Windsor to Maidenhead 27 July 2017

Moored in Windsor

Met some lovely people including the charming mooring warden who came along by boat to collect the mooring fees

And a brilliant sunset

London prices for diesel too. £1.21 per litre ( but only £0.80 on River Lee!)

The exclusive hotel on Monkey Island has deck chairs on the lawn,(tasteful cream and brown stripes) and its own trip boat.

We have noticed that deck chairs are the latest fashion statement for your garden!

Some even smarter homes on this section of the river

 

Some house details if you are thinking of moving this way…….Compare this with Devizes and Nottingham.

  

Moored in Maidenhead outside a house for sale at £1.5 million but with I K Brunel’s rail bridge in sight. No riverside garden and train noise!

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The echo works (Bonjour Matelot!) and the bridge is still in use!

The town bridge

High Street

The Library was impressive It opens every day and offers a range of services. The lady on the information desk was very helpful, and armed with our tourist information we went and had a coffee in the library cafe. Delicious carrot cake too!

 

Then off to the delightful town museum. Upstairs was entirely devoted to the Air Transport Auxiliary service. These were the men and a surprising number of women, who flew the planes from the factory hangars to the air force bases.

Below a painting of Langley.near Iver.

And now test your aircraft recognition skills

Someone could not resist……..

Take off from Southampton and lining up with the runway at Hurn (Bournemouth)

 

The landing was based on the Ryanair style but he still got his certificate!

 

 

 

 

 

Thames – From the River Wey to Windsor 26-27 July 2017

Another lovely day cruising. Spotted some very smart homes.

and very smart prices!

Datchet a very desirable place to live. The visitor moorings even have fountains alongside!

The Magna Carta cottage by the lock

Paddle Steamer cruise at Runnymede

 

No mooring at Windsor Park

The castle

Windsor bridge

To the right Windsor and to the left Eton.  Mooring £8 per night

 

 

 

 

 

Weybridge to Guildford 21-24 July 2017

The River Wey is owned and operated by the National Trust and as you would expect of the NT all the locks are tidy and well maintained.

Newark Priory and beautiful countryside

Steam boat

Below is Dapdune Wharf.

As we had been told it was not possible to book a mooring here only later to find it was, we were a little unhappy. Needless to say, we took the matter up verbally and subsequently by email!

Here we met James Gates sailor, rope maker extraoardinaire, writer and family historian. We enjoyed our conversation with him and can only say what a great asset the NT has with volunteers like him!

An old Wey barge and below a rhyme!

Opposite our mooring was the  very busy Sea Scout Operation

Guildford itself is a very pleasant town The High Street runs up from the river and has some fine old buildings and the remains of a castle. Fantastic bedding out in the Castle grounds.

An this is what pleased us

Abbots hospital

Old coaching inn

The clock and looking down the High Street from the Guildhall

Mill Meadows Lovely mooring just five minutes from the town centre.

 

From Teddington to Weybridge 20 July 2017

Early in the morning we caught a glimpse of the Queens Barge from the Golden Jubilee celebrations.

Setting off at Midday we aimed for Hampton Court but there was no space for us to moor. Boats had left a lot of spaces but none were of sufficient length for us so we continued up river, Some beautiful houseboats…..

 

Caught in the act! Picking blackberries from the work boat!

We turned into the River Wey, through the unusual Thames Lock, and we moored up on the towpath within a short walk of Weybridge.  My favourite poster!

Now what to make of this?

Windsor 19 July 2017

Whilst moored at Teddington we took a quick day trip to Windsor the collect our post from a mailbox at a petrol station there. It was conveniently near the river so we were able to check out the mooring situation

 

Along the river was a plaque commemorating the hurricane aircraft.

 

Astounding house rental prices!

The old station well worth a  visit

A tired soldier ? and changing the guard

 

The castle. Spectacular State Apartments but no cameras allowed.

 

 

 

 

The chapel.

A gift aided ticket enables you to make a return visit so we shall do that next week.

 

Limehouse Basin to Teddington Lock 18 July 2017

The photos to prove it!

Entering the Thames from Limehouse lock at 5.45 am on the rising tide.

looking back at the lock

Tower bridge

 

Trying to capture Traitors Gate opposite HMS Belfast

The Monument – site of Great Fire of London 1666

 

 

 

A glimpse of St Pauls, under The Millenium Bridge:

  

The Eye

 

 

 

 

 

Skyline looking back into the sunrise

Big Ben and Houses of Parliament, too far to see Claire Perry MP waving.

  

Harrods

Nice view leaving the high rise behind

Teddington Lock with its plaque marking the “little ships” that evacuated Dunkirk in 1940

 

And its well tended gardens with (you will like this Vanessa) dahlias

Riverboat in the lock

Matilda moored up in the excellent moorings just above the lock and opposite the weir

The journey took just over 4 hours and there was very little traffic at that time on Tuesday morning. The PLA charts were a great help, guiding through the correct bridge arches and sides of islands. Also good to have VHF contact and hearing of other boat movements.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The route to Limehouse 14-17 July 2017

Once again met up with Gary who travelled with us from Roydon to his home in Cheshunt.

We travelled in style to M & S Thank you Gary

Abandoned golf buggy!

Couldn’t resist another visit to Lee Valley Water Park

Sunset alongside the Water Park

The following day Deb and Nick came to visit to discuss the finer points of boating

And Gary at the wheel yesterday morning. We said goodbye at Tottenham and look forward to meeting up again in the not too distant future.

I had never seen a weed catching machine before. Weed was quite a problem.

Still scruffy around the Olympic Park

Then the very smart Limehouse Basin, at last!

 

Matildas birthday 13 July 2017

As the river level was still high and the rail bridge low we went to Bishop Stortford by rail even though it was the rail bridge that stopped our progress!!!!

The winding hole  (where you turn around pronounced wind as in breeze not wind as in clock)

We walked from the station to the river, but passing by the bus station Tony was accosted by a hat wearing lady who admired his Tilly hat. (Check out their website). She was wearing a chinese made £22.50 hat!  I wasn’t wearing my Charleston Market hat today!

We walked along the river to the visitor moorings and upto he Tourist Information Centre (TIC) that  furnished us with two, yes two, town walks.  The first one went by M& S so we bought a “Dine in for two for £10” and that lead us to the (Hilary, you will like this)  Methodist Chapel where we had coffee & real homemade cake and an Abba CD & Bernard Cornwell novel. I was surprised at the cost 60p for both. Needless to say I added a bit more!

Did a bit more shopping at Gerry Weber (on sale) and then we visited the Museum featuring Cecil Rhodes (of Rhodesia fame for those of you able to recall earlier British colonies in Africa) and local personages and history.

I liked the embroidered tapestry of the town.

 

Note Stanstead Airport is close by.

All in all a most interesting place!  Then to the Motte in the pretty park, and finally Coopers where we bought odd bits and chocolates to celebrate Matilda’s birthday.

As we pulled out of the station to return to Roydon who should be sitting on the platform but the lady in the hat!!!

On our return to Roydon we measured the river level. it had gone down by 6 inches in 36 hours so we could now go by boat!!!!

 

 

Roydon Marina Village River Stour 12 July 2017

Well here we are waiting……….

We came into the Marina on Monday for diesel, laundry etc knowing heavy rain was forecast for Tuesday and as you will have gathered by now I don’t do locks in the rain.

 

It rained so heavily the river level has risen (4-6 inches said a local) and having measured the very low rail bridge we are at the moment unable to continue towards Bishop Stortford, Tony has just checked and the level has reduced by one inch in two and a half hours!