The water level rose overnight so that by this morning the stern was pretty close to the bank. We got under way at about 9, with the first lock, Sewer Lock (it’s by the sewage works) just round the corner. The next two locks are quite close. Bottom Side Lock is a deep one, and the walls are in a terrible state.
Top Side Lock has what looks like a tiny cottage alongside, but in fact there’s an extension out the back, and a lower floor.
The big house opposite is having a lot of work done. It’s still got the railway line right behind it though.
We stopped on the offside water point by the petrol station to top up the tank.
Rising Sun Lock is just around the corner. The pub of the same name is right alongside, and has quite a display of flags — although not of the sort that would be approved of by those who go round putting them on lamp posts.
Ravens Lane Lock has a bridge just before it, welcoming you to Berkhamsted. There’s another pub here, which seems to specialise in hanging baskets — and there are more hanging baskets at the lovely lock cottage.
We had thought we might moor in this pound if there was space, but there wasn’t (except right outside yet another pub, and we didn’t think Macc would cope with all the activity so close). So we went of past the interesting house and the totem pole.
There were no moorings on the park either, not that we really wanted to stop there anyway, so it was up the next lock which has another decorated bridge.
The main Berko moorings were also choc a block. There was a lovely little boat moored outside a couple of others.
All the signed moorings in Berkhamsted are 14 days, apart from a couple of four-hour shopping moorings outside Waitrose. They could really do with some 24 and 48 hour sections — although it’s probably questionable whether people who seldom move off the 14 day places would move off the shorter ones. So we headed up the two Gas Locks. At the top one, we thought there was a boat coming down, but it was actually a CRT work boat cleaning weeds from the lock sides. We went in next to it, and they just came up with us and then let themselves back down again.
There’s a long stretch of moorings above these locks, but these also turning out to be packed. These ones are unsigned, and at the moment because of the drought, the requirement to move every 14 days has been suspended — which probably explains the lack of movement. However, we did managed to squeeze in right on the end before Bridge 140. We’re a bit closer to the bridge than ideal, but it’s actually a nice sunny spot so at least we’ve made the most of whatever solar was available. After lunch, I took Macc to find the nearby playing field, and then we walked along to the end of the nearby industrial estate where we’d spotted a pet food shop on the map.
Macc is a proper chewer, and even chews labelled as long lasting he can demolish in a few minutes. So we wanted to try to find something that would take him a bit longer to get through. On the advice of the lady behind the counter we came away with a roll of buffalo hide, and an ostrich bone — so we’ll see how he gets on with them. We also bought a hard plastic toy, because normal toys also get destroyed remarkably quickly. Back at the boat, I walked back to Waitrose to get some more wine as one that we like has 25 per cent off again. We’ve only had one boat come past — we’ll, two really, as it was the Narrowboat Trust pair, Nuneaton and Brighton, which were breasted up.
It meant the question we’d had in the back of our minds about whether there was enough room for a widebeam to get past us was answered. No widebeam is as wide as a pair of historic narrowboats, and they got through fine.
3 miles, 8 locks. (129 miles, 86 locks)