The towns keep away, but Broxbourne is "on the Lee"

Thursday, 01 September 2011 20:12

Broxbourne on the Lee Navigation gets an honourable mention here - but Cheshunt and Hoddesdon passed by on "the other side"

The Cut to Waltham Common Lock

We left our Waltham Abbey mooring on a rather grey day.  The Lee Navigation now became one long straight cut, interspersed with locks ......

There were one or two things to note along the way though. This boat looked huge from a distance - it was pushed by a BW tug. We have never been saluted before though - was he really the Captain of a dumb barge?

Work boat encounter

Apparently there are three boats selling ice cream on the Lee Navigations - reputedly mooring at the visitor moorings. Sensible, I suppose, if you want to catch passing trade.

This is one of the ice cream boats moored by (not on) Cheshunt 14D moorings

Cheshunt keeps a respectable distance to the west, over old gravel pits now in water, but these moorings are the nearest to the station.

In Cheshunt Lock

Oh look, more straight cut - but at least the electricity pylons are a little nicer made of wood

I have been missing open views across countryside and just as I remarked on this to John we passed an open view - of a cornfield near Fishers Green.

Corn on the cob anyone?

Above Aqueduct Lock and the large King's Weir Is Nazeing Marsh and it was not long before we were in the midst of small boats - hired from Lee Valley Boat Centre. On the west and over the railway was Hoddesdon, but we were approaching a large bend in the navigation that was Broxbourne.

Broxbourne Cruising Club moorings

Here I must mention blog reader Bob Deards, who used to live at Broxbourne. I promised him (on this blog via our comments) some photos of his old home town. Here are a couple Bob - more in our Lee album on pages 11, 12 and 13.

Old Nazeing Road Bridge - sometimes called Crown Bridge after the pub there

New Nazeing Road Bridge - not so pretty even with the graffiti!

Three more locks to go before mooring up - Carthagena Lock first. Hold on - we are not in Spain. Actually it is the Colombian Carthagena it refers to. (Remember the Tall Ship Gloria blog?)

Carthagena Lock, a really pretty lock

However there is an explanation. It commemorates a battle in the War of Jenkins Ear. How bizarre - Captain Jenkins of the British Merchant ship Rebecca had a contretemps with a Spanish Coast guard sloop in April 1731. Captain J insulted the Captain of the sloop who then cut off Captain J's ear. In 1738, reporting to the House of Commons, Jenkins showed his severed ear. This gave Britain the perfect excuse to declare war on Spain. (Ear! Ear! did someone say?)

At Dobb's Weir Lock ,we took a slight detour whilst waiting for a wide boat to go up ahead of us. The Weir stream is supposedly navigable up to the bridge - so we went to have a look. Someone from the adjacent empty caravan park shouted that it got very shallow further in, so we reversed out after a little way. The old caravan pitches are still evident in the field.

Reversing back on stream

Feilde's Weir Lock has a BW sani-station below it - we did not test it, but went up and found a mooring on the visitor moorings at the junction with the River Stort, Rye House Junction.

Narrowboat Iona leaving the River Stort and turning north west up the Lee, taken from our mooring

Lee Navigation, Waltham Abbey to Rye House Junction
4 hours 1 minute, 6.18 miles, 6 locks