Lights Out
Posted: October 17, 2014 Filed under: Moving on 21 Comments
Our luck was in with the locks, with every gate wide open we sailed straight in. It was bright and breezy and the autumn leaves tumbled from the trees as we travelled up through a quiet Camden and past London Zoo.
Back into waters that are set to become more familiar as time goes by. After two winters out we’ve decided to take a mooring and enjoy the combination of Murk’s paws and concrete, rather than him squelching through endless gloopy mud.
It’s been an amazing adventure and we’ve learnt quite a bit along the way…
- Two people and one dog create an enormous amount of condensation
- We don’t miss having lots of ‘stuff’
- Living uses an awful lot of water and magics bags and bags of rubbish
- Narrowboating is great for your geography
- It’s not rough Up North
- You get to meet some lovely people (we will never ever forget Sue, Kev and the water tank)
- A home doesn’t have to be a house
Best bits is a tricky one. There’s too little time before the end of the world for Nick to decide on his, but generally speaking the experiences that spring to mind tend to be the ones that verged on, or were scary…
- Liverpool Link, Thames, York.
And the top moorings…
- Cliveden
- Dunham Massey
- Uppermill
- Guildford Meadow
There’s little left to say. The end is where the journey begins.
Thanks for following
That’s all folks
The End
Curtains
Lights out
Ice
Posted: October 16, 2014 Filed under: Dry land, Geeky facts, Moving on | Tags: Battlebridge Moorings, Duckett's, Hertford Union Canal, Ice Wharf Marina, Lee Navigation, London, London Canals, narrowboat blog, Regent's Canal Leave a comment
A night in Hackney Marshes turned out to be unbelievably quiet considering the long, long lines of people going about life along the towpath. It wasn’t much of a journey before turning off onto the Hertford Union Canal – also known as ‘Duckett’s’ after Sir George Duckett who tirelessly lobbied for construction of the 1.5 kms of water designed to bypass the torturous, tidal Bow Back Rivers of the Lea. The canal was a commercial failure and in less than 20 years after its opening
in 1830, it was unnavigable. All restored and working well today, the canal began with Old Ford Locks and soon had a feeling of time gone by which lasted to the join up with the Regent’s Canal.
Having chopped out Limehouse and Mile End we emerged in Bethnal Green. The 
Victoria Park moorings were heaving with boats, up through Haggerston, Hoxton and Islington where we disappeared into the gloom of Islington tunnel. Oblivious to the changes that have gone on all around, the tunnel stands just as it did when it was opened in 1818.
The various 
wharfs and basins and docks tucked in and around London are a constant source of intrigue to us so it seemed a great opportunity to take advantage of the London Canal Museum moorings at only £8 with water a
nd electric. Tucked down in a far corner where Ice Wharf Marina and Battlebridge Moorings meet, the visitor gap has proper old warehouse views. The Canal Museum is situated in Carlo 
Gatti’s old ice warehouses – a Swiss entrepreneur wh
o made his fortune importing ice from Norway in the 1860’s. The ice was shipped from Norway, travelled up the Thames, was offloaded onto barges in Regent’s Dock (Limehouse) and 
finally up the canal and into the warehouse. He soon became the largest ice importer in London, making ice-cream affordable for the not qui
te so rich, plus the option of domestic ice boxes thanks to his fleet of delivery carts..
A few minutes walk from the peace of Battlebridge Basin is the bustle of Kings Cross and beautiful St Pancreas Station that only just avoided demolition in the 1960’s architectural smash up.
Quite mad to think we could be in Paris in less time than it would take us to travel back to Hackney Marshes.
Brown Balls
Posted: October 14, 2014 Filed under: Bobbing about, Dry land, Geeky facts, Moving on | Tags: Cheshunt, King Harold, Lee Navigation, Lee Valley Country Park, narrowboat blog, rain, River Lea, River Stort, Waltham Abbey 2 Comments
The Lee Valley Country Park at Cheshunt provided a great place to stop on many levels, there was even entertainment for The Murkster. But 3G was flaky. The moorings are popular and were pretty filled by the time we pulled our pins.
A short drop down a couple of locks landed us at a very handy spot for Home Bargains, Pets at Home, maggots via vending machine (?) and King Harold’s tomb. As with most kings who died in battle there are a certain amount of
conspiracy theories surrounding the arrow and the eye: any man who guarded his coast with such determination would have been buried by the sea shore; the tomb was a red herring… King Harold actually survive and lived out his days a hermit up in Chester…and many more. Anyhow, there were film crews filming what looked something like Time Team and so far as Waltham Abbey is concerned King Harold’s resting place is right there, under the high altar, with them.
One sack of brown balls is usually enough to send Murk bananas, so the arrival 
of five left him slightly overwhelmed yet happy in the closest he’ll probably ever get to greedy labrador heaven.
After a water fill and rubbish dump, we were back on the move, down through one final lock before parking up for a night on one of the last stretches of rural Lea before London begins to open up all around. Perhaps not as pretty as the Stort but
then the Lea has had a hard life – in the first half of the 20th century it was the UK’s ‘silicon valley’, site of an electronics revolution with the invention of the diode in 1904. Thorn MK, Ferguson, Belling and Amstrad all set up factories along the brilliantly functional stretch of water.
Mild tonight and the ceiling has finally stopped dingle dangling with rain.
Under The Rainbow
Posted: October 10, 2014 Filed under: Bobbing about, Renovation | Tags: chimney, narrowboat double glazing, River Stort 4 Comments
Not one turn of the prop happened today, instead we stayed put and winterised the boat – not in a drain and leave it kind of way but in a re-jiggling to make as much space for coal and dog food as possible kind of a way. The triple glazing went up too – lovely stuff!
With just a couple of boats passing by there wasn’t much action, although the whole area is 
teaming with swans and geese and sheep. With the chimney swept, anchor away, coal storage sorted, cupboards cleaned and windows plasticed we’re ready for the worst the winter can throw our way.
Same spot, another day, another lucky rainbow.
Taking The Turn
Posted: October 9, 2014 Filed under: Dry land, Moving on | Tags: Burnt Mill Lock, Essex, Liverpool Link, Moorhen Marina, narrowboat blog, River Stort Leave a comment
It turns out you can get just about everything you need in Harlow. After another trip to the ‘heart’ of the town centre we battled our way back through a huge t
hunder storm and another massive downpour. By mid-afternoon the skies had cleared leaving windy conditions but at least it was dry. A short way up river we turned at Moorhen Marina, filled with water and decided not to chance the rising waters but to begin a slow return towards London. It will be a slow one as we 
only moved on three locks this afternoon, before mooring terribly, right on a bend and shutting up for the night; it shouldn’t matter too much as nobody seems keen to venture out in the stormy conditions. It may not have been the most pleasant of days for travelling but it was an awful lot calmer than this time a year ago.
The fire is kicking out plenty of heat, the living pod is doing a great job fending off the nasty weather out there in the darkness tonight.
Towie
Posted: October 8, 2014 Filed under: Bobbing about, Dry land, Geeky facts, Moving on | Tags: Essex, Harlow, narrowboat blog, River Stort, Towie Leave a comment
The river continues to curl deeper into Essex and on towards Bishop’s Stortfort, but the rain continues to fall and the levels are rising. The pitter patter on the roof isn’t creating the cozy, comforting, snug feeling it usually does. The locks are neither here nor there, at 13.25ft they’re wider than single but not enough space for two boats meaning that r
oping is a certainty as the paddles are pretty sharp. Opened in the 1780’s the canalised navigation was originally part of grander plans to link London to Kings Lynn, main cargos included: wheat, beans, peas, flour, coal and pig
eon dung.
On past Parndon Mill that’s been immaculately restored since the 1960’s and serves as a creative place for artists with all sorts of skills. With a long history dating back to a mention in the Domesday Book the mill has fallen victim to numerous fires, due to the combustible nature of the flour milled from the grain produced from the rich surrounding farm land.
…And then we came to Harlow.
Moored just by the station, with a waterpoint just a boat’s length back it wasn’t rural idylic but there were plus points. Plus the town is just a short walk away. Brain child of world-renowned architect Sir Frederick Gibberd, the town’s promoters promise, ‘Whether you’re planning a few hours, a few days or a lifetime here, Harlow won’t d
isappoint.’ A New Town, built after World War II to ease overcrowding caused by bombing during the Blitz it boasts Britain’s first pedestrian precinct and ‘modern style’ residential tower block. With rail links to London Liverpool Street and proximity to the M11 it has secured itself as part of the London commuter belt. Like it or not, you can’t argue with anywhere that offers up Poundland, Wilkos, 99p Store AND Savers all one after the other.
It was set to be a quiet night since the trains have all but stopped but a car has rolled up, crammed full of passengers who seem to enjoy listening to the same thumping beats, over and over and over. Okay bring back the rain.
Chimney Squeezers
Posted: October 7, 2014 Filed under: Geeky facts, Moving on | Tags: Essex, Lee Navigation, rain, River Stort, Roydon Lock 2 Comments
A stark contrast from the River Lea, the Stort twists and turns, is peppered with ol
d water mills and heads towards Essex at a fairly rapid rate. London feels (and is) quite a way away: the water is clear, bridges aren’t splashed in paint and a whole world of wildlife appears to be thriving. Ploughed fields ran alongside the river for most of the day.
Arriving at Roydon Lock it was brilliant to discover you can get just about anything
you might need from an ice cream to your laundry done. The owners are unbelievably helpful and we left stocked with all boaty
essentials… a word of warning followed our exit from the lock ‘Don’t stay up there for too long or you’ll never get back under the bridge, the levels are already up.’ Oooh okay, it’s nice up here but I’m not sure a whole winter 
at the top of the River Stort might be such a good idea. The rain can stay away please. Peculiarly Nicholson seems to have given up providing a map for our current section, so we’ll be reading the footnotes and imaginging what lies ahead.
Far from busy, but there are a few boats moving about and a good few windows casting orange glows across the water tonight.
Soggy Lee
Posted: October 6, 2014 Filed under: Bobbing about, Moving on | Tags: Lee Navigation, Limehouse Lock, narrowboat blog, rain Leave a comment
It was a soggy day, hats and gloves came out for the first time and the continual shower of leaves really felt like autumn. Murk loved being rural and kept his head down without the slightest look to get back onboard.
The locks are slow to fill and heavy on the gates but the paddles wind easily enough. Just a couple of boats about plus one canoeist who bravely shared a lock with us – he seemed oblivious to the crushing potential, whilst we hung onto the ropes, acutely aware of the slightest 20 tonne tug in his direction. Crazy guy.
By early afternoon the rain had set in so we pulled over to the bank opposite the rowing club in Broxbourne and moored alongside a handful of other boats with smoking chimneys. Depsite a fair bit of washing, cooking and drying waterproofs, nasty condensation hasn’t taken hold yet.
By far the most exciting photo of the day was taken by a lovely guy we met on our ascent from the Thames, a great reminder of an exciting day – thank you Paul!
Pearlies
Posted: October 5, 2014 Filed under: Geeky facts, Moving on | Tags: Bow Bells, Bow Locks, Hackney, Lee Navigation, narrowboat blog, Olympic Stadium, Rammey Marsh, St-Mary-le-bow, Tottenham Leave a comment
Leaving Limehouse Basin we turned right and out onto the Lee Navigation. Soon into the 
land of the Pearly Kings and Queens, through Bow Locks and nearishly past the Bow Bells. The ‘to be true Cockney’ rule that you have to be born within earshot of Bow Bells means it was technically impossible to
be a Cockney throughout certain times in history: in 1666, St Mary-le-bow was destroyed by the great fire; in 1941 the bells were 
destroyed by blitz bombing and today causes a bit of a problem as the surrounding area is no longer residential although a few hospitals within ear shot of the bells do their bit to keep the Cockneys coming.
The Olympic Stadium re
mains barricaded off to casual passers-by although a strict in/out trip t
hrough the park is do-able by prior arrangement. Judging by the stacks of boats bobbing about nearby, the heavily guarded loop of water would fill up in no time if the barricades came down.
Hackney was busy with lively, colourful conversions – galleries, cafes, bars, theatres, studios all packed with Sunday morning crowds. Life drained 
away as we headed out towards Tottenham, where the water feels side-lined compared to what went before. The banks continue to be chock full of boats and it’s pretty safe to consider any space is probably there due to shallow water rather than being up for grabs in terms of mooring. We ploughed on…
…and on.
Interesting stuff dwindled t
o the point of nothing other than long, straight stretches, flanked by pylons – swerving the islands of 
weeds grappling for the prop was something to get excited about. Never one to give up, Nick kept flicking the Nicholson pages, convinced there was better to come, and there was, just above Rammey Marsh Lock, before the M25. A pretty stretch with trees and grass and STICKS which meant kindling and an easy fire.
Down To The River
Posted: October 4, 2014 Filed under: Bobbing about, Dry land, Moving on | Tags: Bethnal Green, Camden, Islington, Limehouse Basin, Little Venice, Mile End, Millwall, narrowboat blog, Regent's Canal, River Thames, West Inida Docks Leave a comment
Time was up in Little Venice so we detangled our ropes from our neighbour’s, shuffled boats about, then stopped at the tap for gallons and gallons of water. The washing machine
was going flat-out for most of the day. Under Cafe Laville where Nick sent a few lattes, flat whites and green teas flying by testing the horn. Amazing how small London canal world soon squashes – turning down into Camden we passed our neighbour midway through a trip boat commentary. A top lock hanger 
joined us – as did a volunteer, which was a bonus. 
Camden was crazy busy, the lock gates double as benches, with some long-term sitters no longer recognising them as integral to the working of the lock. It took a while, but we emerged the otherside and began the run along 
to Kings Cross. The Islington moorings are few in number and strictly single moor but they’re very nice and have a waterpoint close by.
Bethnal Green wound round, and back, and in on itself, Victoria Park was packed with all sorts of boats and boaters – just about anything can pop out of a hatch along t
here. The light had begun to fade as we dropped through the final lock and 
into Limehouse – deserted compared to the last time we were here, we pitched up, the only boat hugging the concrete wall last night.
When the rain finally cleared and the sun broke through we walked down through Canary Wharf and 
beautiful West India Docks before ending up in Millwall – aside from a walk along the Thames the main purpose of the trip was to buy fire lighters…it’s not easy in London. Don’t Londoners have fires?
Back at Limehouse we moved over to the super sucky pump-out machine that managed to get right down to our green light. Yay. Fire lit, shit pumped and chicken in – even city life can stay relatively simple.
Marpessa2 