Thursday 12th &to Monday 16th July 2007 - Stationary at Berkhamsted I went off to the Museum very early on Thursday morning, as I had a certain amount of equipment to get out for a busy day with three school visits. There was another visit on Friday morning, after which we'd hoped to get in some boating, but a problem on the tube combined with my having painfully cracked skin on my heels put paid to that.
On Friday & Saturday, Tilly decided she wanted to stay in Lindy's garden (she found a favourite place in a tree by the boat), so we were stuck. Brian & Lindy arrived back from holiday late on Saturday evening. I had to be back at the museum on Monday, and when I came back that evening we ate in the house with Brian, while Lindy was at a council meeting. She joined us for drinks later elated with having got a resolution about waterside planning through the Council. When we got back to the boat about midnight, both cats were in, so we closed the cat-flap in order to be sure of getting away next morning. Tuesday 17th July 2007 - Berkhamsted to Cowroast After the evening before, it wasn't surprising that we were late starting, at 11:01. As we were setting off, a single-hander came up Raven's Lane lock, and we agreed to share locks with him. He was taking his partner's boat to Willowbridge to be sold. He himself was a Nene boater. It was very slow going, despite meeting lots of downhill boats, one of which turned a lock round in our faces. There were a lot of showers, some of them very heavy. By the time we reached the summit we felt tired so decided to stop for a rest and some lunch. We tied up at 14:24 a little way above Cowroast Marina in some of the worst rain yet. By the time we'd eaten, I'd slept, and the weather had cleared, it was 17:00 and we couldn't feel confident of finding a mooring at Bulbourne, so decided to stay put for the night. DAY'S RUN 3.4 miles, 8 locks in 3 hrs 23 mins Wednesday 18th July 2007 - Stationary above Cowroast We weren't able to do any boating as Tilly decided to stay out until it was too late. Thus was most frustrating as it was a nice sunny day. On the one time Tilly did make a short visit back, Mandy was out. When finally they were both back, around 18:00, we closed the cat-flap to be sure of a get-away next day, in the hope of a longish day aiming at Leighton Buzzard. Thursday 19th July 2007 - above Cowroast to Grove Lock We set off at 10:0, a slow run along the summit because of all the moored boats. As we were approaching Bulbourne, a chap on cruiser "Shiralee" proposed joining us for the locks, to which we agreed. He was a single-hander called Jeff, very energetic and efficient, and his cruiser was a vintage one, 47 years old. Part-way down the flight he was joined by his sister and brother-in-law. They stopped below Startopsend lock. Cheddington swing bridge was occupied by a bunch of teenagers, fishing and working the bridge for passing boats. We tied up just beyond it for a rest. I had an hour's kip and felt much revived. As we were setting off again and about to close the gates of the first lock (Seabrook top), another boat appeared, so again we had a partner. It was the Wyvern hire-boat "Primrose", crewed by two men (whose names we never found out) with two beautiful long-haired retrievers. They also turned out to be an efficient crew, so once again we made good time through the locks. "Primrose" had planned to stop here at Grove Lock and eat at the eponymous pub, so we decided to stop as well, as by this time (19:00) we couldn't be sure of getting a decent mooring at Leighton Buzzard. We felt too tired for a full meal, so just snacked on board. DAY'S RUN 10.2 miles, 17 locks in 6 hrs 42 mins Friday 20th July 2007 - Grove lock to Leighton Buzzard Wendy was up in the early hours and found both cats in, so closed the cat-flap. In the morning the weather was not at all inviting. We set off at 12:10 in light drizzle, which we hoped might presage a break in the weather long enough for us to get to Leighton Buzzard. We had a partner for Grove lock, then the rain started again and got steadily heavier, with some thunder. Just before Leighton Bridge we saw the boats "Astra" & "Joe Gilbert", friends of ours from our stay at Oldbury in the first weeks of 2005. Bridget was out shopping, but Dennis was there working and his forge. He's doing the Linslade show and one in Stourbridge later on, then he'll sell "Joe Gilbert" and retire. They'll live on "Astra". At Leighton Buzzard water point we took on water (still in very heavy rain). When we arrived there was no space on the 14-day mooring beyond the bridge, but the first boat there was our partner from earlier, who said they'd only be there a few minutes, and indeed they moved off just as we finished taking on water. So we moved round onto the mooring and tied up at 13:33. As soon as we'd tied up, we dived into the cabin to dry off and left the hose to its serpentine existence in the well-deck. We 'phoned our friends Mike & Lynda Ede and arranged to meet them for a pub meal that evening. We did a lot of shopping, Wendy at both Tesco and Waitrose and me at Homebase. In the evening the weather had cleared up, but the pub where Mike & Lynda had suggested we eat wasn't doing food because their kitchen was flooded, so the four of us walked into the town centre to see what we could find. The first place we tried was an Italian restaurant, but they were fully booked until later than we wanted to be, so we went to the "Litten Tree" to eat. The food was fairly plain but good and they served a good pint of London Pride. When we arrived the place was brightly lit and almost empty, but by the time we'd finished eating (about 21:00), it started filling up with young people and loud music and the lights were turned down, so we removed to "The Roebuck" for the rest of the evening, which was much quieter and to our taste. DAY'S RUN 1.4 miles, 1 lock in 48 mins and a lot of rain. Saturday 21st July 2007 - Leighton Buzzard to Great Linford Wendy did a final shop at Tesco, then we waited suspiciously for the weather before setting off at 10:10. We had partners at all the locks - not always the same ones. We tied up on the visitor moorings below Fenny Stratford lock for a rest and something to eat. We set off again in dry weather, but the rain soon came back and became very heavy despite a light sky. We paused for a moment at the Gifford Park moorings to see if there was a pump-out machine - there wasn't. We stopped at the "Black Horse," Linford, at 18:34 because we'd had enough and because the bad weather has caused emergency closures at Braunston (a landslip) and Stoke Bruerne (flooding, presumably from the River Tove). DAY'S RUN 14.8 miles, 6 locks in 6 hrs 27 mins Sunday 22nd & Monday 23rd July 2007 - Stationary at Great Linford There was no news in the morning about the Stoke Bruerne stoppage, so we decided to stay here. Mike went to the pub at lunchtime for a couple of pints. He thought it a bit pretentious. Frustratingly, the weather was dry for most of the day. On Monday morning I went off very early for a day at the Museum. ******************* TO BE CONTINUED -- Mike Stevens narrowboat Felis Catus III web-site www.mike-stevens.co.uk Defend the waterways. Visit the web site www.saveourwaterways.org.uk
