CAPTAIN'S LOG - WEEK 12

WEEK 12

We've made it to London!

Monday 20th May
Rickmansworth - Cowley 
7 miles and 6 locks

We were not the only ones heading away from Rickmansworth, it was very busy with everyone leaving the festival, so we always had a boat to share the locks with.

Tuesday 21st May

Cowley - Kensal Green

15.75 miles and 1 lock

We started off by sharing the lock with Victoria, the fuel boat, when we made our stop at Tescos at Bull Bridge we moored behind her, not much left in the way of moorings as there appears to be a few abandoned boats here, which is a bit of a shame as anyone arriving after us to do a bit of shopping would have difficulty finding a mooring. After a bit of lunch we were on our way again as we knew there were a few miles to cover. As it was getting late we knew we wouldn't make it to Paddington at a reasonable time so stopped off just by Kensal Green Cemetery, we wanted a fairly early start to try and get to the Basin once the early morning leavers had gone.

Seems an unusual place for a large number of swans to gather

This one was real

Wednesday 22nd May 

Kensal Green - Paddington Basin

2.5 miles 

We finally made it and turning into the Basin there only appeared to be one space left, so in we went, James did a good job of reversing LJ in the space, which could have been tricky as it was one on the inside. About 15 minutes later another boat arrived and had to leave as there was no space, after that Chance arrived with Doug and James and again were just on their way out when they spotted the one in front of us getting ready to go, very lucky for them (although they had to wait an age for the boat to get out). Once settled in we set off to get our bearings saying hello to Doug and James first, with a kind invitation to join them on Chance later for a drink. We sorted out our Oyster cards for the week and picked up the bus maps so we could find our way around. Later we strolled the 50ft or so from LJ to Chance and to a warm welcome from Doug and James, it was so good to finally meet after reading their blog (Link) for so long. We had a fantastic evening and hope we didn't overstay our welcome as it was gone midnight by the time we left - times flies when you're having fun.

Our mooring in Paddington Basin

Doug and James' immaculate boat Chance, our neighbour for a few days

Thursday 23rd May

It was our 21st wedding anniversary today and Jess was getting the train to us straight after work to join us for a celebratory dinner. During the day we did a few touristy things including Leicester Square, China Town and Covent Garden. We met Jess at Paddington Station in the evening and back to LJ for dinner

Friday 24th May

We had a full day today, we got some tickets for a show in the evening from the theatre ticket office in Leicester Square, it rained most of the day so we made for the Museum of London near St Paul's Cathedral before going to China Town to eat before the show, One Man, Two Guvners at the Theatre Royal Haymarket, we had great seats in the Royal Circle and it was absolutely brilliant, Rufus Hound really made the show and the band were great too.

On a London bus

In Leicester Square

Trying out the head gear in the museum

Saturday 25th May 
Today we had a walk through the markets at Portobello Road, the rain held off and it was really busy. It was interesting looking at the various stalls and things for sale although we made no purchases. We went back to LJ for a relaxing afternoon before heading out to St Paul's Cathedral to join a 'Walk for London' ghost tour, which started at 7:30pm. We left at 6pm thinking this was plenty of time, however the traffic was horrendous and we had only made it as far as Leicester Square at 7:30pm so unfortunately there was no way we would be able to join the tour. Instead we went along the Embankment and ended up in the Templers Knight, a Wetherspoons pub, just as the UEFA final was finishing. 

Houses of Parliament

Sunday 26th May
Paddington Basin - King's Cross
4 miles and 4 locks

We had a fairly early start this morning as we were joining the subterranean 'Walk for London' tour and we didn't want to miss it. The tour started outside the Embankment tube station at 10:30am and this time we arrived early, it was just after 9am. So we went for a stroll along Embankment to see all the German fans from the yesterday's football final waiting for their coaches home. In the afternoon was our planned moved from Paddington Basin along the Regents Canal to the Canal Museum mooring. Being a nice sunny Sunday afternoon it was quite busy going through the zoo, lots of people walking and cycling and a few trip boats out. On the approach to Camden Locks we couldn't see the lock for people, I have never seen so many people round a lock and I thought going through the Rickmansworth Festival was busy, it was nothing compared to this. Poor Jess, these were her first locks, just as we got into the lock a plastic boat arrived so we were able to pair up down the four locks, which meant Jess and I could work the same side. As we were a little early for getting onto the mooring at the Museum, they had a trip boat out til 5:30pm which needed to get in before us, we moored up at the King's Cross moorings briefly and had a wander round, getting into the Museum just after 5:30pm, once settled we took a short stroll down near the station to where there are a few Indian restaurants and had a good curry.

Little Venice

Approaching Camden Locks

A few spectators 

More People on the approach to the next lock

Final lock and less people here

TOTALS FOR WEEK
Cruising - 29.25
Locks - 11
Tunnels - 1

OVERALL TOTALS
Cruising - 164.25
Locks - 99
Tunnels - 4
Bridges - 3