I had a lazy morning – breakfast in bed! The men were under way at 8.30am – why I
ask??? I went in the shower as we
approached the first lock – big mistake!
The boat wasn’t tied on and it was fun (not) showering as we bashed
around!
As we approached the second lock (57) another boat (Yellow) was going
in so we joined them. Then the fun
started. The pound above was VERY low -
Richard eased us out but we didn’t get very far before we grounded with all
crew on board. Yellow boat’s crew went
up and let some water out from the lock above (56) as I rang C&RT (9.07am)
and was told that someone would call me back.
Gradually we managed to move up the canal as another two boats came down
and flushed a whole lock full down.
Sadly, the yellow boat still wasn’t able to move and eventually he was
sandwiched between the two boats going down – all were grounded. The lady from Yellow boat said that we should
go on so hopefully another lock full would flush the boats off the canal
bottom.
Berkhamstead is lovely as you approach it from the south. I saw the sign in the first photo as I was
doing the lock but as I looked more closely ………
So now we were about to accomplish our mission! Jim was born in Northchurch and spent a lot
of his misspent youth in Berkhamstead so we stopped just after Lock 53 and he
went to have a look at the High Street while Richard and I ventured to
Waitrose. Jim said that the High Street
looked basically the same – Lloyds Bank and The Kings Arms are still there but
of course all the shops have changed – well it is 50 odd years since he was
last there!!
As we got back to the boat Yellow boat appeared – they had been stuck
for ages! We shared the next 3 locks
them finally finding a C&RT man at Lock 50 flushing water down. He said it was the second time this week that
the same pound had gone down. (I never
did get a call back).
We said goodbye to Yellow boat at Lock 50 as we were stopping short of
Lock 49 so that Jim could go and see the house he was born in and the one next
door that his father built and where he was brought up. Jim knocked on the door and an elderly man came
to the window. He told Jim that he was
90 and almost blind but when Jim mentioned his surname the old man opened the
window and seemed really pleased to meet Jim.
His Mother-in-Law had bought the house from Jim’s father in 1970 for
£8,000 and then his wife inherited it.
We had a wander round the garden which, to Jim, looked smaller! I had been to the house just once for
Christmas Day but it snowed and we couldn’t get down the drive and we all had
to doss down!
Back at the boat we did another two locks. At 49 somehow we managed to get the bow stuck
on the cill (we were going up so the lock was filling) – Richard yelled to drop
the paddles and open the bottom ones and gradually the water level went down
and the bow was released – very odd.
We moored up with two lovely neighbours! The coloured donkey brayed very loudly and
poor Muffin was terrified – he fled down into the boat and hid under the
table. Fortunately, it was a one off
bray!!
3.85 miles
11 locks
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