closed them, too late. We passed lots of moored boats after lock 37, a boat club and marina before the three Seabrook locks, set in scenic countryside near Cheddington and Ivinghoe. The day improved steadily, blue sky appeared and the sun came out. A tractor scared a small deer into breaking cover and racing across a grass field beside Annie. The locks are more spaced out as you approach Leighton Buzzard, so Liana could rest. A CRT chap helped us through one lock, as he waited for a widebeam CRT workboat which was following us. We had sandwiches and tea on the move.

In Leighton Buzzard we visited Tesco and Aldi, where we managed to spend more than we should! We decided to move on past the three abreast Wyvern Shipping hireboats , through Leighton Lock and moor in the country near Old Linslade Church, away from the railway. Chicken, Ham and Leek pie, mashed potato, peas and gravy went down well. TV reception was poor, so we watched a dvd and read.

Thursday October 10 through Soulbury and Stoke Hammond and Milton Keynes to Cosgrove (17 miles, 6 locks)

It's good to reach open countryside after all the towns. John felt the engine still hunted at higher revs, but was ok otherwise, so determined to change all the fuel filters at the first opportunity, to make sure fuel flow wasn't restricted by sludge or diesel bug: It shouldn't be, as we have put diesel bug treatment in recently. John also put in more Redex to clear carbon from the engine, plus Redex particulate additive, and checked gearbox and engine oil levels.

After a late 1000 start, we travelled down the River Ouzel valley to the three Soulbury locks, Liana catching up on boat cleaning.

Liana began setting the top Soulbury lock when two volunteers appeared. They hadn't seen us, and we were their first boats of the day. They helped us through, Liana getting on board before we left the bottom lock and waved farewell. They were the first volunteers we have seen since the Thames, so we had assumed theyn finished in October. At Stoke Hammond lock we met a Wyvern Shipping hireboat (the first of five today) returning to Leighton Buzzard and helped them up the lock. We saw more boats coming towards us today than we have seen in a week! We also saw two Kingfishers!

The weather was cool, breezy but dry, so we kept going through the tidy parkland and urban sprawl of Milton Keynes, through the scenic Fenny Stratford lock to reach the newly refurbished railway painting and derelict railway works at Wolverley. The weather stayed pleasant, so we continued across the Great Ouse Aqueduct and embankment to Cosgrove lock, ascended it and moored a few hundred yards beyond it, in the village. We ate in and watched England play badly and lose to the Czech Republic: Only Raheem Sterling and goalkeeper Pickford played well.

Friday October 11 Cosgrove to Stoke Bruerne (7 miles, 7 locks)

Happy Birthday, Sarah!

It rained all night but was dry this morning, so we set off. Liana caught up with our written log. John nearly crashed the boat while trying to photograph a kingfisher which stayed on a branch as Annie motored past! It was very windy, so this made steering more difficult, too.

The engine was still imperfect, so we stopped at Baxter Boatyard (Kingfisher?) at The Wharf, Yardley Gobion, where the friendly lady and excellent engineer sorted out three fuel filters (we have an extra water separator filter (added before we crossed The Wash), a sedimentation filter plus the usual cartridge filter on the engine).

the standard fuel filter has a smaller bottom pan

Diesel fuel filter (water separator collects H2O at the bottom

He had a look in our engine compartment to make sure we got the right ones – impressive. John made sure no diesel would be spilt into the canal. A white cotton woolly bilge sausage absorbs fuel and oil, but not water.

Stoke Bottom L:ock with services on right

Arriving at Stoke locks, a boater descending helped Liana with the bottom lock. A single hander arrived going our way, so we ascended the first five locks together, but didn't really get into a routine. He moored in the longer pound before the penultimate lock, where water was pouring over the bottom gates as a boat entered from above. Liana and this boater worked together. Once Annie was in and this lock filling, Liana went on to the top lock, to find two boats descending. We swapped with them and ascended the top lock in heavy rain.

Stoke Top Lock

posted at Stoke Bruerne

Once up the locks, we moored not far beyond the museum and the Boat pub, and had a well deserved cheap meal in the Navigation pub. Liana's pie very tasty, with lots of meat and pastry, although this suffered a little from being microwaved, not heated in an oven. John's soup starter, burger and chips and Liana's apple pie pudding were good, also, for the princely sum of £21. We visited the museum shop, where John admired the barrel and horse feeding trough, decorated by our friend who gave us one of his pictures at Worsley (his name will come back to me!!). Work by our other favourite painter, Terence, was also on display. The books for sale are ok, but the best ones for John are on the large secondhand bookshelf: He bought two canal books, “Hold on a minute” by Tim Wilkinson and “Journeys of the Swan” by John Liley.

John fitted the filters and checked one or two fuel pipes for blockages, getting soaked by a cloudburst when half way through!

Saturday 12 October Stoke Bruerne to the New Inn, Long Buckby (16.5 miles, 7 locks)

After breakfast, John could smell diesel, then found one of the filters was dripping fuel. He dismantled it and fitted the rubber seal correctly, but quite a few litres of fuel had been wasted. He used our supply of nappies and rubble sacks to soak it up and Liana disposed of them in nearby skips. He deployed a white “sausage” in the bilge, which soaks up oil and fuel but not water, to avoid polluting the waterway.

Thankfully, the new filters seem to have worked. The engine sounds and works much better, so the old filters must have been blocked.

Blisworth Tunnel

We passed NB Scruffy Fox in Blisworth Tunnel. The poor chap asked us to switch off our tunnel light, which was dazzling him, which we did: First time we have ever been asked to do that! The light is still the old fashioned type, which I was thinking of replacing, but it is obviously bright enough! Liana had adjusted the lamp so it was aimed forward at the ceiling, so we were surprised the gentleman had a problem. We have been dazzled by bright new lamps shining horizontally in tunnels, so we know the problem, however.

Blisworth

Blisworth Marina, Gayton

NB Hawk at Nether Heyford, an idyllic spot

the new road bridge North of Weedon. It has a memorial bench to one of its engineers beneath

After passing through Blisworth and emptying loo holding tanks at Gayton Junction services, we continued along the quiet, scenic fifteen mile pound to Whilton Marina. We spotted a boat entering the bottom lock, so Liana managed to get off and have a chat, and they waited for us at the second lock. This boater had his elderly mum with him, so he was essentially single handed, but we worked well together to get up all seven Buckby locks very efficiently: Liana opened the bottom gates, started one top paddle filling once we were in, then walked up to set the next one. Our companion nimbly use the lock ladder, helped and then closed the top gates before catching up with Annie at the next lock up.