Not the best house in town!
The weather was beautiful
Okay, so we had some rain, and sun-painted clouds
What a fabulous place to live!
Next, Marsworth locks...
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Showing posts with label Aylesbury Arm. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Aylesbury Arm. Show all posts
Wednesday, April 29, 2020
Lockdown day 37 - Revisit this day, April 29th 2019
This time last year - do you remember it? - we were returning up the Aylesbury Arm of the Grand Union, having spent a very enjoyable few days moored in the basin in the heart of the old town.
Next, Marsworth locks...
Next, Marsworth locks...
Monday, May 06, 2019
The staircase to Marsworth
On Tuesday morning, we moved on under summery skies. The canal was very pleasant, and punctuated now by several other boats heading down into the basin. The going was good, relaxed, easy.
Until the final pair, the two-step staircase. All went fine until we had Kantara in the bottom lock, with the lock above her full. I opened the paddles to empty the one into the other, and Kantara started to rise. And stopped rising. There was a gap between the bottom gates, and water was pouring out faster than it was coming in at the other end. I closed the paddles, emptied the bottom lock and opened the gates again. Grace poked and prodded with the barge-pole to see if there was some obstruction she could move - a brick, a supermarket trolley, an empty safe, an unexploded WW2 bomb, the kind of thing that's often found in canal locks - but found nothing. She reversed out of the lock and over to the towing-path where we tied up. I reported the problem to CRT, and we sat down to lunch
No sooner had we finished eating than two CRT staff arrived. They looked at the lock, identified the problem, and pushed an unidentified somethingorother out of the way of the bottom gates. The two of them then saw us up the pair of locks and waved us off as we drove out of the Aylesbury Arm and left back onto the Grand Union. Very prompt and efficient CRT guys!
We stopped again at the bottom of Marsworth Locks, and moored at the precise point where we'd spent the night exactly two weeks previously. Our world was very peaceful. Even the sheep in the field opposite were silent. Occasionally, a train whooshed past in the distance behind a hill, with a sound no worse than a gust of wind.
Perfect.
Until the final pair, the two-step staircase. All went fine until we had Kantara in the bottom lock, with the lock above her full. I opened the paddles to empty the one into the other, and Kantara started to rise. And stopped rising. There was a gap between the bottom gates, and water was pouring out faster than it was coming in at the other end. I closed the paddles, emptied the bottom lock and opened the gates again. Grace poked and prodded with the barge-pole to see if there was some obstruction she could move - a brick, a supermarket trolley, an empty safe, an unexploded WW2 bomb, the kind of thing that's often found in canal locks - but found nothing. She reversed out of the lock and over to the towing-path where we tied up. I reported the problem to CRT, and we sat down to lunch
No sooner had we finished eating than two CRT staff arrived. They looked at the lock, identified the problem, and pushed an unidentified somethingorother out of the way of the bottom gates. The two of them then saw us up the pair of locks and waved us off as we drove out of the Aylesbury Arm and left back onto the Grand Union. Very prompt and efficient CRT guys!
We stopped again at the bottom of Marsworth Locks, and moored at the precise point where we'd spent the night exactly two weeks previously. Our world was very peaceful. Even the sheep in the field opposite were silent. Occasionally, a train whooshed past in the distance behind a hill, with a sound no worse than a gust of wind.
Perfect.
Spot the heron!
Wednesday, May 01, 2019
To Aylesbury
It's not far from the reservoirs to Marsworth Junction, where the Aylesbury Arm meets the Grand Union Canal. Stopping for services meant over-shooting the turning, but then it was a simple reverse and forwards left to join the arm. We had no preconceptions and little knowledge of this bit of canal. We simply wanted to find out for ourselves. We anticipated we'd make the journey down into the basin a two-day trip.
The first two locks are a bit different from normal. They form a two-step staircase where the top lock empties into the bottom lock from which boats are lowered onto the next pound. The winding mechanism to open and close the paddles at the middle gate stands alongside the top lock.
The canal was pleasant and peaceful. The weather didn't always play along, though, and we got pretty wet at times. There were other water problems, too; some quite bad water-level problems, with water overflowing both top and bottom gates at some locks, and dodgily low water levels in some pounds, and though there are several locks with very new gates, some of the others are in a sad state and difficult to manage.
After a few hours, we thought we'd found a good place to moor to have lunch and then to stay on overnight. Most of the bank so far had been unmoorable but this was a stretch of armco in what seemed to be a nice setting, and we were glad to see it. We tied up, had lunch, then realised that there was a factory the other side of the tree-lined hedge; a factory that gave off a persistent, unpleasant rumbling noise and a nasty smell. We moved on.
The problem then was that we found nowhere else where we fancied mooring for the night, and the time came when it became obvious that we'd have to continue all the way to the basin at the end of the arm. So, six miles and fifteen locks from Marsworth Junction, we arrived in the basin and moored at around half-past five, the journey done in one day, rather than the preferred two. I was more than a little weary!
The first two locks are a bit different from normal. They form a two-step staircase where the top lock empties into the bottom lock from which boats are lowered onto the next pound. The winding mechanism to open and close the paddles at the middle gate stands alongside the top lock.
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| Middle gate open
I was too busy walking between locks and operating them to take many photos.
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After a few hours, we thought we'd found a good place to moor to have lunch and then to stay on overnight. Most of the bank so far had been unmoorable but this was a stretch of armco in what seemed to be a nice setting, and we were glad to see it. We tied up, had lunch, then realised that there was a factory the other side of the tree-lined hedge; a factory that gave off a persistent, unpleasant rumbling noise and a nasty smell. We moved on.
The problem then was that we found nowhere else where we fancied mooring for the night, and the time came when it became obvious that we'd have to continue all the way to the basin at the end of the arm. So, six miles and fifteen locks from Marsworth Junction, we arrived in the basin and moored at around half-past five, the journey done in one day, rather than the preferred two. I was more than a little weary!
The university campus is still under construction
Waitrose was a minute's walk away
A ship-shaped theatre loomed in front of us
and a Travelodge watched over it all
We settled in for a couple of days' stay. A strong wind was blowing, and the forecast promised more. This looked like a good place to be.
Sunday, July 05, 2015
Our week with Michelle - part 4
Leighton Buzzard has much to recommend it, according to Nicholson's GU Guide. None of it's visible from the canal, however, but the one thing that boaters do know about is the large Tesco just a couple of minutes' walk from the visitor moorings. It was time for a bit of shopping, after which we moved on to a more picturesque spot for some newly-acquired lunch.
Grove Lock, Church Lock, Slapton Lock, Horton Lock, Seabrook Locks, Ivinghoe Locks, Marsworth Locks. Each of them with their own charm and interest, in lovely surroundings.
The church at Church Lock was converted into a house back in the late 1970s. It's now for sale for around £800,000. It does look lovely inside, though.
Grove Lock, Church Lock, Slapton Lock, Horton Lock, Seabrook Locks, Ivinghoe Locks, Marsworth Locks. Each of them with their own charm and interest, in lovely surroundings.
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| Grove Lock |
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| Church Lock |
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| Michelle's friends pose on a lock beam |
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| Slapton Lock |
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| Horton Lock |
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| The Whipsnade Zoo lion |
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| Ivinghoe Locks |
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| Marsworth Locks |
And on to Marsworth Junction, the meeting of the GU Main Line with the Aylesbury Arm, where we turned. Halfway through the week. Lots of good weather, lots of herons, several people thinking Kantara was brand new, lots of fun.
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