This is the day we complete the circumnavigation of London by returning to base (though south Londoners might take exception to putting it that way). We cruised slowly up the canalised River Brent, which was green and leafy, the birdsong interrupted only by the roar of traffic as we approached the bridge carrying the M4 over the canal.
Soon, we were into the locks, tackling 10 altogether, 6 of them in a single flight. We had lunch in a basin between two locks.
By the time we got to the top lock, we had a pretty good system going, with two people walking ahead to prepare the next lock. At the top lock we paused for a group photo (below). The two boats crewed by Norwegians were close behind, racing through the locks, almost catching us at the top.
Finally, we stopped half a mile from the marina and walked 10 minutes to the restaurants of Southall where, after a stroll to look in the windows of the fabric, jewellery and cake shops, we had a splendid meal in Gifto’s Lahore Karahi.
Next morning we moved the boat into the marina, packed and left. We discovered that the Norwegians had come specially for the round-London cruise. Black Prince has bookings for London from as far afield as South Africa and New Zealand.
Altogether a great holiday on our own back doorstep, seeing London from a completely different perspective.
tide by tide 