Onto the Paddington Arm

Saturday 22nd August 2020

After we set off, our first lock was Denham deep lock where we passed through solo following a single  boat in front of us and assisted by the crew of a boat waiting to ascend. Below this lock is a working

boatyard that has a narrow floating dry-dock. It was occupied by a working boat with all water having been pumped out.

Once past the apparently disused gravel wharf we passed under the A40, a road I’ve used many times to get into London when I was working, now used rarely by me. On through Uxbridge lock and down past the Boat Centre where a narrow boat was being craned out onto hard standing.

At the boat yard by Cowley Peachy junction I pulled in to try

and get some diesel but they were not open. Unfortunately the closed sign was on the office door which is not visible from the canal so we untied and continued on.

We continued down to Bulls bridge junction where we turned left onto the Paddington Arm. We followed a widebeam round the junction but they pulled over as they wanted to walk back to Tescos. We stopped shortly afterwards at bridge 20 and we went to explore Southall Broadway. The warm sun and the bustling street full of shoppers made us feel like we were on a capital H holiday. Add in the Asian supermarkets, the fabulous clothes and jewelry shops, the fabric shops (of course I did! two lots) and the restaurants and street food stalls with their tempting smell and holiday it was. Having bought freshly cooked samosas and jalebis for tea we wandered back towards the boat via an ice cream stall.

Back at the boat and there were a couple of children looking at Jannock, a girl of about 13 with her little

the Famous Jam-ole

brother 10ish. She asked “ is that your boat?” When we said yes they were both very apologetic for looking at it. We told them they were welcome to look and, but for Covid, we could have given them a ride up the canal (with parental permission, of course) She explained that they were from Italy, living in central London and visiting auntie who lived in one of the terraced houses facing the canal. As well as their beautiful manners, I bet they were both multi-lingual.

After a cup of tea we set off again – destination Willow tree park which is an excellent overnight mooring if you want to arrive at Paddington mid to late morning the following day.

Mooring location /// rinse.wash.barn

Timelapse video of journey can be seen at https://youtu.be/87U5nz6KJMM