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.