Islington to Waltham Abbey

On Monday morning we made a reasonably early start from Islington and made our way down the remaining four locks to the junction with the Hertford Union Canal, or Duckett's Cut. If you weren't expecting the junction to be very soon after Old Ford Lock it would be easy to miss it, as it looks narrow, and like the entrance to an old wharf.


We continued our descent alongside Victoria Park, until we reached the Lee Navigation. Here we turned left, to start our climb to Hertford.


Immediately you're next to the building site which is the 2012 Olympic venue.


Willow looking small in Tottenham Lock

The first few locks on the Lee are paired, and some are electrically operated. These lower locks have hydraulic gear both for paddles and gates, the manual pumps being marked P and G accordingly.


We arrived at Waltham Abbey in time, and in the right sort of weather, to have a barbecue, so we did, on a towpath busy with walkers and cyclists.


Surely this would be a nice, quiet place to tie up, we thought, but after dark a boat which had been moored near us set off for a night-time cruise. (You can just see it in the barbecue picture.) No lights. Revellers with drink on board. Outsized parasol at the stern. After a couple of hours it returned. That night we were awoken by rowdies knocking on the boat and calling out and giggling. Were they from that boat? We ignored them and went back to sleep.

Yes, I'm a day out with these posts - I'll try to catch up when I have time! We're actually tied up in the middle of Hertford now (slightly behind schedule), listening to the rain. And we're under a willow tree - I hope it's not the infamous crack willow.