Getting closer to London.

We left a little earlier than normal to make up for not moving yesterday. We stopped after the first lock to top up with water as we had another load of washing on. There was a single hander going down the lock and I said that we were just topping up and if he stopped we could share the locks. He said that he was only going down one lock, but we never saw him again!

When we got to Apsley Bottom Lock there was somebody with a windlass opening a gate but I couldn't see a point. It turns out that it was the areas Waterways Chaplin. I had heard that they existed having read so on a forum. Somebody said that they were a waste of our licence fee but it seems that they are actually part of Workplace Matters that runs chaplaincy's at airports, emergency services, casinos and other places and are part of the Ecumenical Partnerships Initiatives, a Registered Charity. At best I hope that C&RT do contribute. We had a nice discussion about this and that. It seems he was an ex rugby union player so we had that in common. He was actually in the Salvation Army but his helpers were lay people. We all see boats on the canal that if they were homes they would be condemned and social agencies would be involved. I often wonder what to do in these cases, whether to intervene or what to do. It pricks the social conscious. Talking to the Chaplin he suggested that we could just give them their number so that if they needed help they knew where to get it. I also wonder how these 'boats' actually pass their four yearly BSS. I'm sure that that the few I have been aboard could not possibly. Even if the actually managed to pass the engineering part of it surely they should be something in there as to suitability for habitation to protect those 'living' aboard.

Chaplin Dr. Malcolm Ernst of the Salvation Army with his assistants at Apsley. They cover down to Grove Lock.

 If somebody has lost a windlass at or near Nash Mills Locks and can tell me where and what type of windlass it was I will be more than happy to forward it to them as we found it.

This lock cottage reminds of those found all round the Birmingham Canal Navigation waters.

The locks are well spaced out then with a couple close together. Boats travelling up hill where fairly frequent but not that busy at all. After Kings Langley we passed under the M25 that seemed to be flowing freely at that time. It has a long viaduct crossing the River Gade valley. The canal uses the River Gade on and off from Apsley although you can't really tell other than for the weirs and streams joining the cut.

The M25 crossing the River Gade valley.

Also seen frequently on this stretch are concrete posts that have Lock on one side and Distance on the other, like mile posts. I think they were called DIS markers and I would guess that they were placed there at the time of the general upgrade of the canal in the 1930's, maybe to replace older ones. It seems that they were set a certain distance from the lock. When a boat passed them approaching the lock they sounded their klaxons so the lock keeper knew they were there but also to ensure that the first to sound their horn had the right of way. No saving water for them by the boat with the lock their way having precedence.  

DIS marker.

Not only does the Lock house remind me of Birmingham but this turn over bridge reminds me of the northern canals. It seems along time since we were last there.

We found a mooring not far from Lock 78, Cassio Bridge Lock. We popped up the road to by some kidney beans for a chilli tonight and realised that we were almost in London as a Tube train went over the railway bridge. Oh we also succumbed to a couple of cakes to go with our tea too. We had just moored up and the heavens opened. I was lucky that I hadn't hung out the washing before the downpour.