The London Rush



Hertford Union Canal -

Our first locks today were the 3 on the Hertford Union Canal, the reason for the rush to get through London was to get through here before the upcoming closures.  Half of me wishes we had waited for more reasons than you could know.  These have to be the leakiest and most in need of repair I have ever seen!!  Bottom lock the water was pouring over both top and bottom gates.  Middle lock was leaking so badly that the pound above was very low and it took the extra weight of the boat to open the gates as the water just wouldn't equalise.  Top lock was probably the easiest of the three but wasn't much better. 

At  Actons Lock we managed to catch up with 3 young lads on their way to Uxbridge.  Cool, now we had someone to share the lock load with for the rest of the day.  Which after yesterday was a godsend for me!!  Also, I have to say, they were very entertaining!! Leaping about on and off the boats and in and out of the locks in a way that I can only dream about nowadays!! (not that I ever leaped about like they were doing!!).
If I'd have attempted any of their leaps of faith onto the roof of our boat from the top of the lock it would have been accompanied with a hefty thump and probably a nasty bone crushing sound.  They, by comparison were made of rubber or some similar compound and had no such problems!! 
The boat they were on had a lovely hand-carved front door and was shaped into what looked like a pagan green man with coloured glass for windows and a lovely friendly face.
The owner, (I think his name was Daz or Gaz) said it had taken him 3 years to get her to her current state and she was a lovely job.  You could see the labour of love that had gone into her.

Our arrival at City road Lock was made memorable by Daz/Gaz nearly ending up in the drink whilst making one of those leaps I was telling you about into a row boat that needed to be rowed round to Word on the Water a beautiful Dutch Barge converted into a book shop, well worth a visit if you are in the vicinity.
Lucky for him he remained dry and the little row boat was delivered safely.  This is when he admitted this was the furthest West he had ever been and was quite nervous about going through the tunnel.  Apparently it had been their topic of conversation whilst at Actons Lock, they had never been through a tunnel and the only light they had was a rechargeable LED lol!!  They were understandably relieved when we turned up with nice bright lights to go in the tunnel ahead of them!!

The journey through was somewhat delayed by a wide beam and a trip boat coming through towards us.  Once they were through and out of the way our path was clear.  Ed and I were on the front of Rae watching the tunnel go by all around us and I could hear the noises coming from the lads in the boat behind.  We looked over the roof into the black abyss behind Rae, trying to make out the shape of their boat, we couldn't see the boat but could see the tiny glow from the LED they were using to feel their way behind us.  It was funny :0) for those of you who are interested use this For More Information on Tunnels.

The rest of the day went pretty much without a hitch and to plan.  We arrived at Ladbrooke Grove about Half an hour behind schedule, grabbed some Sainsburies ready cooked food and hit the sack. That had been three heavy days of graft to avoid the Hertford Union Stoppages, but we had managed it reasonably unscathed.