Borough Market
After threatening to visit London since we got off the Thames at Brentford, we decided that Apsley would be a good place to do it from. The railway station is a five minute walk from where we were moored so on Saturday morning we caught the 0938 to Euston. The half hourly service takes thirty minutes to reach the capital so we found ourselves on the station concourse just before quarter past ten. We had intended to take the tube to Borough Market but the station was so busy, we decided to walk there; it’s only three miles after all! Once we had crossed the Euston road, the number of pedestrians had thinned out so we had an enjoyable walk in the Saturday morning sunshine. The route is a fairly straightforward and one that we have taken before so we were able to have a good look at some of the architecture along the way. As we crossed the Thames on Blackfriars bridge we tried to work out the state of the tide, coming to the conclusion that it was going out and was pretty low at that time. This was confirmed as we walked along the southern embankment and could see that there were a number of people walking on the exposed beach. Soon we reached Borough Market which was already heaving with shoppers, when we have visited before we have been staying in London and were able to get there when it opened at 8am. Now, three hours after opening time, the market was packed but we still managed to get around it all, buying a couple of items and sampling lots more.
The hour that we had spent in the market went quickly and then we started the trek back north to Euston.
Fleet Street was full of buses when we walked along it, a mixture of service buses and tour coaches lined up, no doubt waiting for traffic lights to change somewhere. Well the lights changed or the hold up cleared and they all moved off one by one. All, that is, except for one open top tour bus which stayed resolutely still. We automatically looked at the driver and saw him sitting, slightly slumped in his seat with his eyes closed. He then lifted his head and looked around to see that the traffic had moved and the road ahead was empty. He then caught sight of us pointing and laughing at him. In fairness, he grinned and waved back at us before moving on with his bus load of passengers who were oblivious to the actions of their sleepy driver.
We took our time and broke our journey part way at an open air café. Our light lunch was fine although we wondered at one point whether we had made a good choice of venue. I asked for a sandwich which was listed on the menu as being, “Pastrami and pickle rye”. “What kind of bread would like?”, asked the waiter, “White, wholemeal or ciabatta?”. “I would like to think that it is on rye bread”, I replied. “Oh, yes, my mistake.” he said, laughing. Meanwhile the couple at the table next to us were sending their food back and the family at another table were given the wrong bill to settle. As it turned out, Sue’s jacket potato and my pastrami and pickle on rye sandwich arrived and they were fine, although my idea of rye bread is clearly different to whoever made the sandwich.
After our brief stop, we walked the final mile or so back to Euston and only had a few minutes to wait before we could board our train back to Apsley for the rest of the day.
Kings Langley to Apsley (Hemel Hempstead)
Well, as the song says, what a difference a day makes. We awoke on Thursday to the sound of silence, the continuous drumming of the rain had gone and although it was quite cool and cloudy outside, it was pleasant enough for travelling. We didn’t go far, only a couple of miles and four locks but that got us to Apsley which is on the outskirts of Hemel Hempstead. We found a suitable mooring just above the lock that sits just above the marina and is in pretty much the same spot as we moored when we were here five years ago, what a coincidence!
After getting ready and having lunch on board, we walked back to the footbridge which carries the path over the canal towards the Paper Mill pub, although we didn’t stop there. Instead we walked up to the main road and walked into Apsley itself. Small shops line the main road for a few hundred yards, nothing of great significance but interesting to see yet another place that we had skipped through in previous years. On the way back to the boat we did some shopping in the handily placed canal side Sainsbury’s.
While we were Apsley, we saw Barnowl No8, Octavia, the boat built just before Caxton.
On Saturday morning we were up and about and heading into Hemel Hempstead for no other reason than to have a look around. We didn’t really know what to expect but we were very pleasantly surprised. We walked along the towpath for a while and then reached a main road leading to the town centre. We soon discovered Hemel Hempstead’s “Magic Roundabout”.
Hemel Hempstead was one of Britain’s New Towns so this sort of thing is to be expected but once beyond the ridiculous road layout, we were in for a bit of a treat. The main shopping area is wide, open and pedestrianised with lots of retail shops. We had a stop for coffee at one of the independent coffee shops there (we counted three but there may be more). They have to compete with the big three coffee chains but they all seemed to be thriving – no doubt down to good service as well as a good product.
The town hides a secret from the casual visitor, the old town or specifically the High Street. To get there, we had to walk through the centre and on for about another half a mile but it was worth it. The High Street today has a number of barber shops, hairdressers antique shops and pubs as well as the old town hall. It’s lovely and is in stark contrast to the new town centre. That’s not to say that the new part is hideous, it’s just different and is lovely in its own modern way.
If, like me you were a fan of “Pie in the sky“, a 90’s light hearted police drama starring Richard Griffiths, you would be happy, like I was, to see the location of Henry Crabbe’s restaurant, Pie in the Sky in the High Street.
After lunch in the Old Bell, we walked back through the new town to the park and then to the canal towpath. On our way back, we called in at the farm shop near Two Waters and bought some locally produced honey which will find its way to mother’s kitchen in late November when we visit her. Sunnyside Rural Trust run the venture and they provide work and experience for those with learning difficulties, a very good cause in our opinion.
We rounded the afternoon off with a visit to the nearby and aforementioned “Paper Mill” where we sat on the canalside terrace and watched the odd boat go past for a while. As you could probably guess there was once a paper mill here and nearby there is a museum although unfortunately, because it has limited opening times, we didn’t get a chance to see it. We did see this clock, however and that gives away the type of paper once made here. I must admit that I didn’t look closely at it at first, thinking that it was just another factory clock but Sue spotted the detail.
The name is Bond, Basildon Bond.
Cabin Fever
Wednesday brought the promised rain, starting in the early morning and carrying on incessantly until after 9pm!
Had we been at home, surrounded by bricks and mortar, this probably wouldn’t have mattered; we would have stayed in and amused ourselves with the occasional glance at the weather outside. Our boat has everything that our home has, yet these sort of days seem to be oppressive, but why? The only explanation that I can offer is that a boat is supposed to move and when it isn’t moving we are exploring.
On this occasion we were moored near King’s Langley railway station and we had thought of travelling to London for the day. The weather there wouldn’t be much better but we wouldn’t have to be outside all of the time so it might be worth our while. Fifteen minutes before we had planned to set off for the station, the heavens opened and the light rain turned to a deluge. We abandoned our plan and settled in for the day. As Sue prepared lunch, the monsoon eased off so as we ate we decided to take the train to Watford and have a wander around the shopping centre. Just as we prepared to go, the monsoon returned so plan ‘B’ was scuppered too.
In the end, with the exception of a quick check of the mooring lines, we stayed indoors all day listening to and watching the rain falling. Perhaps the cabin fever is caused by the triumph of hope over experience? Who knows, maybe next time we should just travel or explore in the rain to allay the onset of cabin fever but maybe it would be better to just accept that we will be stuck indoors for the day.
Croxley Green to Kings Langley
When we set off on our adventure back in May we believed that, unlike all of our holidays and short breaks over the years, we wouldn’t have to factor the weather into our travel plans. That isn’t entirely true but it does mean that we don’t have to travel in the rain or have to have long days to compensate for days lost to really bad weather. Wednesday was forecast to bring heavy rain all day so we decided to move a bit further on Tuesday and then sit out the storm.
It was 8.30 when we set off and after making slow progress past the long line of moored boats, we worked up through the first lock and took on water.
Cassiobury park looked quite gloomy, the trees are still in full leaf but it was the leaden coloured sky which made everything look dull.
We were caught up at the next lock by nb Myra-D so when we reached the next lock after that, we waited for them to catch us up again and we worked the next three locks with them. As we left Lady Capel’s lock, Myra-D encountered a problem that they thought would involve a visit to the weedhatch. We carried on, expecting them to catch us up at the Hunton Bridge locks half a mile further on. Sue prepped the lower lock and while I manoeuvred into position, she set the upper lock too. Then we waited but after a while had to come to the conclusion that our lock buddies had encountered a bigger problem than they had anticipated, so we carried on.
Eventually we reached the bridge which carries the M25 over the canal and railway and passed under it, we had first entered the concrete motorway ring which sits around London when we passed under the road between Runnymede and Staines just over a month ago as we made our way down the Thames. Shortly after passing under the motorway, we reached Kings Langley where we found a mooring below the village lock. The pound was a little low and as a result we struggled to get the stern close to the bank but with a bit of rocking and the use of the fat fenders, we were in and secure. Having travelled for four hours and worked through nine locks, we decided to get showered and go to the local pub for lunch, something that we had done when we passed this way five years ago. As before, lunch was very good at The Rose & Crown and it was four o’clock when we arrived back at our boat. A few minutes later and we could hear a boat engine so we looked out to see nb Myra-D lashed to another narrowboat with only the other boat’s engine running. It turned out that the problem that they had was a broken cable but they had arranged for one to be delivered to them the following day. Maybe we’ll see them again on our travels and find out the whole story.
A fleeting glimpse of Watford
Croxley Green is only just over two miles away from Watford town centre so on Monday, after a lazy start, we walked into town and explored the place. It was alright, a busy High Street with a large Intu shopping centre filled with all of the usual retail suspects.
After a wander around we dodged a heavy rain shower by ducking into one of the local Wetherspoons. A couple of drinks over a satisfying lunch let us avoid a drenching and when we emerged on to the High Street we saw that the sky still looked threatening and that there were a number of bus stops just across the road.
It wasn’t too difficult to make the decision to get the bus back to Croxley Green even though we had only had a fleeting glimpse of Watford. I don’t wish to disrespect the town but its centre at least doesn’t seem to hold anything unique for the traveller.
We weren’t too sure of which bus to catch and when we asked the driver of the 420 bus, he didn’t seem too helpful. Luckily enough, a fellow passenger who was sitting near the front of the bus told us that if we got off when he did, he would point us in the right direction. True to his word, he let us know when he was getting off and as promised, pointed us in the direction of the road to the canal. We had only just reached the boat when the rain started again and it continued on and off for the rest of the evening so we just spent our time indoors chatting about nothing in particular and everything in general – as usual!
Short hop to Croxley Green
In the time since I retired I have woken up at any time between 4am and 9am, no idea why but with very little to do each day it doesn’t bother me. On Sunday I awoke at 7.30, just a little hungover from the afternoon spent in the local Wetherspoons. For reasons best known to herself, Sue felt the urge to get up and get going so at eight o’clock she forced me out of bed and made me get the boat moving. The overnight temperature had been quite low so the early morning trip was a little fresh feeling to say the least but it did clear my fuzzy head! We stopped below Batchworth lock and carried out our services again and then set off. We didn’t travel far, three locks and a couple of miles brought us to Croxley Green where we found a good straight mooring with Armco lining the bank and for the first time since we left Kidlington on the Oxford canal, we were able to use our piling pins with a little spring at the stern giving us a really secure mooring.
Croxley Green has a village feel to it with a tube station, a couple of pubs and a few local convenience stores. In reality it is a suburb of either Rickmansworth or Watford although judging by house prices it’s probably still classed as a part of London. We had a wander around and did a bit of shopping after we arrived on Sunday but spent most of the afternoon sitting on the front deck of Caxton in the sunshine.
Journey Resumed
Having toured the north of England for a week or so with a few days at home in the Midlands, we travelled back to Harefield marina and resumed our journey. Caxton was just as we had left it and after we had dumped our luggage back on board, we walked to the nearby Bear on the Barge pub and had dinner.
We had a peaceful final night in the marina and the following morning moved on to the service wharf where we filled with water and diesel and bought gas, we got rid of our rubbish and other waste before settling our mooring fees and paying for our purchases.
Our exit from the marina had been hampered slightly by the boat which had tied on to us as we watered up but once we were free, the first thing to do was to ascend Widewater lock. We completed this task then headed northwards and negotiated another four locks before we reached the visitor moorings near Rickmansworth. Five years ago we spent a day here but this time we were able to devote a bit more time to the area. Rickmansworth has a good shopping area as well as a lovely park which has a couple of lakes where people can sail on one and water-ski on the other.
Using the excuse that we hadn’t had time to shop and replenish the larder, we had lunch in Prezzo on Friday and in Wetherspoons on Saturday.
Trains
Right from the outset we knew that we would have to break this journey in two. My mother’s 80th birthday fell on July 22nd and a family get together had been planned so soon after we left the Ashby canal we made arrangements with Harefield marina to leave our boat with them for two weeks starting on July 20th. We took the opportunity to do some family visiting at the same time and arranged to stay in Leeds and Sheffield after we had been over to Scarborough on the Yorkshire coast.
Much gets written about the state of rail travel in this country but we had no issues at all. We used Chiltern railways from Denham to Marylebone, Virgin East Coast from Kings Cross to York and Trans Pennine from York to Scarborough. Northern Rail carried us from Scarborough to Hunmanby and back a few times before Trans Pennine took us over to Leeds. Northern did most of the short trips around Yorkshire before Cross Country took us back to Hinckley via Birmingham. London Midland eventually carried us back to Euston and after a taxi ride back to Marylebone, Chiltern took us back to Denham. Every train was clean and on time. Every staff member that we encountered was friendly and pleasant. Maybe we were lucky but I suspect that most train journeys are like ours and no-one passes comment. As soon as a train is late or gets cancelled, the smelly stuff hits the fan and everyone jumps on the bandwagon.
We enjoyed our journey within a journey and it was really good to catch up with everyone. We also had an enjoyable few days back at home where we just took a few days out and visited some friends. Thankfully we were happiest when it was time to return to Harefield marina where Caxton sat waiting for us.
Harefield & Denham
When we were last in these parts, in 2012, we ventured no further than the local pub. With more time at our disposal this time around we took the opportunity to wander around the local communities of Denham, Lower Harefield and Harefield.
Denham is just a twenty minute walk from the canal and when we got there we found a handy parade of shops including a traditional butcher. Lower Harefield is a little closer and has a few shops including a post office, a chip shop and a Chinese takeaway amongst others. Harefield itself has a larger selection of shops but it is a good walk to get there and one that is uphill as well. We did that walk of course and then wandered down the other side to the Old Orchard where we enjoyed a lovely lunch. We continued our walk back down to the canal at copper mill lock and from there we walked back to our mooring above Widewater lock.
On the morning of Thursday 20th of July we turned around, descended back through Widewater lock and pushed Caxton into Harefield marina for a two week break; more of which in the next post.
Uxbridge to Harefield
Our mooring choice at Cowley Peachey had been a good one but on Tuesday it was time to move on again. We set off at eight and headed for Cowley lock which didn’t take too long despite our slow speed past the mile or so of moored boats. The lock was empty when we arrived so it only took a few minutes to get through and on to the service point above. We needed to do everything and the tap wasn’t the quickest that we’ve encountered so we made the most of it by running the washing machine and having our showers while we were there. Everything was complete just after nine so we untied and resumed our journey. Moored boats line the canal all the way through Uxbridge so we made slow progress until we reached the town lock. The weather was nice and we were in no hurry so we didn’t really mind the journey at tickover speed. Boats were moored three abreast below Denham deep lock but we’re narrow and the two boats which were leaving the lock were narrow too so we all had enough space. It made me think though that it might not have been so simple if we had a widebeam and were waiting for a similar size vessel to descend. Denham Deep is a big old lock so Sue took her time with the paddles and kept the water turbulence to a minimum so that I could keep control of the boat.
Once clear of the lock, we started looking for a suitable mooring close to Harefield marina and eventually found a spot just above widewater lock. We were pretty much in the same place that marked the furthest point of our trip in August 2012 on our first boat, Phoenix III. On that occasion we only ventured as far as the local pub, The Horse and Barge. Five years on and the pub has been renamed and is now The Bear on the Barge.