A Grand Journey

We’re back on the water and have spent the last month meandering south on the Grand (Junction) Union Canal; it’s a wider canal with big double locks, so pairing up with another boat is always welcome. It’s been concerning to hear about the water shortages that have already started to affect the northern canals, preventing navigation on the Leeds and Liverpool, Huddersfield and Ripon Canals. To be honest, we’re quite relieved that we decided to head south this year.

 

We stayed for a few days in Milton Keynes, moored up alongside one of the many parklands included in the grid system of its design. We were both surprised by how lush and green the landscape is, there are miles of cycleways and footpaths to explore; it makes quite a contrast to the more traditional towns that we pass through.

This  “new town” was founded in 1967 to relieve some of the housing congestion in London and is situated in the heart of the country, being equidistant from Birmingham, Leicester, Oxford and Cambridge. Building it swallowed up four towns and fifteen villages to create an urban area that grew its population from 40 to 250 thousand people. Today, its Borough is one of the most productive cities in the UK.

 

 

 

Whilst we’ve been travelling, Spring has transformed into Summer and we’ve been treated to a floral highway that has set both of our hay fever allergies off. There are persistant chirps from fluffy chicks and quacks from parent ducks trying to find them, drowning out the melodies of the blackbird and the shrieks from a red kite being hassled by crows. One mooring just south of Marsworth junction at Tring reservoirs was particularly good for a bit of a twitching and an impressive sunset.

 

 

 

 

 

 

We’ve been moored up for a time near to Kings Langley. The nearby railway station gives us easy access south to the Big Smoke or north to visit family. Thankfully during our travels the boat hasn’t had any great issues, but that’s probably more because of Ian’s tinkering, like fixing the main ignition cable that fell off the back of the control panel and servicing the bilge pump that decided to do its own thing (if that packed up we would sink, bum first!) His latest project, which has been sitting in a plastic bag for a while, is to run a mains cable down the port side of the boat, it’s part one of his plan to get an automatic washing machine installed, as we currently use a pull out and plug-in twin tub, which is a bit of a pain to use.

Sammy, our dog is still very much enjoying life on the cut, but she’s beginning to show her age, slowing down and spending more time sleeping. Having said that, she’s still as cute as ever and continues in her self-appointed role as a towpath therapy dog. Walkers often stop to ask if they can stroke her and have a hug.

Ian’s just done his shortest main line rail journey ever, a three minute ride back up the line to Aspley to do a biggish food shop and then back to Kings Langley and the boat. The return train fare was only £3, mind you, that’s with the discount from his old person’s railcard tee tee! Having stocked up, we are cautiously heading towards Central London where we’ve booked a mooring for a few days. We met a fuel boat as we came out of a lock, so we pulled alongside for a top-up of diesel and to catch up on the latest gossip. We’ve been warned numerous times by other boaters and lock-keepers that the further south we go from here, the less chance there is of finding anywhere to moor up and that’s not a pleasant thought. But then again, it’s the reality of canal life in a city and I don’t blame the liveaboards who work in the city for needing a good spot to stay. After all, we’re just sightseeing and passing through, so fingers crossed we time it right and find spaces to pull in for a night or two along the way..