Aylesbury to Berkhamsted

We have had a kingfisher visiting the canal basin recently, and as we have good views from our boat to the sterns of other boats, we have able to watch him fishing.

Kingfisher

We had a great send-off from our church on Sunday 24^th March, followed by lunch with church friends Jack and Sandra.

The following day we loaded the car with all the things we won’t need in the summer, such as an electric fire, and secondary glazing for the portholes. We drove to James’s sister Maggie and her husband Clive’s home in Suffolk for a few days. James went to Minsmere early one morning and saw two adders, plus a range of waterfowl. He also spotted a bearded tit, a first for him.

Adder

We all went to Bury St Edmunds to have a wander round the cathedral, and the abbey ruins. 

Maggie and Clive at their Suffolk home

We returned from Suffolk by train on the Friday, stocking up at Morrisons in Aylesbury before getting a taxi back to the boat.

Saturday 30^th March

We lent a hand at the Aylesbury Canal Society working party, on a very hot sunny day. Yellow Brimstone butterflies appeared, and in the evening there were bats flying around. We moved the boat to the fuel pontoon so that we could load our coal onto the roof, fill up with water, and empty the cassettes. We even cleaned the port side of the boat, especially the stains from the chimney. Then the bar was open and we all had a fish and chip supper followed by a film: “Bohemian Rhapsody”.

Sunday 31^st March

The clocks moved forward this morning, so although our alarm went off at 8am, it felt like 7am. We had originally planned to leave on the Saturday and go halfway to Marsworth. Then the working party was announced, and we thought we ought to stay for that. Our church has a “Sabbath Sunday” on the fifth Sunday of the month, when people are encouraged to do something different, perhaps with other church members. Accordingly, we had put out a notice that we would welcome some crew to help us up the locks. As it was Mother’s Day, many people had plans, but two couples responded, and after we had completed a few chores, our guests for the day arrived at about 10am: Tim and Jackie, and Will and Ann.

Tim (another one) and Hilary kindly opened the lift bridge for us and we had lots of people waving from their boats as we left.

Leaving the canal basin

Our guests had done very little boating before, but they soon caught on to what needed to be done, and it was good to have them along. Surprisingly for this usually quiet waterway, we met three boats coming down.

Our first lock of the year

Tim and Will manning the locks

On the Aylesbury Arm (by Jackie Rees)

Jackie and Ann

James on the locks (Jackie Rees)

The only incident was that two walkers told us that between locks 3 and 4 the pound was empty. On Lock 4 “Black Jack’s Lock” both the bottom paddles were open, presumably from the last boat we had passed. James also found that one of the top paddles was slightly open, just a notch or two. This had drained the pound and caused water to flow over the gates of the locks below. James closed it, and went up to lock 3, and opened a paddle on the bottom and top gates, and then opened paddles on the staircase locks 1 and 2 to let water down and fill the low pound.  By the time Gabriel arrived in Lock 4, the offending pound was deep enough to navigate. 

The dry pound

Below Black Jack's (Jackie Rees)

Approaching the staircase (Jackie Rees)

The staircase locks

Tim and Will at the top lock

The trip from the Canal Basin to Marsworth took 3 hours and 40 minutes, a very acceptable time. We went through one further lock, by Bluebells Café, and we moored by the reservoirs soon after. We all had a pleasant meal at the Angler’s Retreat, with teas and coffees back on board.

Our four keen volunteers: Will, Ann, Tim, Jackie

James had a short walk to see what was on the reservoirs.

Mandarin duck

Great Crested Grebe

Our mooring by the reservoirs

A boat came up through the lock and took water out of the pound, so our boat grounded and developed a list. James went to check that the paddles were all completely down, which they were, and he ran some water down from the lock above and slackened our ropes to get us almost floating again.

15 locks, 5 miles   dep 1000 arr 1405

Monday 1^st April

We were floating properly this morning as the water levels had probably been supplemented by some water pumped from the reservoirs.

We had some decisions to make today. We had planned to go from Berko (Berkhamsted) to Winkwell on Wednesday, but there is a two-day stoppage on Tue and Wed half way between at lock 56. Then we saw the weather forecast and today looks fine but tomorrow and Wednesday look wet. So we were not sure how far to go today.  Then Henry phoned and suggested a pub lunch in Berko tomorrow with him and Lin, and Alan and Geraldine, all Canal Ministries friends. So, although it is more than our daily ration of boating, we will go to Berko today, and stay there for three nights, sitting out the rain and the stoppage. Decision made.

As we were preparing to leave, a boat came up through the lock, and we agreed to share the locks. His boat was called Arcadia, although it wasn’t painted on the side. He called himself Batesy, and we had some good conversations about Canal Ministries, Boaters Christian Fellowship, and climate change. He was from Northampton and was heading to London to join a climate change demonstration.

We worked with him through six locks up to the summit at Bulbourne, where the old lock making works is being “developed”. Then the four-mile summit level, followed by the seven locks down to Berko. The second half of the day was hot and sunny.

Blackthorn blossom

Cruising past the reservoirs

Sharing with Arcadia

Leaving the top lock

Bulbourne lock-making works

At Lock 47, workmen were attempting to fill cavities in the lock wall with expanding foam to stop them leaking. We could only use one side of the lock, so Batesy went in first, and we followed after he had gone.

Working on the locks

Pins in the wall

How it is meant to work

Approaching Northchurch Lock, we met David and Kathy Lee out for a walk with their dog. They are BCF members and we saw their boat Interlock further on. 

Then we saw a very unusual craft, with half a car welded to it.

Car on a boat

Many of the locks were against us as boaters are asked to leave them empty due to leakage.

Arriving in Berko, we found a mooring not far from Waitrose, although we had to use mooring pins in fairly soft ground, so we put a second pin through the eye of the first one to secure them. It is time that the council here put in some mooring rings. 

Moored in Berko

13 locks, 6 miles.  Dep 1015 arr 1515

Next: two wet days in Berkhamsted. Aiming for X1 Church in Watford for Sunday morning.