Bright, sunny, and already warm when Macc got us up this morning, a bit later than the last few days. But when I took him out for his walk after his breakfast, a boat was already coming down the lock and when we got back a widebeam was going up. People wanted to get moving before the heat really hit. We set off about 9, and the half mile to Batchworth Lock is permanently moored boats on both sides — and there’s a huge variety.
The lock needed to be turned, and the boat we’d seen coming down, a centre-cockpit Sea Otter, was on the water point below, but was just finishing up. By the time we were down he’d gone and we could use the tap. It has to be said it’s not the most convenient water point, being on the lock landing, having a curved bank, and the actual tap quite a long way away. We needed the longer of our two hoses.
While the tank filled (which took a while) I walked round to the rubbish point which is some distance away, and also had a chat with the people at the Rickmansworth Waterways Trust who have a shop here and run a trip boat. I wanted to know if there’d be anyone around to interview for a podcast episode. There was, so we arranged I’d go back later. Once the water tank was full we moved off, heading for the Tesco mooring. You can hardly get closer to a supermarket than this, but the moorings were busy so we ended up hanging way off the end of them. It turned out Tesco didn’t open until 11, and unlike the Chichester branch there was no browsing time; in Chi, they let you in early and if you’re efficient you can get all your shopping done and pay just as the store opens. So instead I walked back to the Canal Centre and did my interviews. One of the things they own is a historic wooden narrowboat called Roger.
When I was heading back, Adrian went to do the shopping as Macc was dozing in his crate. He was only on his own for a couple of minutes, and it’s all good training for being left. Various boats left and arrived, and I was able to move us along the moorings a bit.
By the time all the shopping was stowed it was pretty much 12 noon, and we thought about having lunch before setting off. But we’d been told there might be a space on the moorings further along, so decided to go and look for it. These visitor moorings are really busy; the first gap didn’t look quite long enough, but another one was exactly the right length. We’re a fair way out from the edge, as seems to be the norm these days, but there are rings to tie to. We were in full sun to start with so got some good solar, but knew we’d get some shade from the hedge when the sun moved round. There have been quite a few boats on the move, and the trip boat has been back and forth numerous times.
Just along the towpath is an entrance to the Rickmansworth Aquadrome. We took Macc for a short walk there after lunch but it was too hot; we’ll go again this evening and try to actually see the lakes! The sun has gone in a bit this afternoon and the temperature has dropped a little. I’ve spent the time making another podcast episode, and emailing people about future ones, and Macc has mostly been asleep as his morning nap was pretty disrupted.
1 mile, 1 lock. (86 miles, 111 locks)