Battle-scars (Bow Wharf to Little Venice Basin)

This morning we gathered, once again, at the re-fettled Bow Wharf to set off towards Paddington where workboat/welcome station Jena is to face the public at the IWA Canalway Cavalcade.

There was a team of Canal & River Trust staff looking over the leisure moorings at Bow Wharf as we left, snagging (looking for issues with the installation.) One of them was very familiar with Jena - having been with BW when the boat was commissioned - and he took a few photos to show how she's changed from the floating office boat she once was.

I have to say, whoever serviced Jena's engine last time, did a good job! We've had three days in which she hasn't over-heated and all her gauges have functioned, all the time. That's impressive (if you're aware of her many issues - I've commented on them a lot in the past.)

RE, CK and myself have navigated the Regents Canal often over the past year, and its issues are well known. We know where lock gates are leaking (Actons Lock top gates) and where bottom gates need a top paddle open a little way to ensure they don't swing back open as you go up (Old Ford Lock, City Road Lock and the Camden flight.) We know where the channel is tight because of triple moored boats and wide-beams where they shouldn't be. And we know which bridges make us breath in and duck as we squeeze through.

I took the helm through the Islington tunnel and up through St. Pancras and Camden. Again, I managed not to touch the sides of the tunnel - which always pleases me. But I made a right mess of handling her in the outflow from St. Pancras lock, and was very red-faced even though I had Jena back in the tail of the lock by the time the lower gates opened.

A spot of reverse gongoozling.

Buildings rising up in Camden.

Ducks!

At Little Venice by three, we were supposed to moor on the Blomfield Road side, but our space was again full of work boats: Pride of London and a little Berky weed-cutter. We stopped for a moment on the Jason's Trip landing.

R moved the weed-cutter off at speed with a wheelbarrow on its tiny deck. And the workboat moved off too, so RE manoeuvred Jena back into her 'correct' space.

 

Manoeuvring shenanigans.

And then the IWA organiser told us we weren't quite in the right space. So we gently moved the pontoon stage and Jena up another fifteen feet (one mooring ring) so there'd be room for a trip boat behind us as well. Finally!

Jena, as you'll see her at Cavalcade.

Jena's not quite the boat she was a couple of years ago when she got her vibrant green and blue paint job. She's seen some heavy use and a little rough treatment (not all at our hands!) And she has a few scars to prove it.

Sometime soon, that paint is going to need retouching, and her bottom re-blacking, before the rust gets out of hand. While she's out of the water, her tiller bearing needs replacing too - there's a lot of 'slop' in her steering now.

 

Jena has got a few battle-scars, that need a touch of paint and re-blacking.

And she should also be resurveyed and re-'plated'. She wasn't originally intended to carry groups of VIP's on trips, and skippers have sometimes had to explain that because of this we can only have ten people aboard when she's underway.

Jena's plate from when she was built by Metro Float Ltd.

If a surveyor says she can carry more, then we can change this up - and use Jena for even more events. RE is working on the Trust to try to have this happen, and it's looking hopeful.

6 hours.

"Strike that. Reverse it."

So, up at silly-o-clock to be at Rye House at 08.30. M & D the inspectors were just disappearing off into the wilds of Hertfordshire. But we weren't following them.

My main means of transport, bike and train.

Oh no. Someone at the head office had realised that Jena was going to be needed at the IWA Cavalcade this coming weekend, so we were now tasked with getting Jena to Paddington ASAP. We spun her on her heels and headed back South.

Winding at Rye House Wharf and PH.

Fortunately it looked like the weather was going to be good, cold, but sunny, and RE, CK and myself put the kettle on, and settled in for a long day's cruise.

Jena at Fieldes Weir Lock.

We got held up a little at Cartagena lock, where a cruiser was filling his water tank. The water point there is in the lock (like many other places on the Lea and Stort) so this blocks the lock for a while. The Canal & River Trust are making some changes to the positions of water points, but this is often limited to where they can find a water supply and the permissions necessary to dig to place them. Suffice to say, change happens slowly (and sometimes with snags.)

Longboat at Waltham Town Lock.

Pylon marks the change of weather.

For my safety ladder collection:
a ladder and bollards at Rammey Marsh Lock.

We returned to Enfield Lock around lunchtime, we didn't stop. Each of us had a packed lunch and we ate in turns as we shared duties at the helm for a half-hour each. Jena used to have a microwave, and I think it might be time to ask for it to be reinstated - warm food would have been good.

My tidied-up inspection port.

I tidied up the hole I sawed in the steps so that the inverter could be accessed without moving a very heavy set of stairs out of the way (thus removing both a material handling hazard and a falling/trip hazard - a H&S win, I think.)

I took my woodworking skills a step further, the toilet door had swollen a little and no longer fit in its frame - so the door couldn't be closed or locked. I took a small block plane to the door's edge and trimmed back the overlap, it fits now. Privacy returns.

And then the skies darkened and hail rattled down as we passed under the M25 and into London proper.

Hail and rain at Tottenham Lock.

And just as swiftly, sunlight returned, the contrast between the dark skies and the sunlit river prompting me to wave my cameraphone at the landscape again.

No hail and rain just after Tottenham Lock.

Isn't London gorgeous when the sun (briefly) shines.

We reached the Hertford Union around half-past five, and started up the three locks towards Bow Wharf. The pound between the middle and top lock was down by about 18 inches. It was navigable, but only just. The middle lock falls just over eight feet, and the top lock falls only six, so every time boats lock-through, water is lost from this second pound. Without much water coming down the Regents Canal this pound may well be empty some times this Summer.

By half past six we moored up at Bow Wharf. Not on the operational moorings which were full of work boats, but (temporarily) on the new, as-yet-unopened leisure mooring there. We felt a bit guilty as we negotiated our lines past the 'no mooring' signs, but sometimes the Trust's operations do have to take priority.

And then I had my final task of the day. There'd been a report of vandalism to a water point at Old Ford Lock on the Regents. I cycled over to take a look.

Moving the Vicky Park water point upstream a boat length or two.

Turns out it was just that the freshly installed water point (with a tap that was the wrong size for anyone to use) was being moved to a more suitable location further upstream. Like I said, change happens slowly, and all too often, with snags.

10 long hours.

Time after Time

So, there's this small, technical disconnect between Canal & River Trust operational staff and Canal & River Trust volunteers...

Setting off from Enfield Lock

Canal & River Trust staff like to make early starts, their engineers and lengths-people like to head out at 07.30 for a day looking at bridges and weirs and locks and all that lovely stuff. Trust volunteers like all that lovely stuff too, but really don't enjoy starting the day before travel is off-peak; like 09.30 or 10.00 or 11.00.

Clearing a large waterproof jacket (and some upholstery)
from the prop at Rammey Marsh Lock.

So it was today. Workboat/Welcome Station Jena was expected to support inspections in Broxbourne and up the Lea. We'd compromised on a 09.00 start for RE & CK and myself to move the boat from Enfield up the Lea to meet the inspection team.

Cutting an inspection hole for the inverter below stairs.

Well, I guess they got impatient waiting for us, and by the time we set off they were already at Kings Weir, Broxbourne. And by the time we reached Kings Weir, they were at Fieldes Lock. And by the time we reached Fieldes Lock, at about 1pm, they'd already been up to Rye House and come back and had effectively finished their inspections for the day (at least all the ones that they could do without access from the water.)

A clogged lock weir channel at Cheshunt Lock

So, we moored Jena at Rye House. They're meeting us there at 08.30 tomorrow morning. Which means rolling  out of bed at 6am to cycle to Hackney Downs to get the 07.48 train. Sod packing lunch, I'm going to take a packed breakfast.

Cartagena Lock

Dobbs Weir Lock

4 hours.

Bike Serviced - Old Ford Locks 19 - Save the Ducks!

I've been a little out-of-action this week, because my beloved electric bike was away for servicing.

In the meantime, I popped in at the refurbishment of Old Ford Locks 19's shelter and sanitary station and discussed how things would be changing there in the future.

The physical changes to the sanitary station will be fairly dramatic:

• The chemical toilet disposal point (I may as well just give in and call it the 'Elsan') will be moving outside to the downstream end of the building where it will be rebuilt in a similar construction to the one at Old Ford 8 on the Regents Canal.
• The accessible toilet will have a new accessible entryway on the outside (with access by BWB key most likely, although I'd like to make a case for a NKS key entry too.)
• The current toilet will likely be kept for use by volunteers, and the old Elsan and the connecting passageway used to store volunteer materials. I'd make a case for making this a major store for volunteer uniform, signage and tools.
• The stable area will become a 'Welcome Station' - a shelter for volunteers including volunteer lock-keepers for Old Ford 19 and Carpenters Road Locks. There'll likely be some displays and material for visitors here too. 
• The water points will move upstream, away from the lock buildings. This may be a tricky bit of construction though, so the old points may stay for a while longer.

That's my understanding of CRT's current plans anyway.

Evening sun over Battlebridge basin entrance.

I also attended the London Waterway Forum, where the Trust presented a fair amount of information on what's been going on around the system. My two key take-aways were the huge numbers of hours volunteers are contributing to the Trust (over 500,000 volunteer hours last year) and the worrying deficiencies in the water supply for London's canals this season. If great care isn't taken over conserving water through the Regent's Canal we are likely to see more empty pounds and closures of locks through the summer. That's going to make many people unhappy.

There was also news of the opening of the Olympic Park waterways:

• The stadium loop should open in June/July. This will allow boats to pass around the loop, but with no mooring or stopping on the Bow Back waters (St. Thomas Creek, City Mill River and the Old River Lea.)
• Waterworks River will open for bookable navigation (in the same way as the Three Mills Wall River is bookable) when Carpenters Road Lock opens in August. Again, there'll be no extra moorings on these waters.
• The stretch of the Lee Navigation alongside Sweet Water, between White Post Lane Bridge and Monier Road Footbridge will gain mooring rings and move from being No Mooring to being a short-term visitor mooring - most likely with some bookable moorings for those wanting to visit the Olympic Park.

Healthy Swan and Duck food, and the Trust's duck food bag.

Today I reclaimed my much-refurbished bike and took it to Broadway Market Steps, Victoria Park, and Old Ford Lock 8 for a Share-the-Space and Save-the-Ducks event.

RB, DM, PW, RE and myself picked litter between Broadway Market and Old Ford Lock and also handed out free, healthy duck food (corn and mealworms), maplets and Share the Space postcards. RB had the bright idea of passing a large number of the Trust's custom printed paper bags for duck food to the duck food vendors at the park, and they received them happily (and wanted more.)

I spent a good while at the locks, chatting with the volunteer lock keepers and passing out many, many more maplets and postcards.

This was a great event, and despite a drip or two of drizzle, very successful.

4 hours.

Sharing the Space at the Lea Rowing Cub

Looking upstream towards Markfield Park.

Another chapter in my progress as a Canal & River Trust volunteer began with me leading my first event today.

This was a Share the Space event where volunteers actively engage with towpath users to try to put over the Share the Space campaign message encouraging all the different towpath users to peacefully co-exist.

My pre-event publicity had gathered together a small team of volunteers, including two new recruits, two with a bit more experience of events like this, and two old hands. That made for a very effective mix and we managed to give away over 250 of the London waterways maplets that carry our message.

There were a lot of cyclists and dog walkers there too, which with the rowers from the club and everyday people just out for a stroll on the towpath made for exactly the sort of mix we were trying to encourage. The dog walkers got our giveaway dog-poop bag dispensers, and a couple of cyclists got free bells to "tring!" as they rode along.

I'd been stressed the last couple of nights beforehand, working as hard as possible not to be under-prepared. But, barring having an effective way to count positive public interactions except by counting maplet giveaways, I think I managed to pull it all off pretty well. Now I've got to think about planning the next one - time to put together a quick poll of 'my volunteers' I think. (Apparently I have a team of volunteers now. 😳)

4 hours.

A Beautiful Load of Rubbish.

Today has been the most beautiful Spring day on the Lee Navigation.

Tulips and Hyacinths mixed into the wild flowers below Picketts Lock.

It was a warm Spring day full of views to remember.

Overground bridge, Tottenham.

For example, the stretch below Tottenham locks, home to the friendliest herons, and the rather smart new bridge carrying the Overground from Black Horse Road to South Tottenham. This'll be electrified by the end of the year, but for now the two-car diesels are still here.

Mirrored in the gentle Lea.

And here, the graceful chimney of the Edmonton waste plant.

I had my camera out rather often!

But yeah, here've been some rough spots too. Mostly overflowing bins and the odd scooter abandoned in the cut.

At Stonebridge some people still persist in leaving big bits of rubbish from their boats: a mattress, a washing machine, a table top, containers of contaminated oil. CRT's rubbish contractor, Biffa, won't take this stuff away - it's there until either a workboat can take it away, or (more likely) CRT has to chuck a few hundred pounds at a contractor to do it for them. But - as the sign points out - there's a council recycling centre only a half-mile away that will take all these things, if only people could get them there.

I've been thinking about this a lot today. I know boaters are often thoughtful types who like to leave some items to offer them for re-use or recycling by other boaters. Perhaps there needs to be somewhere away from the refuse area and chemical toilet point where stuff can be left for recycling. With the good weather there are a lot of folks doing major work on their boats and, in turn, generating a lot of big bits of rubbish to be disposed of. Making sure you've thought about how you're going to get rid of it in a sensible fashion is the responsible thing to do.

I passed on through Picketts Lock. I hear from the anglers there that Alfie Saggs is doing a little better and is back at home. Huzzah!

I finished at Ponders End. Then, on my way home I was gently waylaid by a towpath user with a hand-bike/wheelchair combination. If you've not come across these, they're a upper-body-powered wheel that fixes to the front of a wheelchair to allow a person to cycle cross country. Good stuff!

Padlocked gate and U-shaped bypass at Rammey Marsh.

Except, of course, where the towpath has obstructions that the user can't get around. Like here at Rammey Marsh. The wheelchair/hand-bike combo won't fit through the U-shaped bypass (it's barely big enough for a small wheelchair, and no mobility scooter will make it through.)

I had a word with my manager about this. CRT would prefer the gate to remain padlocked to keep motor vehicles off the towpath, but we're going (as soon as we are able) to put a second padlock in line with the first so that opening either means the gate can be opened. And we'll make that padlock one that a National Key Scheme (AKA Radar) key will work. I'll write more when we get this done.

3 hours, productively and relaxingly spent.