It is all relative.

We were just ready to leave when another boat came past so we hastened our departure and shared a couple of locks with them and swapped gossip, as you do. They were over from Oxford way so I was asking about the canals over there. 

The high voltage pylons have been replaced by the lower telegraph pole style. It reminded me of the telegraph and telephone poles you used to see along every railway line in the past.

The canal incorporates the river at certain times and there are weirs where it comes and goes. This one is like a dragons tooth pattern and we thought it may be designed so to increase the area for the water to escape over. It makes it look very complicated though. The water is very clean where the river sections are.

Approaching Broxbourne which means apparently the 'stream where badgers frequent'. The 15th and 16th Century church rises above the tree line.

There is a warning at Aqueduct lock to watch out for small boats and rowing boats. The coxed four we met at the lock pulled quickly away from us, but the small motor boats at Broxbourne were a little different as they had just picked them up from the base and they hadn't got the hang of the steering at all. As you can see No.10 was careering around the canal and was just about to collide with the post.

At Carthagena Lock (above) we lost our lock partner to another boat so we stopped in the lock to take water in the hope that another boat would come up to us. By the time we had finished and the cake was out of the oven, and a cup of tea and biscuit had, there was still nobody there so we went up on our own.

After Carthagena Lock the canal loses it's industrial feel and become much more green and soft edged.

After Feilde's Weir Lock there is the parting of the ways, right up the Stort and left to Hertford. We turned left and soon passed the go'kart track. Who know's whether any of the young girls and boys wizzing round the track will be household names on the F1 circuit in years to come. They, and their parents looked in earnest about the whole thing.

Karting at Rye House Track.

WE continued on to the Marina near to Stansted Abbots where we were hoping to stop. On first look it didn't look like there were any moorings so we winded and found a slot among the reeds. We then went off to the bridge to check out the pub. We were meeting Helen's Uncle tonight and were hoping that the food would be okay. We also saw that there were good spots past the bridge so moved up. How ever the space we found had no rings and as there was a tarmac path me wondered about stopping. It turned out that there had been folk there before as there were many holes to poke our pins into without making more. We walked back to the pub to meet the relations and then showed them round the boat. Then back to the pub and a nice meal. It was lovely having a chat as we hadn't seen them for a long time. With luck we will see them again on the way south again.