The good weather continues, though a little cooler this morning.

After a couple of right angle bends in the canal, we stopped to refill with water. This turned out to be quite protracted as the water pressure was very low.

This bridge carries the Metropolitan line to Watford, a sure sign that we’re getting close to London:

Shortly afterwards, we moored near Croxley for us to leave and the Scouts to join:

Whilst waiting, I had a stroll down the canal to Rickmansworth, passing a most unusual moored boat:

5 Locks today.

Another nice day – I do enjoy the stillness of the canals first thing in the morning:

Shortly after setting off, the engine overheated. This turned out to be a lack of water, so we had a bit of a delay while it cooled down and got refilled. The swing bridge by the pub is fully automatic:

Further down, there seemed to be a problem with too much water in the canal, so progress was a bit slower:

We stopped for lunch by yet another crossing of the West Coast Main Line:

And then passed under the M25:

and moored up near to Cassiobury Park, just past the very pretty Grove Bridge:

17 locks today.

A nice bright start to the day:

and an early start southwards:

Breakfast in the sunshine at a lock:

One of the Marsworth locks had a broken gate and was manned by volunteers. We had to turn off the engine and pull the boat gently into the lock to avoid damaging the broken gate:

After all that excitement, it was time for lunch:

We moored at Cow Roast (yes, spelling is correct) and as it was such a nice afternoon, headed to the pub for a drink or two:

17 locks today.

We volunteered to help move the Bromley Youth Trust narrowboat Rosanne from its base in Linslade down to Croxley:

As it’s designed for youngsters, the interior layout is a bit different from most canal boats:

After passing through Leighton Buzzard (collecting food on the way) and a single lock, we moored up for the night:

and walked to the pub for supper:

A much cooler day today, with quite a bit of wind and rain showers.

We turned around in the Middlewich branch and soon rejoined the Shropshire Union Canal.

It was slow progress up the canal with lots of moored boats, but eventually we reached the locks at Hack Green.

Unfortunately there was a bit of a queue at the locks, but we helped the other boats through and stopped for lunch.

From there, it was just a short run back to the marina and time to refuel and pump out the toilets.

10.5 miles on the canal today, and 2 locks.

And finally, Saturday morning, just before we left Rowington:

Another nice day on the canals, a bit grey to start, but really warm by the end of the day.

We turned up the Middlewich branch to find a quiet mooring.

11.5 miles on the canal today, with 6 locks.

Another nice day weather wise – it makes such a difference!

We headed back to Chester in the morning, and stopped for a stroll by the (disused) branch down to the River Dee.

We then went back up the Northgate Staircase locks and stopped just outside Waitrose to do some shopping.

Then 5 more locks climbing out of Chester and we’re currently moored in the middle of nowhere by Waverton.

8.5 miles on the canal today, with 8 locks.

We went through the triple staircase lock at Chester this morning:

Then followed the canal to Ellesmere Port. A dry day which was nice, but a bit windy at times. Duncan and I visited the canal museum there whilst Tina and Rocco watched nothing happening on the Manchester Ship Canal.

We struggled to moor the boat several times this afternoon, but eventually moored near to Chester Zoo.

13.5 miles today, with just 3 locks.

A damp start this morning, but again, it eventually dried out apart from the odd sprinkle.

We’re moored in Chester, quiet but close to the centre:

We had a wander around Chester this afternoon, a nice city!

We walked along part of the city walls (dogs allowed, unlike in York) and looked at the River Dee.

Then back to a canalside pub for a beer!

10 miles along the canal today, and 5 locks.

A drizzly start to the day, but before long, it dried up and the sun came out.The canal got more interesting once we left the Cheshire Plain. Our first lock of the day was a small staircase lock:This was followed by many more locks – most large enough for two boats to go down together, with a nice opportunity to chat to other boaters.Though we did do some on our own!

12.5 miles and 6 locks today.