Greenford - Soviet Russia

After a full day of driving we reach Greenford and are lulled into a false sense of security with the lush leafy canal. We moor up near a jolly looking pub called the 'The blackhorse' and fill up with water. According to the map there is a central line tube station 15 mins away. Perfect - connected to a legit tube that could get us all the way to work but with wholesome countryside vibes -What more could we want? Well not quite. When we go to explore we find ourselves in a grim post apocalyptic landscape riddled with industrial estates and angry looking characters bopping about.  The walk to and from the station was a catwalk of the best of these aspects and i suppose it didn't help that it literally rained every single day that we were there. There was an overwhelming feeling of hopelessness in the air and not a decent food shop or restaurant in sight. Despite this, the canal was beautiful and we stayed for the full 2 weeks, popping into the blackhorse for the odd pint and lapping up the bleakness in the knowledge that it would be short lived. We learned to almost enjoy the suburbia but when the feckless fortnight was over we gladly moved on with no love lost.

Dipping our toe in the big smoke

So after 5 weekends of driving the boat down we finally reached a destination that could technically be deemed as London - Uxbridge. Zone 6 on the tube, we'll take it. The canal is pretty here and there is a charming cluster of boats not far from the bridge leading to the station. It feels like we're still in the countryside. When we go to explore we find a cute looking town centre with a smearing of pigeonshit grottiness, gregs and more poundlands than hull. There's a decent indian restaurant for us to stuff our faces in and supermarkets to stock up on rations so we can't complain but not exactly one for tripadvisor. We stay here for 2 weeks, on the brink of nowhere, obeying the rules like eager school kids with a shiny apple for the canal and river trust monitors. Within that time our neighbouring boat sinks before our very eyes, such a grim thing to witness, is it an omen? We move on the day after, hoping and praying we have a solid hole free hull.

riddled with locks

there were literally hundreds of locks to get through,  all enormous and weighing tons. We took it in turns to drive/do the locks and the morning after always felt like we had been thrown down a flight of rocky stairs. Gonna have guns like hercules by the end of it.

License to cruise..

Every weekend we commuted straight from work to go and drive her further down towards London. It was clear we had so much to learn.  How could it be this easy for buttheads like us to acquire a 'License to cruise' with no experience whatsoever. We could capsize someones home, split a fibre  glass hull in half or endager wildlife but apparently you don't need to pass any test. There were several near crashes and we got stuck in shallow waters and reeds too may times however thankfully nothing fatal. The countryside from northampton to the Grand Union is stunning and the highlight was definitely going through the 'Blissworth tunnel', 45 minutes of total eery darkness with only the faint headlamp to light the way. When you come out of the other side it's like emerging from the ebony womb of satan and into the fluffy radiant fields of heaven. Our sallow skin has never felt so refreshed and our lungs can't gulp down the fresh unpolluted air fast enough. We could get used to this rural way of living but it so happens were making a b line for that urban jungle we are shackled to for the time being.