Tuesday 22nd April 2008
Oxford to Eynsham
Woke up to find it was light but definitely not sunny, nor warm. Discovered Dusty’s coal boat parked in front, he’d arrived in the night long after we’d turned in. We set off up river under Osney Bridge but thought better of it and reversed back for three bags of coal.

Setting off again we turned right into the Oxford Canal.
Got hailed by Maffi on the towpath heading towards town and spotted his and Bones’ boat further along. We are back in the company of canal bloggers again.

We thought this might have been a short cut to King’s Lock and the start of our journey to Lechlade but being “Agenda 21” mooring country it was well stuffed with boats and it reduced our cruise to a crawl.

Spotted our first chick of the year (not to be confused with Oxford’s young ladies). We must be the last ones to see anything from this year’s production line, but could I get him/her to turn round and face the camera?

Under the A34 and left at Duke’s Bridge, we were relieved to be back on the Thames and up to speed again as we resumed our cruise to Lechlade.

There is space for one boat above the water point at Eynsham Lock and we nabbed it.
While I played with radio aerials V walked to town to check out the shops.
We were wondering what to do with the evening when Maffi and Bones turned up with a bottle. Lovely people, lots to talk about and we’ll need several more sessions to do them justice. Thanks you guys, hope to see you again.

Wed/Thurs - Eynsham to Kelmscott
Up at the crack of dawn with a decent day’s cruising ahead we had the river to ourselves.
The water was clear, the river twisting like a snake and the lock keepers chatty and glad to see a boat.

Doing what everyone else does we presumed we had rights and bagged a space by The Plough at Kelmscott. Closed for the time being, it is likely our neighbours along this tow path aren’t patrons but residents .

Every one was very polite during our two day visit and we felt we could have stayed longer if we’d needed to. V did the circular tour of the half a dozen houses and the Manor before declaring “nothing of particular note in these here parts”.

Some people take their moorings very seriously and do anything to stop people getting ashore.

Flies are still having parties in the boat overnight. We squashed hundreds before breakfast. At times like this I wish we kept pet lizards or grew venus fly traps.

Friday - Kelmscott to Lechlade
We thought BW’s canal staffing levels were being hit hard but things don’t look too hot for EA’s Thames lock-keepers either. Allegedly, announcements have been made that 22 out of 50+ keepers will be disposed off and their tied houses or cottages will go on the market. If, as is thought, temporary contract staff replace permanent lock-keepers then it’s goodbye to another excellent waterways service and hello to transit delays, run down lock-side gardens and a look-after-yourself mentality.
Can you imagine an uncommitted, non resident, contract lock keeper taking the trouble to keep gardens like this? And it’s not just gardens because every handrail, bollard and step edge is kept freshly painted.

Perhaps we’ll see more locks like St Johns which may already have its new keeper. This fella looks ready to take on the gardening.

Looking at the lock keeper’s incident book gives an idea of the enormous responsibility and skills these guys hold (the real ones not the stone ones).

Arriving at Lechlade we couldn’t resist the walk to town. A welcoming atmosphere and a few local “characters” make this a pleasant visit. A host of useful and practical antiques shops can’t be rushed. Moorings alongside the meadows are plentiful, we were number three boat at midday and by evening there were only eight with space for a few more.

But best of all, the sun came out, worst of all so did the gnats.

Sat - Lechlade to Radcot
We left both blue light mozzy killers switched on last night and only found 18 gnats still functioning in the boat this morning. A visit to the cratch later, during a water top-up, revealed a couple of million more which convinced me we’re doing the right thing inside the boat.

Unlike the other boaters on Lechlade meadows we declined the convenience of a turning point outside the marina, near the town bridge and continued to the end of navigation. Tricky but it can be done is how I’d put it, though how to turn a 72 footer I can not imagine. Two rivers join at a huge sand bank and one has to spin on the spot or risk getting stuck. “Stick your bow against the tree with scuff marks on it” was what we were told by a lock keeper and we almost got that right.

A cloud of brown water followed us downstream for half a mile after our prop clashed with the corner of the sand bank.

We discovered plenty of field side moorings near Radcot with water almost deep enough to step straight onto the bank. One has to go by the book when tying up because there are no EA “free mooring” signs to be seen. I’ve heard people say it’s worth keeping a fiver ready for the enterprising farmers.
It can be fun turning to face into the flow for a mooring. The river is wide enough but plastic cruisers buzz up and down and one has to time the turn just right or catch one in the side.
We caught this one scraping the remains of the previous collision off his bow.

And the sun came out again, could this be a record – two days in a row?

Sunday 27th April 2008
Radcot to Rushey Lock
Another warm sunny day. Stopped at a field edge above Rushey Lock, very, very nice. Heard first cuckoo in the trees near by and after listening to the curlews calling as they trod the bogs we finally spotted a couple. Funny looking things, bit like chickens with a 12 inch stick stuck up their noses, makes mine look almost normal.
Didn’t get a picture of the curlew so here’s the next best thing – a WW2 pillbox, one of trillions along the river. It’s got two eyes and a stick up its nose.

It’s Pam’s birthday today, congratulations on reaching another biggy!!
Hawaii something “O” if I’m not mistaken, though you wouldn’t think so looking at you.
Pam and Terry are out on nb.Rivendell this week somewhere near Stone on the Trent & Mersey. Hope your weather’s as fabulous as ours. “Rain all day” is actually sun all day down here, dooohhhh, and it’s a gorgeous day for sitting outside in shorts and T shirt and it’s a pity it’s the closed season for river fishing.

I know I’ve said it before but this river Thames thing is getting to me, I think I’m going to seriously miss it when we get back on the canals. It’s like another world.

Tomorrow we get a treat, we’re calling in a pub restaurant and meeting old Bournemouth friends. Really looking forward to seeing them and some proper grub.

Monday 14th April 2008

What’s going on? Reports are coming in of ducklings, cygnets and goslings appearing all over England but we’ve seen nothing. Sure, swans and geese are sitting down a lot, and we’ve seen an egg, a solitary egg, but no offspring, not a sausage. Methinks reports have been much exaggerated.

Meanwhile we left the space and comfort of Marlow and managed a respectable 4mph against the flow. Yes, it seems the Thames is back to normal.

The weather wasn’t brilliant though and we studied the underneath of dozens of grey clouds on our journey north.

Just for fun we speculate on the price of houses along the way, though we haven’t a clue what they’d fetch, not even the boat houses.
Even the boat houses are out of our league, such is their grandeur.

I like the more unusual homes, such as the house with its attached stone ruin.

But no matter whether they be grand designs or not they all communicate with us through their little notices on the water’s edge that shout “No Mooring” or “Strictly No Mooring” as if they really mean it this time.

A certain smug feeling arises when we stumble across free moorings opposite the stinking rich and more than once the thought has crossed my mind to add sawdust or an oily rag to the fire.

Today our treat for lunch was black swan. Not to eat (this time) but to admire his colours and squeaky voice. The last time we saw a black swan was in Ely, over on the Fens.

Shiplake lock (try saying that after having a tooth filled at the dentist) gave us the opportunity for a pump-out. This is the first time for weeks, even months. We’ve been carrying the best part of a tank full of goo through eight English counties, and now was the time to let it go.

EA’s sucking machine didn’t know when to stop and after emptying, rinsing and rinsing again we still had credit from our £7 swipe card. Well done EA, that’s what I call value for money. The only down side is that we have a starboard list again.

Shiplake to Sonning is, allegedly, Terry Wogan country so we got all excited when we spotted the sit-on lawnmower doing its stuff outside the most likely looking house. It wasn’t him but until proven otherwise it was chalked up as a ‘maybe’ in the celebrity Eye-Spy book.

Our day ended on the river bank at Sonning where all the best trees had been taken and we had to revert to mooring pins. V explored the village and reported back that there was nothing to get excited about.

Sonning’s water supply was all very pretty but wouldn’t do for our needs so we left without refilling the water tank.

Tuesday 15th
From Sonning we carried on south, sounds funny but that’s upstream, to Kings Meadow, Reading. Just after the Kennet & Avon turn off we pulled into Tesco’s moorings for a proper shop.

Couldn’t resist stopping at Pangbourne meadows for lunch, the wind had dropped, the sun was out and we ate on deck. Also, being lazy we didn’t fancy doing the next lock ourselves, it’s always better to wait until the lock keeper comes back on duty and does the work for free.

Dredger dodging was fun especially when they’re doing 10 mph smack in the middle of the river on a sharp bend.

Wouldn’t like to say where we heard this but there are murmurings in EA’s camp about the threat of further de-manning. Moves are afoot to automate the weir sluices which might mean automatic dumping of flood water onto lower stretches of the Thames during prolonged rainfall. Sounds alright until one realises it’s the lockkeepers who currently do this job and it’s they who tell boat skippers their intentions so they can find secure moorings. No lock keepers means no advice or warnings which could mean serious problems for boaters when the weather turns.
.
Moored at Goring for the night. Didn’t walk to town, there’s so little there, it’s almost as quiet as Sonning.

Wed 16th
Next stop Abingdon. Saw more lovely boats along the way, I’m drooling again.

If you haven’t already noticed I can’t help looking at boat houses. Many have that Tudor look, some have chimneys and a few have kept their original leaded windows.

Others have suffered unsympathetic improvements or look just plain neglected but they still retain something of the charm of an old Thames boat house.

Spotted some amazing brickwork on one house, but I wasn’t sure if this was a recent build or a case of bad weathering.

We called it a day at Abingdon. The mooring rings and the notices say “Welcome – enjoy your stay” so we did. Five days of feet up, hosting Steve and Joyce from Exeter, Tez and Claire from Leicester and I still had a little time left over to start a couple of projects. I owe a big thank you to Graham who supplied the bits to indulge my latest hobby and by my measurements the bit on the top will be 33 feet above the water.

Sunday 20th
By the afternoon we were just the two of us again. But we weren’t alone, the Abingdon Gala kicked in and flocks of rowers went down river and came back exhausted.

Singles, doubles and eights with rowers of all ages, even white-tops, but not everyone was happy about it, one poor lad was in tears.

Monday 21st April 2008
Made an early start this morning, filling with diesel at Abingdon while it was still relatively cheap. How did we sink so low that we felt good paying 70p/litre? Just because there are worse rip-offs up the road we feel we’ve done well when actually we’ve paid a small fortune and that’s before the proposed rise in fuel duty for boats.

The good news is that we spotted swifts and swallows zooming around us as our bow wave disturbed the fast breeding Thames gnats. Not only have we seen little birds but this week we’ve seen big-uns too like kites and buzzards.
The bad news is that it has turned so wet and cold that we are now being followed by an albatross.

But it’s not all gloom, this little gem of a boat appeared out of nowhere this morning and made my day.

V shouted out “Come and see this” as we passed them going t’other way and our bow wave reduced their free-board to zero. My smile froze as I contemplated a river rescue.

Perhaps I shouldn’t complain the next time the Yarmouth Belle swamps us at our moorings.
You see, there’s always someone worse off.

Tues 8th April – Shepperton to Runnymede
A lovely sunny day for a cruise up river. Once tied to the river bank it was too nice to stay indoors. I allowed myself the ‘treat’ of walking a few miles over fields and parkland bordering the Thames to the spot given by Sir Eugene and Lady Effie Millington-Drake for the memorial ‘To Commemorate Magna Carta’.

Plaques below the monument state that there were 63 clauses in the original Charter.
Now enshrined in law, custom and practice clauses 41 and 42 state “the right of free and safe passage” and I am reminded that my free bus pass comes due this year.

Further up the hill, through woodlands and bordering grazing land blighted with Foot & Mouth disease, we found the somewhat larger memorial to those 116,000 men and women of the Commonwealth Air Forces who lost their lives in war.

Opened by the Queen in 1953 the buildings are now open to the public. We found it in immaculate condition, thought provoking and a useful place to see the roof tops of London. Circular staircases take visitors upwards and even after reading the warnings for those with a medical condition I still made the journey to the roof’s viewing platform to see the aircraft hangers of Heathrow and the tops of London city’s highest buildings.

Amazed at what the legs could still do we continued walking behind the waterfront buildings in search of the “Cyprus Donkey” restaurant. A change of ownership has replaced Greek cuisine with Sam’s Diner. Prices are an improvement but menu isn’t half as exciting.

We were moored right under the flight path from Heathrow and didn’t we know it. 7am to gone 11pm the air was shaken without a break. One wonders how the locals manage.

Wed 9th – Runnymede to Windsor Racecourse
Bridges make good landmarks on the Thames and remind us of the towns and roads that we are more familiar with. Some bridges are signed to direct us to the correct arch while others let you get on with it and it’s not until you’re right below them that you can see why boats usually choose the centre arch. Dead trees, car tyres, gas cylinders and parts of boats lie under the surface waiting to catch the unwary.

Just about every stone built bridge we encountered had suffered major repairs and all traces of original stones with mason’s marks, at water level, have long disappeared.

A bridge with beautiful stone abutments can lose its beauty and character when the centre sections are replaced by steel and concrete spans.

Pulling up next to one of Eton’s boat houses we re-discovered a log stash and topped up our dwindling reserves.
I’d just started splitting logs for the fire when an upmarket cruiser with white leather upholstery and animal skin carpets pulled in behind us. Seeing a live-aboard destroying the peace and tranquillity they changed their mind and pulled away heading off into the sunset for something better. That’s how we keep the moorings to ourselves.

Thurs 10th – Windsor to Marlow
This morning the Thames is ours, there’s no one else on the water and we are king of the castle.

The sun is out, the wind has dropped and the only ripples are those we make as we glide between banks of weeping willows, beech and plane trees. This has got to be why boats visit the Thames and never leave. I could stay here longer but for the cost of living.

The loneliness didn’t last, a small but well put together Dutch barge pulled out and joined us at the lock.

Nice couple onboard, they’ve a working boat on the GU and this is a new purchase, a 105 year old unmodernised sailing barge from Holland.

We hit Marlow in the sunshine and were joined by plastic cruisers, most filled with teenagers (bad news) but all very polite (good news), apart from one lad who insisted on stepping on our gunwales as he walked past. Yes, we know the boat rolls when you do that, it just isn’t funny that’s all.
Went to see what the ducks were pecking and found a dead’un floating feet-up. She was cut about the neck and drowned. Nature – red in beak and claw.
I pulled her body out and covered it in the weeds behind the fence. The males didn’t seem to understand their sport was over, they circled looking down in the water as if she had to be there somewhere.
Just for Claire we found this rather unusual duck. Brilliant colours, a bit like the Mandarin duck we saw at Pangbourne.

Fri 11th – Marlow to Cookham
What a contrast with yesterday. We were hit by rain, hail and thunderstorms. We steered under Cookham bridge and waited until the worst was over. We’d gone back down river for water and a fresh mooring, EA only permit 24 hour stays so today we chose the green grass of Cookham, it was only a £4 fee, or so we thought. Come 6 o’clock we were ‘knocked up’ to pay £6, the penalty for having a narrowboat.
Cookham wasn’t half the size I thought it was, Been here on business but it doesn’t look the same by river.

Sat 12th – Cookham to Marlow
This could be a sunny or a rainy day, the signs are there for both. The warm weather is bringing out the creepy crawlies and I squashed a strange looking stripey thing crawling up the wall. The bath was splattered with gnats, meaning it will soon be time to look out the blue lights of the mozzy killers.
The trip back to Marlow was made more interesting by an assortment of cruisers out on hire and weekend rowers that pushed their way between us.

What’s nice about this time of year is there are no fishing lines to dodge. Apart from one guy in waders who exempted himself because he was “casting not fishing”.

We’ve a visitor tonight, a south coast cousin. No stranger to this part of the world he might enjoy a trip on the water tomorrow, weather permitting.

Sunday 13th April 2008 - lower Marlow to higher Marlow.
Guest installed, fed, watered, rested and Marlow lock just 100 yards ahead it was time to stop nattering and get under way. By ten o’clock the free moorings in town should be clearing so we’ll take our pick and settle in before the rented plastic arrives.

The early birds are undoubtedly the rowers and canoeists. It wasn’t easy passing the canoes with rowers whizzing up from behind and squeezing between us, eager to get away from the guy with the loud hailer. Roger did his turn at the tiller and he turned out to be a ‘natural’ though canals would have been a fairer test.

Lunching aboard we nattered again, covering essential family history, until it was time to part.
Unsure how we’ll ever get to Bexhill without a working Wey & Arun Canal we could only hope that one day we’d be able to accept Roger’s offer of a night down south.

From here our general course is north towards the Oxford Canal but there’s still a lot more Thames to see. It’s the width of water that fascinates me, wind and current add a new dimension to cruising but it’s all achievable with a plodding narrowboat like Balmaha. I shall miss the Thames and its surprises – islands, converted sailing barges, massive houses and manned locks.

None of that do-it-yourself lock stuff down here. Oh I do hope we haven’t changed too much.

It was a two day slog at between 2 and 3mph from Teddington to Shepperton past Kingston, Hampton Court and Sunbury. The river was lively but manageable and at this speed we had plenty of time to talk to residents, walkers and even some gaudy houseboat owners along the way.

Taking the lock keeper’s advice we left the Thames early in the morning and clutching our yellow licence disc and Wey spanner in exchange for £27 we set off south to our first lock.

How lovely, we said, to be back up to speed again and then we struck the sand bar at Town lock. No one around to see us, we laughed it off and made good progress to Coxes Lock where a 20 toed newt dropped onto the boat.

Checking to see whether we had a newt handling licence in the Wey Travel pack I was dismayed to find no mention of this rare and beautiful creature. Afraid of contravening an obscure Eco, Rare Breeds or Habitat Act I gently lowered what could be the last specimen of this species to a grassy bank next to the water’s edge. Proud of my achievement at returning him to the wild I opened the throttle and accidentally plastered the little fella with hot diesel exhaust as the boat pulled away.
I do hope he made it back to the lock without getting chopped by some thoughtless boater’s propeller.

When newts are hard to spot there’s always an old mill by the stream – hic, to keep the eyes occupied.

Bridge graffiti hasn’t been the same since we left the Midlands and it was nice to see the M25 had recently been “done” again. Still can’t read it but I guess it’s meaningful to those to whom it applies.

Perhaps the authors are frustrated Basingstoke Canal boaters who can’t get onto their favourite stretch of water. I can’t say I blame them, the restriction of constantly locked gates, never ending water shortages and lack of dredging is enough to frustrate anyone.

For those who have never seen it this is the entrance to the BCN, no, nothing to do with Birmingham.

An Elizabethan summer house with a pagoda roof popped up complete with a plaque saying John Donne had lived here. How quaint, I thought, the newsreader on Radio 2 had slept here but V corrected me by telling me this was the original JD, who she had studied at school.

For those of us interested in water antiquities there’s the last remaining turf lock of the Wey complete with dinky wooden paddle handles that are held in place by an iron peg.

It’s easy to miss these little gems because the signage along the way isn’t comprehensive and it is worth reading the booklet that comes with the licence. I tend to switch off and steer and so I’m indebted to V who reads the pages out aloud as we pass each attraction. She only reads a page at a time otherwise I drift off to sleep and fall over, something I was taught to do when mummy tucked me up in bed and read a story. Going to sleep that is, not falling over. Falling over came later when I discovered what to do with my apprenticeship wages.

Newark Priory stands in the fields all alone and surrounded by mist. I have to confess this was the closest we got to attending church this week.

Bower’s Lock was a pain to get through, not just because it is hidden round a tight corner but also because it was in the process of being cleaned. We entered the lock while an EA fella scraped lichen off the gates. He didn’t pay much attention as we entered and he paid even less attention when we wanted to fill the thing with water.

Over ten minutes passed before he looked up and declared he was ready. I was tempted to let go the bow rope as the water gushed in but something stopped me, however, I wasn’t to blame for our boat swinging across his path as it became time to leave. We went first – yes, pay-back time, eat my prop wash.

Guildford is a really nice place. The newspapers say it’s the least crime ridden in England but the book says don’t leave your boat at the town moorings.

But it is a sweet place really, clean, renovated towpaths and easy to get through. One has to watch out for canoes, skiffs and dinghies using both sides of the river and calls of “Have you got a toilet on your boat, Miss” from girls who haven’t a clue what to do with their boat paddles. We came round one corner to see five boats in disarray as the occupants tried to drown each other by splashing their oars in the water. Boys shouted, girls screamed and all this at winter temperatures near zero degrees.

This narrow-paddle-boat has seen better days but I’d loved to have seen it going.

We stopped overnight at EA’s Dapdune depot, arriving after staff had left and leaving before staff arrived the next morning. We found it very welcoming and apart from the main line trains from London, peaceful enough.

The stretch from Guildford to Godalming is really beautiful. The river passes through raw countryside with hardly a building or a road in sight. Swans and geese were doing their best to build pyramids and deer wandered at will.

The junction with the Wey and Arun canal was interesting because we’d walked part of the old canal many years ago. Work still goes on to restore this ancient waterway and one day, maybe, we’ll be able to get down to the south coast from this junction.

And finally we reached the end at Godalming. Sainsbury’s kindly built a store next to the services moorings so V shopped and passed the bags through a gap in the hedge. Bit of a funny turning point here, especially when the river’s running fast but it can be done and it’s well worth the effort.
Only wish we had longer so we could explore but the moorings are missing that would have made that feasible.

In conclusion, the Wey and Godalming navigation above Pyrford is well worth the effort, particularly above Guildford. If timed right there is more than enough time to reach the end and get back onto the Thames in 3 days. One gets the first day free and if starting early enough there is time to go shopping. If delayed for any reason then extra days cost £10 a time.

It is also worth borrowing or hiring (depending on which lock keeper you see) the longer handled windlass, although a little naughty it can be done with a long handled BW spanner. Most of the journey is through open fields, often scrub land and out of sight of houses and roads. The welcome pack is worth having, no useful vouchers for Sainsbury’s or B&Q but detailed enough to fill in the gaps of an old Nicholson’s.

There is so much to see if walking, gardens and museums are your scene - Wisley Gardens, Brooklands racetrack museum and 13th century buildings plus places to moor and disembark with the chairs and barbeque. We counted the moving boats on one hand so it isn’t busy. There are a couple of hire companies but not that many boats between them so it shouldn’t be the pain that it can be on popular rivers like the Thames. It’s a pity we couldn’t take in the Basingstoke Canal at the same time. If only the owners/administrators would get their act together I’m sure boats would flock to explore their waterway.

As if to punish us for enjoying ourselves we emerged onto the Thames in deep winter. Snow engulfed us but couldn’t dampen our enthusiasm for the Wey and Godalming Navigation.

It has been an eventful week, apart from the cruising. We’ve met Anthony and Hilary (Anthony also tapped morse code for Redifon back in the 1970s), Tezzer, Roger and Babs and would have seen another Roger with Richard and Liz if it hadn’t snowed. Not only that I’d been to a funeral in Portsmouth. So it was a week to remember.