2025 Trip - Mercia Marina to London return

Keeping an eye on the notices on the Canal & River Trust site about the swing bridge, we proceed cautiously, aware we don't want to arrive and find it's still impassable!  Quite a chilly morning Another pretty lock cottage   Woolly hat weather - working the lock Another 5 locks before Berkhamsted Visiting goose Floating garden Sunny - shady hat required  Berkhamsted is a place that really celebrates its canal ...and has more enticing pubs than most This is a man trying to entice a partner (the sign says 'Wife required, enquire within') Wonderfully colourful bridge Lock cottage and modern housing, sympathetically matched Another built by Stephen Goldsbrough, like Catnap - this one is exactly 30 boats before Evening swan and a peaceful spot for the night

Still held up by the broken swing bridge, we potter about at the village of Cow Roast (so called because it was where the cows rested on the old drove roads) and after a day, descend the lock here to use the water point. We hear that the swing bridge often breaks down, because drivers exceed the weight limit - we're just hoping it's repairable on time and we can get through! It's on quite a busy lane apparently, so when broken it's locked in place in favour of motorists and pedestrians, reasonable enough. In the meantime, Jan walks the 3 miles down to Berkamsted to shop and we catch up on chores. Spot the ducklings   Cottages by Cow Roast lock The narrow entrance to Cow Roast marina - rather glad we're not going in When boats are abandoned and there's danger of an oil leak, a boom is put around the hull. This boat Varanasi  previously belonged to neighbours of ours at Sawley, but in a sad state now The sorrowful sight of Varanasi and the slightly chillier weathe...

A later Sunday start.  We've heard that there's a broken electric swing bridge at Winkwell a few miles ahead, between Berkhamsted and Hemel Hempstead, which won't be repaired until 28th May so we're pacing ourselves to arrive about then. It's quite windy today, 17 - 18 mph. We have six locks of the Marsworth flight to ascend and hope there are a few boats coming down or going up to help out - although everyone is commenting about how quiet the waterway is.  Fortunately, there's one lockkeeper on duty as we enter the first lock, who goes up and prepares the next for us. The first lock of the day Waiting for the next lock to empty The trick is to keep the boat motionless, or almost, against the lock wall while the lock fills A rope looped round a bollard helps hold the boat in A gate balance beam, showing how eroded they become over time - this could be 20 years old In the top lock now Coming up We're over half way between Braunston and Brentford, hurray! The ...

At this point, we're slowly climbing the Chilterns, with the steepest climb - the 6 locks at Marsworth very close together - ahead of us. Once we complete those, we'll be on the 'summit' for 3 miles before starting the long descent of over 50 locks into London. Progress is slow, partly because there are few boats either going our way or coming the other way and able to help on the locks and partly because the locks are all double and heavy to operate.  However, we are noticing how much fitter and strong we're getting! First job of the day is to water the marigolds It's been our tradition for years to have some marigolds on the roof during trips   First lock of the day A beautiful morning and very attractive scenery Denis working the lock, showing the massive oak gate beam Catnap waiting in the small pound between two locks until the upper lock is ready Ivy clad lock cottage with what looks like an old barn or stable alongside. Some cottages still have the old bu...

  From our mooring we can just make out the White Lion on the Dunstable Downs, made in 1932 to mark the site of Whipsnade Zoo and the largest chalk figure in England Nearer to us on the canalside, these wooden holiday pods blend with the scenery rather attractively A blurry shot, but we're seeing a good number of red kites along the canal, sometimes up to 4 together. They were extinct in England until the late 1980s and after successful reintroduction there are now 6000 plus pairs Our method in these double locks is to loop the middle rope around a bollard for the steerer to hold the boat in to the side...then whichever of us is lockie can use the principle 'same side ground, opposite side gate paddle' to fill the lock and at the same time hold the boat in without it moving too much Denis closing a bottom gate, showing how massive these are. It needs our whole body weight to move them - no need for the gym! Pulling over to let the historic boats Bletchley and Bideford of Ju...