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I love cycling the canals of
England. They speak of a an industrial age long since confined to history,
but one where the legacy still remains, in the form of old mills now
transformed and used for an entirely different purpose. Canals came into
being because the Industrial Revolution (which began in Britain during the
mid-18th century) demanded an economic and reliable way to transport goods
and commodities in large quantities. During the early 20th century,
especially in the 1920s and 1930s, many canals in the Great Britain, mostly
in rural areas, were abandoned due to falling traffic, caused mainly by
competition from road transport. The fact that they have survived decay due
to the efforts of a number of people, as was recently pointed out in a
television program, is nothing short of a miracle. Today the canal is used
for recreational purposes, the narrowboats that course their way up and down
the UK's canal system being home to many people.
Having cycled up the Grand
Union Canal from Little Venice near Paddington, in central London, on more
than one occasion, the furthest town reached being Kings Langley, in
Hertfordshire, my desire had been to explore sections of the canal beyond
this. I awoke on a blustery yet sunny Monday Bank Holiday to the astonishing
news that Osama Bin Laden had been killed by American special forces. This
was on my mind as I made my way down the highway towards Watford around
midday, Cassiobury Park to be specific. The strong wind tugging at my
bicycle held down to the rack on the back of my car by bungee cords. I
should have known that, it being a Bank Holiday and having arrived that late
in the day, I would probably struggle to find parking in an area limited to
120 spaces. Luck was on my side though, after having done a second
circumnavigation of the complex and I pulled into a bay. I joined the Grand
Union Canal towpath and and headed out in a direction away from London after
crossing Bridge No 167, with the intention of branching off towards
Aylesbury. My best intentions are always ambitious, particularly when I take
my camera along, the temptation of stopping for photographs proving too
great. This meant that my outgoing trip was frequently interrupted every few
miles, in sharp contrast to "hoofing it" on the return leg. As it was, I didn't make it to
Aylesbury but got as far as Bridge No 135 near Tring station.
The route leaves the lovely
wooded section along Cassiobury Park, loops along the Grove Golf Course,
before reaching the Hunton Bridge Interchange leading on to the M25 as well
as the M25 motorway itself at junction 20 near Kings Langley. Passing
through the industrial part of Kings Langley where the Ovaltine factory once
stood followed by the neat housing and gardens adjacent to the canal, it
fleetingly brought back painful memories of the time back in 2002 when my
Cannondale mountain bike and cameras were stolen one weekend from the home
of Kavida, who lived just up the road, not far from the canal. A bag
containing my personal belongings had been fished out of the canal by the
police and from details taken from my address book, the perpetrators had
driven up the M25 to where I lived in Welwyn and ransacked my flat as well,
probably whilst the police had been interviewing us early the next morning.
Just as in the case of the Ovaltine factory and many old mills along the
canals of a long-forgotten industrial age, many have been converted to
residential apartments or pubs and restaurants. Passing under Bridge No 155
at Red Lion Lane where I saw canoeists launching into the canal waters at
the Recreation Centre at Nash Mills, site of a paper mill in the 19th
century, I soon reached Apsley Marina, a waterfront complex with narrowboats
moored side by side, on the outskirts of Hemel Hempstead. My progress was
also slowed by the many including families, out for an afternoon stroll
along the towpath. Many folk fish along the length and breadth of the canal. The traffic on the canal itself was also fair and I was
lucky enough en route to catch several narrowboats navigating through the
locks. |
