We did it again!

Sunday 17^th September 2017

Winkwell to Berkhampstead

2.5 miles, 7 locks

For the third day on the trot we have managed to moor just before the rain started!  A habit we must cultivate.  Mind I have to admit that today's rain was quite light, well to start with, but it is always good not to get wet.

As we pulled pins this morning the boat about four ahead of us did a simultaneous manoeuvre, which 

would mean we would have the pleasure of working the locks with another boat.  Today we were joined by Jenny, a single hander who has lived in London for a number of years and is moving up to Tring.  I know Jaq will empathise with her on not wanting to climb lock ladders, so we agreed she would stay put rather than having to bow haul the boat into every lock.  It is the same amount of work for me whether there is one or two boats and at least with two you don't have to worry quite so much about the boats moving about as you fill the lock.  They were both able to wriggle in and out of the locks, so just the one gate required.

There are quite a number of locks on this part of the GU that have to be left empty - this one says it is on the repair list for this winter - we shall see.

It was a pleasant trip made all the better by good company and Jenny, if you do see this, we both wish you well with life at your new mooring.

I spotted this en route - no change since two years ago.

All  of a sudden we found ourselves approaching Berkhampsted and a pub advertising 'Free Beer Inside'.  Can that be right?

No, of course not!

 Onto the next lock and our last one of the day and a welcome to the Port of Berkhamsted.  One of our guide books (Pearson's) states about Berkhamsted that 'it is a supremely civilised town which clearly takes a pride in the appearance of its canal and that graffiti and vandalism are conspicuously absent'.

Sadly this no longer seems to be the case in all parts.  Hopefully they are still correct about the lack of vandalism.

Just past lock 54 we spotted a mooring with rings, so we decided to stop. Jenny only had one more lock to go before meeting friends at Waitrose who were going to help her the rest of the way to Tring.

It was just too good a spot to ignore

And opposite us is this rather ornate property with a stunning floral display despite the fact that the flowering season is almost at an end.

how is this for a conservatory?

Some evidence of growth since we passed two years ago

 With this lovely sign to the right of the house

Dinner was booked on line in The Boat for 7pm tonight - I have roast beef in mind.  Why did I not walk the 3 mins back to book in person - well it was raining and I had my slippers on!  That is my excuse and I am sticking to it.  Chris is thinking of going for the salad!

We went for a walk along the towpath to check out the mooring possibilities for Waitrose tomorrow.

 There is a fun fair in town on the park with many youngsters enjoying a sunny Sunday afternoon.

 Having checked out the moorings further along we feel we made the right decision to stop where we did.  It is noisier along here with many boats moored.  There are 4 hour mooring spaces for Waitrose, so we should be okay in the morning.  There is a good view along the canal both ways from the bridge by Waitrose.

The spaces for Waitrose - we have discovered there is also a garden centre and a M&S food outlet behind these trees.

They do seem to take a pride in the canal in Berkhamsted with a several of these plaques with a lot of interesting canal history.

Many householders make the most of their canal frontage - like the one opposite our boat, this one must have been stunning at its height.

 This is hanging on a garden gate - we have no idea what it is for?!

And so to the meal - was it any good?  To start with we had to face the disappointment of there being no roast meat of any sort left as they had had a very busy lunch rush.  Do we give up and go back to the boat and rustle something up?  No we decided to make the best of a bad job and we were very glad we did - we both had a burger (a rare choice for me) and they were superb.  The waitress we had was first rate and the manager came over to apologise for there being no roast with the offer of a free dessert.  Well we could not pass that up completely and had sticky toffee pudding with salted caramel ice cream with two spoons - there just was not room for a whole pudding each!  We would definitely go back if we come this way again.