Author: Mary

Reminded me of growing up in The Vicarage this morning as I donned my clothes under the duvet! R usually gets up first – we can’t get up together, not enough space. So I snuggle down in the hopes a cup of tea will miraculously appear and it nearly always does! Although R’s first task of the day has now become the wiping off of condensation, which otherwise drips from the windows and ceiling vents! Like it’s raining inside. A bit disconcerting when you don’t expect it! Anyway, it was a chilly morning and we had planned a late start because our tasks were to top up the water, empty the potty cassette whilst we had the opportunity and then head along the Tring cutting which would take under two hours. However the phone did ring at 0830 (I am sure many of you think that’s a lie in!) – it was daughter C, checking how much ibuprofen she can have in 24hrs as suddenly worried she had taken too much. Her back’s in spasm so she can’t get out of bed without severe pain. A physio thinks it’s a bulging disc and it’s a recurrent problem – so a virtual doctor’s appointment for her today which I hope will lead to a scan. Not the best time to have to be investigated! R also suffering back pain. May be a disadvantage of being tall, says the short one of the family. Although my mum was tiny by her 90’s in height terms – most noticeable in a family wedding photo. Although in a wheelchair by then, she was determined to stand unaided for her photo!

The Tring cutting was cold but I had prepared – full thermals, cotton top and trousers; cashmere jumper, fur lined waterproof fleece and poncho, leg warmers, 2 pairs of socks, scarf, two pairs of gloves and a hat! I was in there somewhere amongst the layers. And I was not cold apart from my hands because I kept exposing my fingers to take photos! We were joined on the towpath by a very chatty lad who delivers beer all around the South for a big brewery and has taken to walking miles in lockdown to keep himself fit and purposeful. He was a fount of knowledge on local walks and pubs, although currently the pub knowledge is of no value! He kept abreast of the speed we were doing, occasionally hampered by very wet and boggy towpath conditions. He left us at the turnoff to Tring Station but we had enjoyed his company.

Before we knew it we had arrived at Bulbourne Junction and had to do a quick reverse as the towpath ahead looked chocca with boats. Luckily the boat R decided to walk along to reach the towpath and pull us in, was unoccupied or we may have had another frosty encounter! I walked on to see if there was a better mooring ahead, before the first lock of Marsworth (think there are 6 in close succession so we don’t want to start them today as you can’t moor up between them) and found one where the towpath was no longer a mud bath. However it is the first mooring we have had where we need to use our ‘plank’ to get safely ashore.

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We walked along the Wendover Arm towards Tring having learnt our lesson about taking a long narrowboat down shallow, thin Arms! When we arrived in Tring we found the coffee.shop we had frequented when we walked all the way from Berko to Tring in the second lockdown and enjoyed just as good.a cup of coffee alongside a piece of pear and almond cake – shared. Although R unbeknownst to me also bought an almond croissant so not quite as abstemious as I had planned! I made an ‘essential’ purchase at a hardware store and found a novel way to transport it home!

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Tomorrow is looking snowy according to the forecast whereas Saturday is full sunshine so we will hunker down tomorrow (may even have a full duvet day!) and do the locks on Saturday that await us! I think the boat is in need of some tlc so housework and tidying up will be the order of the day. We really can’t allow ourselves to get too untidy – there just isn’t the space!

To our great surprise we heard voices on the water after sunset this evening. Looking out of the window we saw a couple of canoeists setting off along the canal with head torches. It reminded me that this morning going along the Tring cutting we saw a lone, late middle aged man standing on a paddle board gracefully gliding past us. I couldn’t help but wonder how often he has capsized as you really don’t want a mouthful of canal water if you can avoid it.

Quite a busy day for someone who has got used to life at 4mph in the fast lane! The alarm woke me at 8am just when I felt I had finally got to sleep! Much of the night in that state between being neither fully awake or asleep I was playing over in my mind if we really should be leaving Berko. After all, what’s so bad about trailing heavy potty cassettes through the streets and having people wonder what they are? I omitted to tell you yesterday (spoiler alert: too much potty talk!) that I failed to notice, until too late, that I had not put the cassette fully back in place! Not a mistake you make twice, especially when you have someone else berating you for all the mess! Personally I found it quite funny because I couldn’t quite believe my own stupidity!

Once fully wakened by the alarm I shared my misgivings with R who did not see any problem at all with leaving so I set too with getting ready to depart. The first task was to get our clothes and sheets to the laundrette (literally a 3 minute walk from the boat) where I filled the biggest drum. The cleaner was just finishing sanitising so that was reassuring in itself. With half an hour to wait I returned to the boat and made golden porridge (addition of linseeds) and tea for R and myself. We needed a warming breakfast as internal central heating. Then back to laundrette for tumble drying. Another half hour so I treated myself to a quick shop at M&S foodstore, almost empty so early in the morning. A few treats to be had – excess Christmas stock such as hickory flavoured nuts. No idea how they will taste but that’s the advantage of R having impaired taste buds!

Clean, dry washing all sorted and we set off to Cowroast, a series of 7 locks, I think. The pounds are renowned for being shallow and just as we were getting close to one of the lock gates a CRT man on the towpath asked us to wait 20mins, that really meant 40, as they were letting water in from a higher pound and trying to raise the water levels. It is some tricky feat keeping a narrowboat in the centre of the canal (because the sides are so shallow you may get stuck in the mud or on the stones) for such a long time without mishap. It involves lots of tiny adjustments with the steering and some reversing so you don’t get too close to the lock itself, especially as the water entering the pound also changes the boats course. Still, I had a delightful chat with the young CRT man who is working long hours, with a depleted team due to covid, to keep the canals operational. He said most of his day is spent putting right mistakes made by novice boaters! He’s happy doing overtime now though because his chief pleasure (unsurprising due to his age!) is having a pint at the pub with his mates and obviously that’s not happening any time soon!

Eventually we move on and arrive at Cowroast in time for lunch whereupon the phone goes and one of my mums dearest friends is ringing for a chat. Bear in mind this remarkable lady is 94yrs young, she still drives a car, sounds on the phone like she is in her 60s because of the energy in her voice and still retains all her marbles! I have known her forever and know she is really missing my mum. They always laughed a lot together.

The afternoon sun shone so we had to take the opportunity to walk 40mins to Tring, where we happened upon the Tring brewery which was open! It would have been rude not to buy anything and anyway R had his rucksack just in case!

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We had walked to Tring from Berko in the second lockdown which was twice the distance as coming from Cowroast. However the journey back to the boat appeared much longer after R found a piece of wood for chopping for the stove which was long and cumbersome. It was like we were walking in tandem! Will be worth all the effort I am sure!

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Well we’ve revised our plans again after it took half an hour to drag the potty cassettes to the nearest Elsan and after deciding that we don’t want to keep reversing to the water tap. The bridge behind us is closing on the 8th for repair works so we can only take the boat forward, not back. The next Elsan and watertap is at Cowroast a couple of miles along the canal. We also found out today that a couple of the nearby lock gates are going to be shut soon for repairs and that could well lower the water in the pounds around Berko resulting in boats getting stranded at worse. So we will move on for essential services. At some point we need to meet with James to help not only sort the water problem but glue the tiles back on the wall around the stove. Although we are moving we will keep ourselves to ourselves as much as possible. I have already stocked up with a weeks worth of fresh food and today Jules Fuels came by and filled us up with diesel as well as supplying three bags of coal. With only moving the boat for very limited time we risk getting rather cold and damp. The engine has to run for us to have hot water and central heating. I think we will have to light the stove much earlier in the day. So enough fuel is essential.

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It was lovely to find the parish church open and as it’s epiphany season I thought it appropriate to photograph the beautiful nativity scene with the arrival of the three wise men. I also took a picture of Dean Incent’s House although I have no idea why he’s famous!

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As its our last night in Berko we treated ourselves to a delicious Cypriot takeaway. We deliberately moored as close as we could to the restaurant so that the meal would still be hot and i think it was literally a three minute walk from the boat! We have tried to support the takeaway cafe’s whilst here as much as possible to help keep their businesses going. They all seem very Covid aware with lots of hand sanitizer, social distancing and mask wearing. On our walk I noticed many of the shops suggesting browsing their wares online and then doing a click and collect pickup. I hope it will help them ride the storm and keep their businesses afloat.

Just sitting here, taking in the news of yet another lockdown. We are back in Berkhamsted where we sat the last lockdown out! This time we are moored outside of Waitrose,  which could be convenient! However we will have to reverse the boat to get to the water tap and walk our potty cassettes to the nearest Elsan which is about half a mile from here. Alternatively we travel a couple of miles up the canal to Cowroast where there is both water and an Elsan. Not much food though! So on balance we think it best to stay here. Be interesting to see if the CRT still continues with its maintenance program. We were trying to get to Whipsnade before the lock closure on 11th January until 5th Feb. No rush now! If the work goes ahead hopefully the canal will be open by the end of lockdown and if it gets postponed we should be able to get to the other side before they start once lockdown finishes.

We walked along the towpath to Cowroast today to see how busy it is with boats and to get some exercise. We walked back on the road through the town and it seemed much further coming back for no particular reason. I was hard pressed to find anything of interest to photograph so you have a picture of a tree with ash dieback!

I am not sure how interesting the blog will be if we can’t move anywhere so you may find my musings a little sparse over the next few weeks. Or I may just go off at a tangent writing about all sorts of things just to give me something to do!

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