Noisy night

12 Locks and 6 ½ miles.
Monday morning saw a slight improvement in the weather so we pushed on towards Winkwell. Middlesex and Herts Boat services don’t open on Monday so when we arrived we just moored up below the lock. As it was still light we walked into the village to see what shops etc; were available. What a shock, 1 garage, 4 pubs and houses. Nicholson’s book says shops nearby, yeah right! Next problem was the TRAINS, we have moored near railway lines before but this was something else. Four tracks of high speed trains every 5 minutes meant a sleepless night for Dot.
Tuesday morning we went up through the lock to the diesel pump for diesel and water and a meeting with Kevin and Kevin of Middlesex and Herts Boat services to organise getting some work done on the boat. We have now booked the boat in for a DIY blacking on the 13th Jan and next Tuesday to get a pair of back doors on the stern and a cratch frame for the bow so we can get a stern and cratch cover made.
As Dot didn’t want to stay at Winkwell any longer than necessary we had the choice of going through the swing bridge and 4 locks to the next winding hole to turn and go back to Apsley Mills or stern haul the boat backwards for about 200 yards and go back down in the lock the wrong way round and turn in the winding hole by the marina. We opted for the latter which worked out reasonably well.
We have now back tracked to Boxmoor lock which is a 10 minute walk from a B&Q store where we picked up a few more bits and pieces. It is also much quieter as we cannot hear the trains and we are not too close to a road.