We went for a very long walk today. Although it was on very flat ground, and we had quite a few stops, it seemed like we walked for hours, and I think we did too. But the walk was so interesting, and time passed very quickly. This is the first time I have walked along a canal, which is still being used, other than in Norfolk, and Holland of course.
The photograph below shows two narrow boats, moored at the end of a side canal. This canal once carried on somewhere else, but it had been closed off and filled with soil. One of the narrow boat owners had a Staffordshire bull terrier, which looked friendly, until it snarled at Poppy and went to attack her. Luckily Patrick grabbed her quickly. It could have been very nasty. The owner was quite unperturbed by it all. He was polishing his boat.
After walking across the countryside, due to finding ourselves on the wrong side of the canal, we finally came to Tringford Reservoir, one of four reservoirs around Tring. There were many people fishing around the edge of this water. All with special licenses, I hope. Fish are thrown back into the water here, which New Zealanders must find quite unusual, but there would be no fish left if people were allowed to take them home. I cannot see the point of fishing here, but it is a very popular sport.
Mother and father ducks, and their offspring. These parents were very protective of their babies, and made plenty of noise as we walked past them.
A pub, The Angler, came into view, just in time for lunch. We sat in the garden as we had Poppy with us, but it was lovely and warm, although the benches were a little hard on the bottom. Donna smiling at the camera and looking very relaxed.
It seems this is a great place to moor boats, on the Grand Union Canal. The Grand Union Canal is part of the British canal system, which was built to transport goods and coal around England. The canal runs from London to Birmingham, with many side arms, and is 137 miles long and has 166 locks. As many of the canals are very narrow, the boats had to be built accordingly, that is very narrow. Now people own or rent canal boats, still very narrow of course, and use them for holidays.
As the weather was glorious, there were many people out, enjoying walking along the canal path.
We were fascinated by the locks, and watched as the water was raised in order that the canal boat could proceed through the lock gates.
The canal boat sitting in the lock, waiting for the water to rise, before moving on along the canal.
And time to sit in the sunshine and eat an ice cream, while watching the canal boats proceed through the lock. It takes about ten minutes to either empty or fill the lock. A very clever system.
A very long and very smart canal boat. Accommodation on board, can be very generous, with bunk rooms, a double bedroom, kitchen, lounge room, and bathroom, as long as one does not mind being able to stand in the middle of the room and touch both side walls at once. Perhaps I am exaggerating a bit, but these boats are very narrow.
A very peaceful scene.
And wonderful reflections.
The photograph above was taken just after Poppy fell into the canal, and started swimming towards the opposite bank. Patrick nearly jumped in after her, until he realised Poppy could swim well, and luckily she came back as soon as he called to her. Of course she had to be hauled out, which meant Patrick and Donna got wet too. It was all a little scary though.
As we walked back across fields, paths and through houses, we came across this beautiful Spring blossom. An apple tree I think.
Finally we came to the Tring Cricket Club, where we collapsed into chairs in order to drink our lemon and soda drinks. We watched the last half an hour of the cricket game being played on the oval, and it looked about as exciting as all other cricket games. My apologies to cricket lovers. As our feet were tired, we were quite happy to be lulled into sleepiness as we watched the game. Of course I have no idea who won.
Finally we arrived home, where we collapsed into chairs for the evening and watched television. We were very tired, but very happy with our walk.
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