Harefield to Langley Wides

10.24 miles, 16 locks, 7hrs 5mins.

The journey north really took off today, chilly but with the sun breaking through it was very spring like.

I have one of these engines in ‘O’ gauge, and not in concrete!

We met and passed Pisces at Common Moor lock.

One of the new Metropolitan line trains heading towards Watford station

Grove Mill.

Ornamental bridge on the Grove Estate.

The Grove, originally the family home of the Earls of Essex, now a hotel and golf course.

Passing underneath the M25, definitely leaving London now.

All sorts of wildlife alongside the canal.

New houses where once stood the Ovaltine Factory.

This is how I remember the factory and of course the Ovaltine boats working to and from here.

Keith.

Uxbridge to Harefield

4.4 miles, 4 locks, 2hrs 25mins.

The dry dock was filled with water at 8:10am.

It didn’t take too long to fill.

Unfortunately when I went to start the engine it would only run on one cylinder, so we had to crawl to just before the Swan & Bottle, where we pulled in and I had to strip down the engine to bleed the air out of the same injector pump. We obviously have a problem with air very slowly getting into that pump, so at some point I will have to check all the pipe connections etc., are done up tight.

We moored up above Black Jacks lock in Harefield and then walked to my sister and her husband’s house for lunch and a great chinwag all afternoon.

During the walk to their house I took a photo of their house from across the fields.

Hadar moored above Black Jacks lock and mill, a very picturesque spot, a favourite location my parents and my younger sister used to come to one their first boat for weekends.

Keith.

Frozen Fickled Fingers of Fate.

Keith.

1st Coat of Blacking.

An early start this morning saw us completing the 1st coat of blacking before midday.

After lunch Jo started painting the tunnel bands on the stern and the bows

.

Keith.

Jet Washing

Today I jet washed the hull of Hadar, she is now ready for her first coat of blacking tomorrow morning.

Cleaning up the rudder. The jet wash here at the Uxbridge Boat Centre is very powerful, does a great job of getting the grime off.

Keith.

Swan & Bottle to Uxbridge Dry Dock

0.58 miles, no locks, 15mins

We set off from the Swan & Bottle amidst the snow falling to arrive at the Dry Dock in plenty of time before our due time of 9:00am, we got there at 8:30am.

Waiting patiently for the dry dock, but it was 1:30pm before we entered the dock, due to the work on the previous boat taking longer to complete. It was Elsdale II the floating school room having some major work done to protect the propellers which have been particularly vulnerable, and having a weed hatch added to the bow thrusters. We are in and now waiting for the dock to empty, but seeing as it is now 5:30pm, I doubt we will now start work until tomorrow morning.

Keith.

Willowbank to Swan & Bottle

0.42 miles (739 yards), 1 lock, 25mins

With predicted snow Jo wanted to move below Uxbridge lock, rather than having to do it in the snow and ice, if it comes tomorrow for the short journey to the dry dock at Uxbridge Boat Centre. We are now moored outside the Swan & Bottle, below Uxbridge lock. Lunch at £4.95 in the Swan & Bottle sounds good, especially for fishy Friday.

We waited patiently for our fish and chips, and supped a pint of Wells Bombardier. Hadar can just about be seen through the window.

Keith.

Uxbridge

This morning we walked into Uxbridge Town.

These new dwellings are where the mill used to stand above Uxbridge lock, they were not here 4 years ago.

These are the new apartments below Uxbridge lock which again were not here when we were last down this way 4 years ago.

This is one of the new Metropolitan trains in Uxbridge station.

These were the Metropolitan trains they have replaced, the ones I travelled to work on from 1969 to 1982.

Uxbridge station, well the remaining one, there was 3 stations in Uxbridge at one time, each being a separate railway company. We had a buffet lunch in Pizza Hut.

Keith.

Denham Country Park

As the weather wasn’t too bad this morning we took a walk back to Denham Deep lock and then onto the Denham Country Park.

The turf roofed shelter we think is new since we visited here 4 years ago, but the sculpture was here then.

We had hoped to walk to the nature reserve on the other side of the canal, but the path was flooded.

We tried another path, but that was the same, even the golf range beyond was under water.

The River Colne is in the foreground, the further weir is the Frays River, which crosses underneath the canal just above Denham Deep lock.

Even the marshland in the park is flooding, and flowing well underneath this footbridge, not only flowing but it was gurgling too.

We had hoped to get to the nature reserve by walking along the towpath but even this was blocked by a downed tree, another thing to report to the Canal & River Trust.

We had a coffee at Fran’s Tea Garden at Denham Deep lock cottage, and we had a long chat with Fran.

Keith.

Denham Deep lock to Willowbank, Uxbridge

0.7 miles, 1 very deep lock, 20mins

We have moved below Denham Deep lock, to Willowbank, below the M40 over-bridge and above Uxbridge lock. From here we only have to pass through Uxbridge lock to go into dry dock Saturday morning, and as we have to be there for 9:00am we felt it better to not to have to start up earlier than necessary.

The River Colne is very high following recent rainfall, this is where it crosses underneath the canal just above Denham Deep lock.

Keith.