As it turned out it was pouring on Friday morning so we waited for it to abate a little and set off at nine instead - alarm wasn't necessary in retrospect. Buddy is incredibly good and has settled into a routine at locks so that we feel comfortable leaving him off the lead. He always sits at the head of the lock until we have gone through and doesn't try following Karen across the gates.
By the time we got through a couple of locks and Winkwell swing bridge the rain had stopped. We had a panic at the swing bridge as we heard emergency sirens in the distance; fortunately they didn't come down the lane we had just closed off.
As we went through Berkhamsted the weather greatly improved and the sun started to come out. I thought this shot was ironic as the sun was just coming out when we were in this lock.
The bridge in the centre of Berkhamsted seemed a little pretentious.
After ten locks we stopped for lunch at the west side of Berkhamsted by which time the sun was fully out.
As we set off we noticed a couple we had met earlier in the week, filling up at a water point, so we agreed to lock up together to the summit at Cow Roast. It is much easier going up in pairs on the wide locks of the Grand Union as there are more hands available for setting the locks. Another advantage is that the drivers get someone to chat with and the so do the guys doing the locks. Aileen was driving their boat and as I tend to get on better with girls we had a good chat (I often find it a little tedious locking up with guys).
The afternoon felt like a summer evening; if the trees weren't bare then it would have looked like it as well.
The lock at Cow Roast is locked at four at the moment as they are trying to establish a reason for water leakages from the summit. We didn't make it in time unfortunately so we decided to moor right by the lock and be the first through at eight in the morning.
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