Lockdown day 48 - Revisit this day, May 8th 2016 - back after a long cruise

On that particular day, we'd been back for a week after a six-week cruise down through London, via Paddington Basin...

and Limehouse Basin...

then onto the Lea and Stort Navigations to Hertford...

and Bishops Stortford...

It was wonderful, one of my favourite journeys.

Back on the marina on May 8th, the weather was great and the atmosphere was holiday-like.

There's some serious DIY in progress here.

Boats were on the move...

and the skies were as amazing as usual.

This year, as then, swallows have returned to the marina, flying low over the pond late in the afternoon and catching the myriad newly-hatched flies. It's amusing to see how the experts catch each fly with just the tiniest of touches to the surface of the water, while beginners sometimes miss, make a great splash or catch a seed fairy in their beaks instead.

(photo from Unsplash.com - my camera's just not that good!)

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Paddington Basin to Willowtree Marina (cruise retrospective)

We started off from the Basin in bright, sunny weather, but there was still an extreme chill in the air that continued throughout the day. The stretch of canal out of Little Venice was now even fuller of boats than when we first came through. There were no mooring spaces at all, and boats were breasted up three deep in places. There's to be a major boating event at Little Venice in a couple of weeks' time, the IWA Canalway Cavalcade, and there's expected to be a huge gathering of boats for that. One boat which had found a mooring was NB Wobbly Limited. It looked all closed up, but we discovered later that poor Mr Wobbly was inside sleeping off a bout of flu.

I've said before that kingfishers seem to be getting less timid. Now it's the turn of herons. Time was, they'd wait on the bank until you were about 20 to 30 metres away. Then they'd fly off ahead, land on the bank and wait until you were... Repeat until bored, then sweep off across a field. On this trip we've passed very close to lots of herons who have stood their ground and watched us, immobile, as we passed. One stood right next to Grace at the stern in a lock, quite clearly wanting to be fed. And the one which takes first prize for temerity is one we saw two days ago,  following behind a walker and repeatedly pecking at the backs of his legs. "Feed me, Seymore! Feed me!"

Talking of birds... London's canals have lots of bridges. Iron constructions whose girders provide nesting nooks for countless pigeons. These birds are not content to watch you pass through beneath them in the boat. Instead, they flap around as if in panic, covering you in feathers and the dust of dried excrement. The threat of psittacosis seems very real as I close my eyes and hold my breath and wait to emerge into cleaner air at the other side of the bridge.

Boat names fascinate us. We frequently wonder what the significance of a name is, and why someone called it that. Until today, I thought the silliest name for a boat just had to be "Moose Drool". Today, we saw "Laughing Gravy" and "The Slowness of Cows". Why???

We moved on through London; Kensal Green, past the huge and famous cemetery, Alperton, Perivale, Northolt,

and at around 4:00pm we arrived back at Willowtree Marina, where we moored for the night. Once again, the 230v mains supply was more than welcome. We did a couple of loads of washing, almost wished we had more to wash, vacuum-cleaned the cabin, and used our laptops. Unfortunately, the restaurant was closed, but this is a good place to stop.

How many gongoozlers does it take...? (cruise retrospective)

That was a very strange place to moor. Throughout the rest of yesterday afternoon and evening, the footpath immediately outside the boat (no grass verge here - look left and right before stepping out from behind the cratch cover!) was very busy. Walkers, joggers and cyclists walked, jogged or sped past by the drove. It calmed down a bit after dark, but at 2:00am there were two or three people chatting just yards away from us. They sounded entirely sober. They were just standing, chatting. But, despite the close proximity to people on the move, we didn't feel the least bit insecure.

A bright, sunny day greeted us when we woke at 7:00, and again, out came all the people. We set off. The sun didn't stop it being rather chilly all day long, but it was a lovely day. And it seemed as though everyone else thought so, too. Sturt's Lock, City Road Lock, St Pancras Lock. Gongoozlers lined them all, watching us pass through, and some rather unkindly taking delight in the shaky steering of a small red boat which shared the locks with us. The owner only got the boat yesterday, and was under tuition from a friend. She was more than a little nervous, and I can't blame her. But for us, it was good to be back in proper locks, proper, double-sized locks with gates you can walk across safely, locks in which a single boat can enter or leave through just one open gate.

  

Camden Lock was crazy. It's always busy here at weekends, with folk eating and drinking at pubs and other eateries, overseas tourists taking photos of this iconic location - and of each other. Locals and visitors rubbed shoulders, everyone enjoying the weather and the buzz of the crowd. Wisely, there are railings on both sides of this pair of locks, and these create a working space for boaters. Of which I was very glad! And the crowd - those actively involved in watching us, asking questions, taking photos and videos of us - stood along the railings on both sides of the pair of locks, and along the overlooking balconies of the adjacent pubs, and right across the bridge above the locks. Two or three deep in places. And they numbered in the region of 300! Grace and I both had time to do a rough head-count, and the guy from the little red boat did, too, and our figures agreed. We were all like actors on a watery stage, and they were a very appreciative audience. It was brilliant!

We parted with the little red boat after that. It had been good for both of us to share the locks, but there were now no more locks for some distance. So on we went through Regent's Park. Six terrapins paddled around at the side of the canal, and parakeets flew overhead. It's strange to think that these are native here now, having at some time in their ancestry escaped from the zoo.

Finally, Maida Hill Tunnel, the wonderful Little Venice, and into Paddington Basin. And for the second time, we were lucky, and found two empty moorings. We chose the best one, next to the boat from which various small pleasure craft can be hired. We moored, and enjoyed a peaceful night.