All change at the junction.

First stop after leaving our reservoir mooring was the service point at what was Marsworth Canal and River Trust maintenance yard now referred to as Marsworth Wharf by the developers.

Marsworth wharf 1930. Picture from CRT archives. The buildings on the right are next to the Aylesbury arm top lock.

 Here is a picture I took  in 2009. The part nearest the canal is the CRT yard and the site to the rear many years ago manufactured concrete piles for canal bank strengthening. All that remains now is the carpenters workshop to the extreme left and the boaters service point on the right of the picture.

Back in 2009 planning application was made and now after six years 13 homes are due to be completed in April. Nb Valerie is 58feet and as you can see we are in front of the first two houses. If the whole frontage of the houses is open and another boat pulls in behind waiting their turn at the services can you not see complaints arising from residents.

We are moored beneath the living room balcony and ten feet from two of the ground floor bedroom windows. The complaints will be either smoky chimneys or engine noise or boaters walking up and down in front of their bedroom windows.

Behind the existing elsan point new buildings are being built. These are for the rubbish bins and a pump out facility. For us there is just one thing missing in the picture.

Aah! right on time our Tesco grocery order and our water tank is still filling. Excellent timing.

Close up of the new boaters facilities under construction. Not sure if the elsan will be moved back to my knowledge this one links to a holding tank. I guess the new homes will link to main sewers.

Can  you see the box on the post more or less centre of picture? It`s a Bat box.
Follow the pole down and you can just make out a car roof, yep it`s the Batmobile.

Jaq and I have decided that if, and I can assure you we won`t, we decided to buy one it would be the one arrowed. There are two houses there but the one nearest is 4 bedrooms and totals 2228 square feet. We have on Nb Valerie about 264 sq.ft. of internal space.

 Our choice unit 6 has a living room and garden that give good views across the canal junction and also the adjoining lock on the Aylesbury arm. It also has a bedroom balcony giving the same views.
Seven loses the view across the junction and is a smaller square footage.
Eight has a nice corner location next to the lock but as with 9-13 noise from the lane could be a problem when sitting in the garden.
Units 1-4 on the main line canal are as you have seen above near to the boat services.
Last is Carpenters House the only reserved property on the whole site. Perhaps because of it`s detachment from the rest of the houses it might appeal more to some people.
The main site for the development is HERE. I phoned the agent and at the moment only the 3 bedroom houses have been priced. £520,000 ($780,000) and no mooring.

As you look at the developers site you may notice the wharf crane. This is i am told being refurbished and will be reinstated near to the Carpenters House building.
Not sure of the crane`s age but I`m sure it can just be seen in the 1930 picture above.
Below is the crane in action loading the bells from Marsworth church onto a narrow boat in 1994. LINK
I wonder what boat it was?

    The reservoir capacity figures for February are out. The reservoirs at Marsworth are 94.2%. All the figures look healthy so fingers crossed for good cruising and no water shortages.