Spring 2012 London Trip – day #1

2nd April 2012 - Bourne End to Kings Langley

As we arrived at Jannock’s mooring we noticed Cutweb’s newest member, Helen aboard nb Pippistrelle, passing heading South. She said she was only going to Winkwell so we didn’t rush to join her in the lock as we needed to load up and get straight before setting off. Two hours later we cast off and also headed south, London bound. As I lifted a paddle to empty lock 59 the fisherman sat on the offside iimmediately below the lock caught the largest Bream I have ever seen. He claimed that the flow from the paddles had taken his worm right into the fishes mouth.  Winkwell swingbridge is still being worked on so the Galliway contractors had to manually swing it so that we could pass through. We continued solo down to Apsley where we noticed a Black Prince hireboat moored outside Sainsburys whose crew appeared to be busy re-provisioning. As we passed through Apsley bottom lock they appeared above also heading south. I backset the lock for them and we waited at Nash Mills for them to join us. The crew were German and enjoying their trip enormously. Brenda commented to them that the weather they had experienced so far was exceptional. They were surprised as they thought that temperatures in the late teens/early twenties and clear blue skies were normal for England in March. We shared down through Kings Langley (slow fill) lock before we moored up for the night opposite the flats built where the Ovaltine factory used to be. There I managed to wash Jannock’s roof and starboard side before it got too dark.