New Blog Info..........amendment

                                    Stop Press Amendment Mark 2

Sorry but tumblr was not really working for me so I have just placed my first post on another blogsite

My new blog address is .............http://dreamboat123.wordpress.com

This looks more promising

Blisworth - conclusion............not yet

In the village of Cosgrove is the parish church of St Peter and St Paul, parts of which date back to the 13th century. The roof timbers are amazing as there seemed to be no effort made at the time of construction to plane them off into regular shapes, the original characteristics of the tree being left in place

 The tower is over 70 feet tall and contains six bells with one ‘Santa Maria’ dating to the 15th century.

The next day, after a really lovely meal at the local, leaving Cosworth we passed under Soloman's Bridge which was built in 1800. 

It a was said that a certain Colonel Solomon’s, ‘Lord of the Manor’ agreed to the cutting of the canal on condition that he was allowed to erect the necessary bridge. However the Lord of the Manor at this time was George Biggin Esq., whose residence, Cosgrove Priory, is in sight of the bridge. The proximity may explain the bridge’s unusually ornamental appearance. 

We headed north west for Stoke Bruerne, home of the National Waterways Museum.  Ron was keen to spend some time there as he had heard there was an expert on historical boats and he was hoping to find that he had purchased a gold mine.

Entering Yardley Gobian is this unusual sign - designed I think to encourage you to pass slowly past the boats moored outside the marina.

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  EEEK!!

Trying to add photo but just does not want to go in sequence...........................

Sorry I'm still having real problems with this software. I'm going to have to look for another blog provider I think. I'll keep you posted!!!









 

Blisworth - continued

Milton Keynes answer to graffiti. A wonderful train with so much fun to it. Well done MK

 

Looking down onto the Great Ouse from the aqueduct
No barrier !!

We moored up in Cosgrove, which was a delightful village.

Immediately south-east of the village the canal crosses the valley of the river Great Ouse on an embankment and aqueduct known as the Cosgrove Iron Trunk Aqueduct. The river was initially crossed on the level, with four temporary locks lowering the canal from the south-east, and five raising it from the river towards the north-west (the top lock of these is still in place). The temporary locks were used as a means of getting the canal open to through traffic by 1800 (this river crossing and the tunnel at Blisworth being the only two gaps by that year). However, it was always intended that the river should be crossed by aqueduct, as the locks were wasteful of water, time-consuming and the river in flood in winter could prevent through passage. A brick aqueduct was built, but collapsed in 1808, after which the locks were re-opened. It was replaced by the present Cosgrove aqueduct, built of cast iron, and opened on 22 January 1811.

This was the short cut to the pub ...............

Horse tunnel under the Grand Union Canal at Cosgrove

To be continued......... probs with software again

Blisworth.........I Hate Tunnels

This photo shouldn't be here........sorry. If I delete it I may lose all the rest!!

Whilst travelling through Islington Tunnel (about a mile long) the front of my boat suddenly kicked to the left and in correcting it I lost quite a lot of paint off the side of my boat and the folded down pram hood was damaged. I was told it was the ghost of Islington tunnel and it happens quite frequently!

So you can imagine I was not looking forward to Blisworth Tunnel which is 3 times as long.

But we still have a while to go before reaching it. My last entry was from Linslade

Sunset on the Grand Union 

Before departing from Linslade Ron and I had to spend about half an hour freeing his boat from the bottom of the canal, she was stuck fast. Towing from any angle did not work but did get her bow away from the bank. I then had to place my boat between her and the bank to act as a wedge whilst Ron pushed her stern out. Quite a challenge.

The next challenge was Tesco's just around the corner. Another handy site just on the towpath in Leighton Buzzard.

A little gem of a cottage

We then had a fairly quiet day. Ron had arranged to meet his daughter and 3 grandchildren at Soulbury Three Locks which has a convenient pub and car park

Soulbury Bottom Lock.

Each bridge has 2 arches showing where the locks were once twinned to speed up the volume of traffic on the Grand Union.These double arches were a common sight until we reached Stoke Bruerne. With the decline of the canals the second locks were closed.

To speed things up a bit, we tied the boats together to go through the 3 locks. I worked the locks whilst Ron skillfully took the boats through

We moored up at a lovely quiet location and had a delightful afternoon with Ron's family. The grandchildren kept  us very busy and were a good excuse to take the next day off.

So a useful day for cleaning the boat and chilling out.

We worked out a system of going through the 'down' locks stopping the boats just beyond the gates and then we could both get off and close the gates behind us. Simples!

A beautifully restored teak wood cruiser

The owner was having problems with bees that were boring into the mahogany on the decks 

Fenny Stratford Lock 

They get everywhere!

Fenny Stratford has been important since Roman times being on the crossing of Watling Street and the River Ouzel

This lock was built in1802 as it had been difficult to maintain water levels to the north due to water leakage. The fall on the lock is only 30cm. The smallest on the GU.

There is a swing bridge over the centre of the lock.

We moored up at Simpson, which would give us a fresh start the following day to negotiate our way around Milton Keynes.

He looked like he was meditating...... Om!!
Either that of he was just really hot like the rest of us.


But then I managed to get these shots.....

The GU around Milton Keynes was much more rural than expected 

I'm going to publish this now as I am starting to get problems with the downloads again!!

Amazing Weather But Shallow Waters

Approaching Hemel Hempstead I met another couple travelling on their own so we teamed up of a few locks. But things did not go smoothly so when I spotted a vegetarian cafe in Apsley I decided to moor up. It was a very good excuse to part company!

The basin in Apsley has been developed into a very pleasant area, much to my surprise!

Sorry this is in the wrong place but I won't risk deleting it!!!

Woody's Vegetarian Cafe just beyond the footbridge where I spent a couple of hours over a relaxed lunch

The interior of Woody's 

Residential Basin 

The view of the canal from the Cafe 

It was the construction of the trunk canal (later to be called the Grand Union Canal) between London and the Midlands through the valley in 1798 that began its industrial rise at the start of the 19th century. The canal gave an easy way of transporting the raw and manufactured products to and from the mills.

Frogmore Mill, Apsley, Hertfordshire. The only surviving member of a number of nineteenth century paper mills located in the town. It is now a museum, The Paper Trail.

John Dickinson, the inventor of a new method of continuous papermaking, purchased an existing mill in the area in 1809. There is record of paper making already taking place nearby at this time. His business expanded throughout the Victorian age coming to occupy large parts of the flat land in the valley bottom. Streets of mill workers' terraced houses grew up adjacent to the mills. Housing for managers was built on the old Manor Farm, higher up the hill towards Felden, in the grounds of the Manor Estate, today known as Shendish Manor Hotel. Production peaked during the Second World War. The site was however not ideal for large scale papermaking in the 20th century and later became a warehouse and distribution centre for products made elsewhere. The last John Dickinson warehouse closed in 1999. There is a National Paper Museum called the Paper Trail in some remaining mill buildings. 

Here it is again!

And again! Not where I wanted it to go

Lock 66 by the Paper Mill

Just before the lock moored at a layby for Tesco's was a boat we had met on the K&A at Sulhampstead Swing Bridge.

Leaning out of the side hatch was Ron so I called across to say hello but thought no more of it. I  entered the lock he joined me to help. We talked about where we had met previously and compared our journeys since. Ron had been up the Thames and around London but in a slightly different sequence but the chances of meeting up again were really remote.

I had arranged for my boat to be surveyed so that its safety certificate could be issued. This was required as it is now 3 years old and my licence due for renewal. I did not have far to go that day and arranged with Ron to meet up later.

We have been travelling together ever since, we are a team that works really well. He has a boat that is 90 years old and was used as a barge on the Thames. She is a heavy old girl, 72 foot long and full of character, weighing in at approaching 40 tons.

Anyway, the surveyor happily gave me my safety certificate and also recommended a guy in Cowroast Marina who could fix my tiller which was damaged entering a lock a week previously.
So Ron and I moved on to Cowroast and moored there until Monday morning when I could have the work done on the boat.

We passed through Berkhampstead on the way. I had planned to stop there following a recommendation but the canal was right next to the railway and there were no quiet moorings. 

We were having problems with water depths as we neared the summit of the Grand Union at Tring. Sometimes we needed to juggle with the locks to refill the pounds between locks which had emptied due to passing traffic. Then with levels sufficiently restored we could set off, usually very early to try to avoid the very high daytime temperatures.


Blogger playing up again. Trying to put photo of Port of Berkhampstead in here with the caption

'Delusions of grandeur, I'm afraid'



Cow Roast is on the site of a Romano-British settlement close to the route of Akeman Street. Archeological finds suggest it was occupied as late as the 5th Century, although the byway through the Chiltern Hills would have been an important conduit throughout the Roman occupation. Subsequently it was known as a drovers' route with the area around the present day Cow Roast providing grazing. So the name is thought to be derived from Cow Rest

With some brute force applied to fix my tiller, Ron and I cruised on northwards, passing the Wendover Arm and the Aylesbury Arm (due to re-open next month after a canal bank collapse).
After a very long, hot day we stopped just before Linslade in a relatively cool, shaded spot.

Tara had not been very well for the last few days and the usual way to correct the problem did not seem to be working. Combined with the heat, she was not a happy puppy. So I took her to the vets in Leighton Buzzard and after a lengthy investigation, including blood tests, vaccinations and a host of medicines she is now showing signs of recovery.

Is it significant when you are asked if your dog is insured when you visit a new vet or am I being a sync again? Fortunately she is insured!

With London Behind Me ..........

After Ben and Rachel left I was determined the next day to get as far into the countryside as possible despite the weather conditions not being too clever with very strong gusting winds again.
All was going well until I decide to moor up in Cowley Peachey Junction which is where the Slough Arm joins the Grand Union.

Despite taking all precautions, the wind caught the bow and sent it across the canal to come to rest on boats moored on the opposite bank. It took 3 of us to pull the boat back over against the wind.

So needless to say, I waited until the winds subsided the next morning before setting off again. But I had made good progress and found a pleasant mooring a good distance from the metropolis.




The next day I moored up just beyond Denham Deep Lock which is the deepest lock on the Grand Union, a good way to end the day.

The lock emptying

The boat seemed a long way down. I had to extend my centre rope to 'walk' the boat into the lock

Strong currents whilst the lock filled

Ta Da! Simples

Not too many photos of locks I promise, but as this was the deepest I thought it worthy.

As I was relaxing enjoying a drink that evening, i got talking to Wayne and we agreed to pair up the next day as he was also going to Rickmansworth. So it was a relaxing day in his company and we seemed to work well as a team (not always the case as I have found out)

Wayne at work.....a rare example of where I stayed on board 

Amazing decking 

Thought this was going to be another Huf Haus but it turned out to be a glass-built extension. The top floor was an artist's studio with the kitchen downstairs.

And in contrast..............

Time for a cuppa whilst these chaps from CRT carried out some repairs 

We moored up at the end of the day at Rickmansworh Aquadrome, near to Batchworth Lock. It was a good location to leave the boat whilst I travelled back to Gloster and went to my niece's wedding. It was also a handy place for friends to visit.

I was also hoping to spend some more time with Ben and Rachel as their boat is moored nearby but unfortunately it was not possible.

So back on the canal again and getting into the swing of (and the pace of) the canals and developing a system to operate the locks single-handed. With Tara's help of course!

The first day took us to Cassiobury Park which is a very beautiful wooded area and large park.

Many of the trees were extremely old Sweet Chestnuts.

So tall 

Some amazing bark patterns 

This one looked as if it had been signed 

All full of character


I did take loads more but these are just a selection.

I didn't stay in the area too long as the Inland Waterways Festival was due to start in 2 weeks time so a lot more boats would soon be arriving. With the water levels already low I decided not to hang around. So I set off for Hemel Hempstead.

I am just going to publish weekly-ish blogs now and try to find some interesting photos along the way to share with you ...... not too many locks, promise. As I am sure you do not need a detailed daily account I shall just do a summary, with highlights, as and when.