Rickmansworth

5 locks, and 5 miles . Now moored at (Batchworth) Rickmansworth

With the threat of rain on the horizon we decided to move on so that we will be closer to shops etc: If the rain does eventuate we can afford to stay put for a while. At Springwell lock we found this very docile Heron perched on the lock balance beam that was in no hurry to fly away just because we wanted to use the lock.

We were again surprised by several other boats on the move but we still had a lovely cruise to our present mooring being beside the Aquadrome near bridge 174. After lunch we wandered into town stopping for a while to have a look at St Mary's church. This church is in pristine condition and probably one of the best kept churches we have seen.

We eventually found the old town High street which was an absolute delight with its narrow one way street system and unchanged in decades. We could see some redevelopment above the town on the other side of the railway line but that was far enough away not to detract the beauty and character of the old buildings. We then made our way back to the boat a different route using the towns 2 gasometers which were nearly full and the church spire as bearings.

815 locks, 1132.5 miles, 33 Tunnels, 39 swing bridges and 19 lift bridges since Nov 2006