After two days at Hemel Hempstead it was time to move on — so we’ve travelled a mile! This morning I took Macc over the lock to the parkland beyond the cricket ground, and because there was no-one else around he was able to have a nice run about without being distracted by other dogs. We set off a bit after 9, with Boxmoor Lock almost full because of the water flowing over the top gates. There’s a little gap before the next lock, Apsley Top Lock; it’s in a nice residential area with plenty of new housing, so I’m not quite sure what the owners of the lock cottage are so afraid of.
There’s a nice little white bridge at the tail of the lock.
We stopped at the water point immediately above the next lock, and also used the rubbish bins and the Elsan. Another boat came along just as the tank was full, so we went down the lock with them. We needed some proper shopping, so stopped on the 24 hour moorings on the offside, which are on the edge of Sainsbury’s car park. We’d considered stopping here for the day, but decided not to. There’s a sunken boat, a very narrow edge, and loads of rubbish. It was certainly no good for Macc.
Adrian went off to do the shopping, while I cleaned the sycamore sap off that side of the roof. I’d done the other side while we were at the water point. Fortunately it came off quite easily, probably because it hadn’t been there long. We’d hoped to find a space in this pound, but the towpath side was wall to wall boats, so we went along to go down Apsley Bottom Lock, following a widebeam. Below the lock there’s a modern curly footbridge, although it could do with a wash.
The lady from the widebeam, which had turned around above the lock, asked how far we were going as she was worried they’d be very slow in front of us. Adrian told her we were looking to stop, and she said there was no space outside the marina, but there was through the next bridge. Sure enough it was chocca outside the marina, but we found a pleasant enough spot a little further on.
After lunch we walked back for a closer look at the marina, which had a number of restaurants and cafes around it. We had an ice cream from the little convenience store, and walked across the curly bridge. The big pub there is called the Paper Mill, and this used to be a big paper making area. On the main road is a building with a clock that says Basildon Bond in place of the numbers.
I walked along to Wickes to get a can of lithium grease to spray on the screw in the weed hatch. Hopefully it will stop it going rusty, which makes it difficult to get off. It’s been really warm this afternoon, and the forecast suggests the south east is going to get warmer and warmer over the next few days.
1 mile, 4 locks. (77 miles, 96 locks)