Farewell and see you soon

Sunday 24th May to Monday 25th May 2015
 

Diane liked this tree - mainly for the colour

The excitement of the previous day had not quite gone, at least for Diane, but for today it was a bit more sedate - well apart from the 8 locks immediately ahead of us, but the bright sunshine was a compensation for the work to come.

With the two boats together and the ground crew doing a sterling job, we raced through the flight, even able to get the lock ready for the single boat coming up behind us.
 

Locks 92-94 were known to the old boatmen as the "asylum locks" - the building
shown and the others behind were an asylum and now it is Ealing Hospital

This shot shows the unloading point for the coal deliveries  - the photo as
it exists today,shows where it was bricked up

Look carefully - road over the canal and in the centre is the railway below

an ex-lifeboat from the North Sea oil rigs coming out of the lock; I did manage
a bit of a look inside - nice for one but maybe a bit too small for me/us

The aim once we made it to the top was to head for the Tesco moorings at Bull's Bridge - both boats had shopping lists and whilst there were no free spots, we breasted up alongside another boat - empty, but presumably the occupants were also shopping.
Tone and I stayed aboard just in case.

Once the girls returned, seemingly as though they needed to empty the store, we stowed everything below and headed off.

We were now in need to take on more diesel - fill the tank and the cans - so we were heading towards Denham Marina where the price was low; nb MuchGigglin' would eventually need a pumpout, so it was easy to get both done together - fortunately they were open and we made it with time to spare.

Filled and emptied as needed we realised that it was time to go our separate ways and to say goodbye - just for now - not knowing when next we would meet - but it would be sooner than last time.
We have had such a great week together without being in each others pockets but together for such a long time.

We then headed south again to moor up and beat the weather - the clouds were definitely darker than earlier.
Down through Cowley Lock with a hire boat of Lithuanians here for a weekend and we immediately moored up for the night - a very peaceful night - we didn't realise until we had stopped that we were pretty exhausted - it had been 3 hard days in a row.

Monday arrived with a bit of sun and cloud and a light breeze; we would be heading to a mooring at Yeading (hopefully); a straight cruising day with no locks, which was probably just as well as we were both still tired and not 100% at the moment.

The sun has a way of rejuvenating tired and aching muscles and certainly make you feel much better; the cruise was very much uneventful, until we arrived at our desired location to find it completely full.
Not to worry we went on a bit further and found a spot less used, so the grass was very much longer but it was suitable.

A look down the Slough Arm as we passed by - we may venture down there
when we are next past here

We would have moored up sooner and more easily if it had not been for the branch lodging itself in the propeller space - it needed to be dragged out which was managed without too much fuss; we could then moor up and relax - Diane relaxed with the French Open; I relaxed doing work - although it is a Bank Holiday here, it most definitely isn't in Australia and so I had to work.
 

Our current mooring - see we are hiding in the grass

Now that it is evening and we have eased our tired bodies we do feel much better and will spend a few days moored here in peace and quiet.

15 Miles, 10 Locks
YTD: 381 Miles, 207 Locks, 8 Tunnels, 2 Lift Bridges, 11 Swing Bridges
Totals: 3275 Miles, 2328 Locks, 106 Tunnels, 36 Lift Bridges, 162 Swing Bridges