Bob and Jenny Narrowboat Infinity: Blog 3

Blog Three.

Well .. When we were cruising on the main grand Union it was hard to think we were virtually in the centre of London. The area was still quite rural.

At Bulls bridge, we turned left on to the Paddington arm, a few boats moored here, obviously live-aboard. The trip in was quite interesting.

All narrow boats are different. All have different designs, as they are custom made by different steel fabricators. The sterns are different, some boats are cruiser stern, like ours. Plenty of room for a few people to stand on the deck.

Some are traditional ..Very small rear decking with nowhere to stand, just room for the skipper.

Or the third style .. semi trad...which is a bit of both. Small standing area for the driver / skipper .. but a seating area, usually enough for 4 people.

But …..the different styles of boat we saw was mind boggling.

Cruisers (or yoghurt pots, as we affectionately call them) can range from small 16ft Microplus cruisers to quite large Normans with double cabins.

But some we saw on the run into London was incredible, floating garden sheds….Some people have built on the base of a cabin cruiser in wood and are living on board.

Some people have converted the old dredger barges used by the old British waterways to collect mud and rubbish into homes. Literally welding shipping containers on to them and building inside.

Traditional house boats...floating, but not able to move under power, basically big wooden sheds, which look lovely. Some have gardens and big decking areas, complete with BBQ etc..Little communities most will wave or say hello or good morning as we pass (slowly) so as not too rock the boat as they say.

Dutch barges are very popular to live on .. compared to ours they are very big. .Wide beams are also popular for residential purposes.

But … There are some vessels that are ….well …...ships !!

They could quite frankly cross the channel never mind conquer the river Thames...

Sadly, it not all as idyllic as I might make it sound here. Some of the boats are, well, beyond repair and so run down they really should be scrapped

however people are still living on them, In what looks like absolute poverty. The difference in canal people is quite big between the wealthy and the poor. However, they all are friendly (so far) the dread locked and tattooed peeps, when you chat with them are all OK (again ..so far) the smell of marijuana can often be detected in the air on passing or mooring near. Who are we to judge..

We wanted to moor in Little Venice but on the day we sailed in, it was

quite busy, and the mooring area is quite small.

The ‘visitor moorings’ are sadly (or appear) to be taken by people who are living a board and working in the area. NOT what the visitor moorings are for. Turning it into a residential mooring. The CRT ( Canal and River Trust) seem to be reducing areas where you can moor. Also they (CRT) are in the process of evicting the boat people. I understand that there are 800 cases being looked into at the present time. Not good for tourism in the London, when you try to have a few days in the capitol.

We sailed on into the start of the Paddington Basin...Right out side of the railway station was a mooring free...65ft long !!! Providence or what !!

We moored up and have a 7 day allowance without having to move.

We had a walk into Paddington Basin on Sunday morning and had a good look around,

Its lovely..All new buildings and little café areas with a water feature with little fountains.. We were watching a young toddler and his dad running in and out of the ‘dancing waters’…after that we walked into Little Venice...again a lovely area mainly residential boats double moored, There was a café / Restaurant over the other side, so we crossed the bridge and was going to have a coffee. After smelling the cooking Jenny fancied a bit of food checked on Menu..Beef burger..£12.99 ??...I don’t think so !! Sat waiting for someone to serve us for about 10 minutes..No one came to take our order..we left.

The only problem we have had being moored here is…

Noise ..We are outside of a building site of a new £100 million office block and they are pile driving...You won’t believe this but...the boat is vibrating with the thumping of the jack hammer. Poor old Jake is terrified .. He is off and hiding in the toilet area.

Mind you he is not happy with city life..He’s a country dog.

Carly takes all in her stride, We are waiting to meet up with my son Clive later this afternoon. He’s at a meeting in London and will drop in on the way home.

We had a walk in to the area and a pint outside of a local pub. 2 drinks. Pints of bitter and larger £8.88 (for both).. can’t get over how expensive it to live here.

Fancied a bit of supper on the way home. There is a Cornish pasty stand in Paddington station so we thought we would have one each as a treat...£7.99 !!! each !!! The vendor looked embarrassed and apologised for the price !! I only have to try to sell them he said sheepishly ..

We returned to boat and had a lump of baguette, pate and a lump of cheese. Plus a red wine ..Saved over a tenner..

The locals are quite friendly .. We have been speaking to a lady who is exercising her dog out side our boat each evening, a little puppy called ‘Elvis’ 9 months old Maltese, he’s a character. She and her husband live in a flat over looking the area.

Checked out the prices on ‘Zoopla’..starting at … £1.100.000… a bit out of our price range.

Had a bit of a panic last night .. The lady on the boat behind started screaming .. ‘get some cold water’ ‘GET SOME COLD WATER !!!’

She’d taken the rad cap of her engine…. when it was hot.. The steam blew out ..and scalded her. .. Face and her right arm and hand...Jenny phoned for advise, while I supplied cold water to cool the area down.

We are just at the back of St Mary’s hospital so she and another narrow boat dweller walked round the corner to the professional people for them to sort.

Right over to Jenny to add some photos...A joint effort.

Enough for now...let us know if your reading …???

also…..If you enjoying ??

If no one is reading…. I won’t bother with me ramblings.