Winkwell to Uxbridge – we finally made it!

April 13, 2010 by Mike · 2 Comments
Filed under: Canals, Cruising Log 

Tuesday 6th and Wednesday 7th April

Zulu is home!

On 18th December, the day the Trent and Mersey reopened at Middlewich, we set off from Middlewich on a three week trip to our new moorings at Uxbridge.  Almost 4 months later we have finally arrived thanks to ice and stoppages along the way but it has been a great winter cruise.

So the final leg of the trip was from Winkwell, through Hemel Hempstead where a “charming” boater told me that single handed boaters were the scourge of the canals, then tried to engage me in conversation about how he detested London as it had become a foreign city, staffed by foreigners to serve foreigners.  Fortunately he was heading in the other direction and he cheerfully told me to stay onboard and worked me through the lock – I thought I might as well live up to his expectations so did just that!

Easter Eggs all over the Hemel area. Are they all gone now?

Easter Eggs all over the Hemel area. Are they all gone now?

All around the canalside in Hemel were plastic A4 sheets tied on with cable ties – remnants of an “Easter Egg” hunt and still flapping from trees, bushes, lock gates, buildings.  Many had obviously been placed there by boat due to their location.  I do hope the organisers are going to make sure that every single one is removed along with the cable ties as right now this looks a dreadful eyesore after only three days.

Once out of Hemel I love this stretch of canal as it drops down lock after lock into the wonderful surroundings towards Cassiobury Park where the dogs had a fantastic run with at least six others.  Cassiobury lock is one of the slowest I know, and one of the busiest for onlookers.  We certainly gave them something to watch as I met up with a boat already in the lock, despairing that they had picked up their rope on the propellor and after an hour still hadn’t managed to free it, or to find anyone who could do it for them.

So always up for a challenge when it comes to getting rubbish of props, I was delighted to be able to get them moving again within 15 minutes.  Plenty of practice I guess!

I travelled with them as far as Rickmansworth, stopping briefly to reminisce at the old moorings where exactly two years ago, on 7th April 2008, I picked up Zulu from her long term home on Batchworth Farm moorings.  I moored opposite Tesco, exactly where I stopped two years ago and took a walk into town for something to eat.

At Wetherspoons Tuesday night is Steak Night, offering exceptional value – just the job after a hard day’s boating and I look forward to Wetherspoons April Beer Festival taking place for the next couple of weeks. 

Back to the boat for the night, and an early start with the dogs next morning led us down the final stretch towards Uxbridge.  For many years Black Jacks Mill has been empty so it is nice to see it all restored as an up-market bed and breakfast.

Continuing to drop down the locks, I got badly caught out at Coppermill lock where a fierce side stream enters the canal opposite the Fishery Inn Coy Carp.  Its not like I didn’t prepare for it and steered right up into the current but I was taken by surprise by the strength of it and poor old Zulu’s engine was no match, so with an almighty bang we hit the concrete coping sideways on, but no damage was done – nothing even fell off the shelves so it probably felt worse than it was, but next time I will crawl along the towpath side if the river is flowing like it is today!

From there it isn’t far to Harefield and the long stretch down to Denham Deep Lock with its charming tea garden and lovely walks through Denham Country Park.  This is our new home territory - a short walk from Uxbridge – and before long we were passing our new moorings and dropping down Uxbridge Lock for a quick service stop at Denham Yacht Station and a night at the Swan and Bottle.

Next morning we finally made it up back up Uxbridge Lock and onto our new mooring.

The trip from Middlewich has been 208 miles and 219 locks.  I think Zulu probably needs a well deserved rest, for now!

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BW Mooring Auction – Zulu is on the move

November 19, 2009 by Mike · 1 Comment
Filed under: Canals, Zulu Warrior 

Middlewich no more!

Last month I tested the new BW Mooring Auction system for the first time and as a result Zulu will soon have a new mooring at Uxbridge Lock, Grand Union Canal.  Even though the Middlewich mooring is much cheaper, the cost of getting there is quite prohibitive, and we have had our fun after over a year in Cheshire, so its time to move on, with the added bonus of now having a West London mooring.

Winter stoppages, including one at Middlewich Big Lock itself mean we can’t start the journey south until 18th December, so Christmas and New Year is going to be a crazy mixture of family visits and boating.  I hope to get past Braunston before the January stoppages commence, otherwise we will be stuck there until the end of March.

Check the closing time!

Check the closing time!

The auction system itself is certainly an improvement on the old tenders trial, where you only got one chance to guess a price, but I was almost caught out by the new system.  At 13:00 hrs I was the high bidder and assumed that this meant I had won the auction.  To my horror another bid was accepted after the deadline, and I had to log in and bid again.  In fact I thought there had been a mistake, as I had scrutinised the Terms and Conditions document which clearly states that the auction ends at the closing time.

What it doesn’t mention is that the closing time is extended beyond the original deadline until no bidding activity has taken place for 5 minutes, as an anti-sniping measure.  Whist this is an excellent feature I was very annoyed to end up losing the auction on a technicality, which is not even mentioned in the Terms and Conditions for Bidding but according to BW the website FAQ section must be considered part of the T&C, and it is here that the anti sniping is mentioned.  So be warned - if you are bidding make sure that you watch for an extended closing time in case anyone tries to jump in at the last moment.

Fate was on my side though, as 2 weeks later the original bidder had not met their obligation and so I was offered the vacancy, as the next highest bidder.  I have paid more than I intended, but I have a superb mooring to look forward to in one of my favourite locations on the canal network.   Zulu was actually based in Uxbridge in the 1980s when she was one of the Royal Navy’s own hire boats, and when I bought her she had been moored for years in Batchworth, so to all intents and purposes, Zulu will be coming home.

Only 182 miles and 163 locks to go!

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Standing Room only – Oasis and Kasabian at Wembley on Sunday

July 14, 2009 by Mike · Leave a Comment
Filed under: Concerts, Non canals 

Tenuous Canal Link – we are moored at Uxbridge, which has easy tube access to Wembley Park station and is one of our favourite moorings.

Blatant Non Canal bit: I think I have known the words to Wonderwall for 15 years but never imagined singing it to Oasis – along with something like 80,000 others who also seemed to be word perfect, of course.  I didn’t know what to expect from an Oasis gig, never having been to one before and certainly was not disappointed with the music and organisation at Wembley Stadium on Sunday night.

Kasabian and Oasis at Wembley Stadium

Kasabian and Oasis at Wembley Stadium

Kasabian turned out to be an excellent support band and judging by the audience around us, just as many had come to see them as the main band.  Vast amounts of lager had the crowd in great voice and that which wasnt being drunk was being liberally spread over the crowd in a torrent of plastic glasses.  As with all good mosh pits a fair amount of the liquid raining on the crowd would be second hand lager and I dread to think what state the front few thousand were in when reality finally returned at the end.

The whole crowd was completely immersed in the music.  Back in the stands, not one single person remained seated as Oasis proved conclusively that their classics really can stand the course of time, mixing in a fair few tracks from the newest album and the occasional acoustic track to help calm the partying.  

“Anyone from Darlington” – boo.  “Anyone from Manchester?”  – small cheer then big boo.  Anyone from “Liverpool?” ditto.  Any lesbians out there?  Huge cheer.  Any Cockney bastards?  Stadium erupted. Lager everywhere.  The band seemed to be loving every minute of it too.  They were however just too polite for megastars – must be their age!

Two hours of an epic performance – the last night of yet another sell out stadium tour – and I would certainly come again.

Oasis Setlist Wembley Stadium, London, England 2009, Dig Out Your Soul (Summer tour)
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A final word about Wembley stadium.  We were able to walk in and take our seats within minutes of arriving.  There are something like 160 catering outlets, where it was possible to get served without more than a few minutes waiting, even if the floors were awash with lager!  At the end of the night, there are so many exits that leaving the stadium takes only minutes and you simply join the brisk march converging on Wembley Park tube station, through police horse cordons designed to stop a surge, and literally you can join a train just like any other trip on the tube.  We were back on the boat 45 minutes after “I am a Walrus”, the band’s classic final track.  Well done all at Wembley for making this a memorable night out.

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