Back up to Berko

12th & 13th May

Yesterday we woke very early, after an early night the evening before. Since it was shaping to be another very hot day, we went over to summer cruising technique, that is, get the boating done before it gets too hot.

We set off at seven in bright sun but with a pleasantly cool breeze. Just after nine, we arrived at the Apsley Sainsbury's mooring, and followed up the shopping with a visit to the water point above the lock. Tank refilled and wash load on the way, we plugged steadily on to Winkwell, Bruce steering and Sheila lock wheeling on the bike.

There were a few boaters about, some of them with odd habits – lots of them seemed to need both gates open to get a single narrowboat out of a broad lock, and one of them, Elidir, perpetrated the most blatant piece of lock stealing we've seen for quite a while.

As Sheila approached from below, she could see a bottom gate standing open. The lock wheeler from Elidir appeared and started to close it. Sheila rang her bell and waved the windlass over her head, but to no avail.

When she got there, the woman had already drawn a top ground paddle. She said "Sorry, I didn't see you there" and wound the gate paddle on that side as well, although the lock had barely started filling, and it would have taken little time to turn the lock back and let Sanity into it. (For those not familiar with waterways etiquette, turning a lock round in the face of an approaching boat is one of the ultimate crimes, as it wastes a lockfull of water that could have been used by that boat).

Despite this, we continued to make good time, and got to Winkwell just on lunchtime. After lunch we did some well earned dozing in the sun – well, I did, so I'm told. Sheila is working hard to finish the porthole doilies for the Braidbar show boat, so kept going through the heat and haze, she says.

A bit later, when it was a shade cooler, I got her to cut my hair, taking it down to half an inch all over, in view of the prevailing weather conditions. It will now, no doubt, cool down.

Winkwell proved a pleasant mooring, though the Three Horseshoes pub on the opposite side had some sort of entertainment going on, with loads of people noisily enjoying the fine evening out on their canal side terrace.

Today, we had a lie in, and didn't start boating until 7.45. The breeze was distinctly cooler, but it was still sunny, and the boating continued to be idyllic, although hard work. It was my turn to bike, and work the locks. Along this stretch are a number of locks whose sidewalls leak so badly that you have to leave them empty no matter which direction you're going in.

This is handy when working uphill, but is a good example of the way in which BW's lack of cash for maintenance leads to increased problems in day to day running. It's fine at this end of the season, when there's plenty of water coming down the rivers which feed this stretch of the canal, but if we have a dry one and the Gade and Bulbourne start running low, throwing away all those lockfulls of water will make no sense at all.

By Bourne End Locks we heard our first cuckoo of the year. They are said to be getting rarer, so it's even more pleasure than usual to hear the familiar two tone call. Either he was a very active bird, or he had a rival, as we could hear the call all the way up to Bottom Side Lock.

Berkhamsted was busy as ever. We managed to find a first mooring under the footbridge that links the main part of the town to the park by the railway, but as this wasn't ideal, I carried on on the bike and found a better spot much further on. It's another good example of the bike earning its keep – just a moment to pedal a bit further on, but it would have been a tedious little trek on foot at the end of the day's boating.

Whilst we were sitting on the bow eating lunch, the Incite boats turned up. We had a cheerful shouted conversation with Davinia, so hopefully we are set up for an early start and assisted passage all the way back to Leighton Buzzard tomorrow.

Later in the day, John and Nev arrived on Waimaru. She looks very smart – John's had some minor mods done to her, and is now very pleased with the arrangements in the engine room.

We're eating with them tonight, a pleasure to be greatly anticipated; I just hope it doesn't make tomorrow's early start too painful. Truly it can be said, this second adolescence is much more fun than the first time around!