Up the GU–water water everywhere

Cruising up the GU these days, you can’t help noticing how much of it is made up of little stretches of river.  We’ve been pushing against currents for a good bit of the way.  Water is pouring in from every feeder and over the tops of lots of lock gates. Up at Cowroast where we gave Herbie a weekend break, there is still a good bit of flooding in the fields.  We’ve made good progress, doing 37 locks in two days.  This was partly because on the first day a couple in a widebeam boat had been coming down the canal and leaving one bottom gate open at every lock. On the one hand we tutted at their failure to observe the rules and on the other, we were pleased that they made our job easier.

Unfortunately on Thursday, some inconsiderate boater left locks against us with top gates left open. This despite a number of the locks being ones that were supposed to be left empty.  We had a bit of luck though in sharing the locks with Joe and Jules on Nb Our Destiny.  They knew what they were doing and the lot of us formed a slick team and made fast progress up through Winkwell, Berko and beyond. Now I feel guilty because I have been heard to remark in the past that Our Destiny is just about my unfavourite boat name.  I take it all back Joe.

A couple of pics you might like.

1. Outside Tescos in Yiewsley - no comment



2.  One of our favourite GU locks - Black Jacks. A photo taken with the all round panorama feature of my phone.  That's Rick at the tiller.



It’s just a year since our dear friend Pete died, and on Saturday night we enjoyed a night out in his memory, by accompanying his wife Val and other good friends on a trip aboard the Real Ale Train on the restored Watercress Line in Hampshire. If there were two things Pete really liked, it was beer and trains, so it was a fitting event.  Next we press on towards Milton Keynes where we take yet another break so Kath can go off to her annual lace making weekend in the Cotswolds.  Anybody got any good ideas for how I can amuse myself in MK for three days?