North to Watford

 We moored up outside the very large Tesco for a couple of days.  A really quiet mooring with only one disturbance of a speeding car on the first night. The white bridge on the right is the access point to the Paddington Arm.

 

There are several small moorings of to the side.  All of them seem to be empty.

Ahh. Shopping trolley in canal. Civilisation.

After half an hour or so got caught up by a cyclist.  Minutes before this pic was taken a Moorhen came racing down the towpath to meet the cyclist.  It seems that he gets bread from a bakery and two or three times a day he comes down and spreads bread on the waters and the birds are all waiting for him.

 This is a floating classroom.  Pity that there isn't at least one on every canal.  Nearly did a floating computer centre myself years ago.

Building going on all over the place and more industrial buildings that could be next for conversion.

Lots of new building.  Still very clean and not very welcoming.

 Plenty of boats moored up. Many of them look as though they have been there for years on what doesn't look like official moorings. I was a bit surprised at the number of iffy boats with an up to date license. Still quite a few there though.

Another arm going nowhere.

Lots of the lock buildings so far don't seem to be very well used.  There are also the lockies cottages that are empty and looking very sad.

One of the few official bits of graffiti.

Another of the stern wheel driven boats.

This is Black Jacks lock and on the left Black Jack Mill.  Which came first for Black Jack?

Pretty scene.

The River Colne enters the canal at this point with a large marina just after the bridge.

Not sure who this is supposed to be  :-)

Moored for the night next to the Aquadrome.  A series of lakes that I think are made up of the clay pits left by London Brick company.

The Little Union Canal complete with tunnel and lock to help explain the workings of the canal for children.

No flooding here though as the canal is empty.  

Back to loads of boats.  We have been told that all the 'hippies' have been moved out of the olympic area  and shunted up here.

Cassio lock and the trees hang over the lock and make it difficult to use the bollards on one side.

Last lock of the day we had to wait while the local Coal and Oil boat comes down.  We had been slowed down by some pratt ahead leaving the lock gates open and all sluices, both ground and gates, up.

Not sure if its me being a grumpy old man but its not only hire boats that go speeding past.  Most of these are owner occupied.

The mooring for tonight.  We have reached the outskirts of Watford.