NOT HAVING visited the Grand Union South for six years we set off hoping to enjoy its deep waters and fairly low levels of boat traffic we previously experienced, writes John Wallace.
Mistake! How the Grand Union has deteriorated in those years. The locks are looking the worse for wear with rotting wood, loose safety rails, leaking gates, broken paddles, offsides at locks covered in nettles and thorns and we counted nine locks where there were 'permanent' CaRT signs requesting the lock be left empty due to leaking lock walls. Most of these signs were dated 2014.
Failed three times in two hours
Winkwell Swing Bridge failed three times in two hours while we were there and the pub staff said it has failed nine times that cruising season necessitating call-outs for local CaRT engineers.
There were many trees impeding the channel on both offside and towpath side and there were many stretches where thick vegetation made mooring impossible.
The 'floaters'
However, the worst aspect of GU South are the 'floaters'! They can't be called boaters because they are only regarded as a floating home. They were found moored on water points, at every bridge with road access, near shopping facilities and often breasted up restricting the channel. Then there were the broad beams everywhere. They seemed to be universally arrogant by always leaving both gates open at locks.
Not once did we see one of these ugly floating cottages close the gates. A former working boatman I met at Berkhamsted told me that in his time the working boats left the gates as there was a 50/50 chance it would favour the next boat but now the 'yuppies' do it claiming it is traditional.
Enforcement quite successful
We winded at Harefield, having had enough of this housing estate on water, but were interested to see very few boats without current licences as far north as Leighton Buzzard. Licence enforcement seemed quite successful—is this because it brings in revenue whereas enforcing the cruising requirements just causes aggro for the CaRT staff? We wondered if Leighton Buzzard is the boundary of different CaRT regional offices because north of there the increase in boats with no licence increased markedly.
The rash of continuous moorers continues as far north as Cosgrove but there is also an increasing number of broad beams as far north as Blisworth Tunnel.
Somewhat better
We are glad to be back in the land of narrow locks and where canal etiquette, although deteriorating of late, is somewhat better.
We wouldn't recommend the southern Grand Union for pleasure cruising these days.
[The photographs of Grove and Seabrook locks were taken by John Wallace during this cruise.]