Slowly up the Stort.

I went for the paper and we were off by 1000. Unfortunately three boats had passed us before we left. When we got to Rammey Marsh Lock we had caught up the wide beam holiday boat. They were very measured in their progress and as they were going to Harlow we would be behind them along time, and we had a long way to go. The bottom gates on the Lee and Stort Navigations do not have straight long beams on the gates, but cantilevered beams that make it even more difficult than normal. That with the practice common round London Canals that the gates that you have just left are left open, seemed to make locks seem to take a long time.

When we approached Stanstead Lock We thought that we would stop for water to let them get ahead. There was a boat coming up and they slotted on the water point. The wide beam had some sort of mechanical failure and we were ahead of them! We were soon at the confluence of the Lee and Stort and turned left onto the Stort.

Helen bringing us into the Stort past the big weir, fortunately not running strongly today.

Immediately the nature of the navigation changes from that of the Lee. It is narrower, more shallow and the towpath is less accessible, and it bends a lot! It is extremely green and isolated form most things. Not many road bridges and little habitation are passed. You could be on a tributary of the Amazon.

Lock cottage at Brick Lock. The emblem over the door is a red hand and GD and the date 1830. This is the motif of George Duckett who was one of the commissioners of the Stort Navigation. He was called George Jackson then but when the uncle of his second wife meant he had to change his name to inherit. He was friend to Captain Cook and was high up in the Admiralty.

The Navigation is a canalised river and as such there were many mills along the route. This one seemed to be the largest and now seems to be a art place.

We shared the next lock with a short boat that stopped the other side to go to the pub. We found a tap and filled up as we had done a load of washing.

Poetry alongside the locks.

As we went further up the canal it seemed to get more tree lined and less people about. I think we had a couple boats come down against us. There was one lock that didn't seem to fill at all. I had the boat pushing like mad on the gate to open it and it took ages. Other wise all is quite okay on the maintenance front but there aren't many places to moor as the bank is shallow and over grown.

It got even more rural as we headed north.

It is obvious that the lock cottages weren't built at the same time as this one at Sheering Mill Lock, dated 1799 and the one at Brick Lock in 1830. It seems that the locks were turf built at the start. The canal didn't really ever make much money.

Just past Sheering Lock there are loads of new housing which looks like they were built on the land of the old mill.

At one of the locks I manged to almost fall in the lock. I put my foot on the edge of the boat to get back aboard and my toe slipped. I just got my feet wet but barked my shins and it bled a bit. I came over all faint and later enjoyed having Helen administer to my needs. I am wondering if I can drag it our for a few days!

We had a walk around the town of Sawbridgeworth where we are moored. There are some lovely buildings and the centre is quite cute on the whole. It seems that the Beckham's had a house here not so long ago. It has been a long day and then next few will will be equally as long as we have to be at Tottenham to meet Amy.