Brentford to Widewater (near Harefield)

(Posted by Alan)

I don't know why but the night after we came off the Thames, I had unusual difficulty staying asleep, despite being dog tired. It wasn't even for the usual reasons of poor sleep at Brentford, (often a mixture of Jumbos on the Heathrow flight-path and strange bubbling sounds as gasses seem to be released by something below the boat), so I can only assume the excitement of yesterday's rather roller-coaster ride had left my mind still rather too active.

I decided to risk the wrath of my crew with noisy sliding hatches, and take a walk around 05:30 am. We have always found getting a mooring at Brentford a pain, and have usually relied on breasting up instead with a friend on the "Island" permanent moorings, but we knew he is no longer there. In practice there were quite a few slots, and I guess the difference is that when we have visited previously British Waterways have "pinched" much of the visitor mooring space to let out as "winter moorings" In fact we were on a truly excellent spot, just above the gauging lock, that looks like it is part of the facilities area, but is marked as visitor mooring. Right by sanitary station, rubbish facilities, toilets and showers, and amazingly having individual water points and (so far as I can see) even a free mains hook-up. (We had no need of the latter, being self sufficient from battery power, when moving).

Brentford visitor moorings, looking towards gauging lock.







Brentford visitor moorings, looking North









My wander around took me under the one remaining, but derelict, overhanging warehouse, once so common in the area, and through a large enclosed warehouse with rubbish strewn water. I can't explain why, but I find these enclosed places spooky in a way that I don't, for example find canal tunnels. I'm never sorry to get out of them, although it looked like you could moor there if really desperate.

The last of the former Brentford ware- houses, from inside.








Lots of boats left Brentford Northwards before us, so it was a fair guess locks would be against us. However we caught a single hander at the first lock, and shared with him until the foot of the Hanwell flight, where he was stopping.

Whilst moving up to the second lock of the Hanwell flight, a boat that we were not sure was still behind us arrived at the bottom one, so I waited in the second lock, one gate open for them to catch up. I thought we were not going to have a good relationship when one of their crew drew a top paddle on my side, just as the bottom gate closed, and whilst I was still walking back along my roof to take the controls. Being rapidly flushed backwards towards the bottom gates with a dodgy pelvis I could have done without, but once that misunderstanding had been overcome, they proved to be a very efficient crew, much travelled, and we went up very smoothly and efficiently, with their third man always one lock ahead setting it up for us both. great when it works like this, and we were remarkably soon at "Norwood Top".

After that we were largely on our own again, except for one "passenger" who had his boat tied in the mouth of Cowley lock, waiting, (as it turned out), for another boat to come and work him through it. And that's just what happened - he waited until we had turned the lock, and opened the gates, then declared he was coming in, must use the side that we had planned to, and then sat there motionless whilst everything was done for him. Once upon a time I would have got riled by such behaviour, but when it became apparent he only intended to share this one lock, I decided to do no more than mutter under my breath!

Waiting for Denham Deep Lock to Empty.










We worked on smoothly for a few more locks, ending up in the pleasant stretch above Widewater lock. This is coming to be a regularly used spot by us when down that way, and is usually disturbance free, to the extent even of no excessive swan, geese, or duck noises. I slept better that night, perhaps because I had slept so poorly the last!

Brentford to Widewater Lock (near South harefield)
Miles: 14.2 , Locks: 14
Total Miles: 92.5 , Total Locks: 83