The wind brings sunshine and showers, and a bit of a bonus…

Where we were moored yesterday was fairly well sheltered, tall trees on three sides making a good windbreak. In fact the rain wasn’t as bad as we’d been led to believe, at least not here.

It was bright and sunny as we left this morning at soon after 9 o’clock.

Leaving our mooring at Wargrave Marsh.
It’s a pleasant spot, no passing pedestrians, but the overgrown footpath is a bit dire. And TV is a iffy.

There are some smart properties along here, with Wargrave on one side and Lower Shiplake on the other.

Splendid chimneys


This one’s for sale…

You know what they say, if you have to ask the price you can’t afford it. But just in case…

Another “for sale” this time floating, and cheaper.
Still asking for £164,500, though!

The river is flowing a little faster after the rain, but not excessively so. We arrived at Shiplake Lock after about 20 minutes.

Shiplake Lock

We had this one to ourselves, then pulled on to the service wharf above the lock to deal with the essentials.

That done we pressed on, 2½ miles to Sonning.

Converted lifeboat Chiaris clearing Sonning Bridge

We had a short wait while a couple of boats came down, giving enough time for another two boats to turn up. We all fitted, just.

I wanted to do a bit of shopping at the riverside Tesco near the Kennet and Avon Canal junction, but it looked pretty busy along the bank when we arrived.

Tesco moorings

We tried, unsuccessfully, to get in just to the left, but then a boat pulled out further up so we made a bee-line for the vacant spot – just as the first of today’s heavy showers blew over.

Shopping done and lunch partaken of, we set off again and in the half mile to Caversham Lock the sky got darker and darker, finally letting go just as we got in.

Caversham Lock, just about to get very wet.

By the time we’d ascended the lock and got to Caversham Bridge the rain had stopped and the sun was out again.

Caversham Bridge

Less than a mile further on we pulled in, alongside the Reading Festival site. They’re setting up now, getting ready for the 22nd. It’s a huge event, with an impressive line-up this year. It’s been held every year since 1989.

Moored near Reading.

John Sage has been relocated onto the bike rack at the stern from the deck on the roof. Why?


Just along from where we were moored a tree was down, blocking the path. So I thought I’d do the EA a favour and remove it. Then another came down in yesterday’s wind, close enough this time for my electric chainsaw…

A good start for the winter fuel stores. I know, it’s a little early, but it’ll have a chance to dry out a bit. It’s all beech, too.

Locks 3, miles 8

Battened down..

We left Henley yesterday morning, the intention being to find somewhere to wait out the bad weather due today. We were looking at possibly mooring on the backside of the The Lynch, or maybe Hallsmead Ait, upstream of Shiplake, but spotted a likely looking bit of bank opposite Poplar Island, less than a mile above Marsh Lock.

Marsh Lock was on DIY, surprisingly for a Saturday morning.
There was a small cruiser waiting to go up, and he was up on the lockside bringing down a narrowboat. When we got in with him there were two or three boats waiting to come up and the controls were handled for us. Good timing.

The cruiser overtook us steadily on the reach above the lock, and I was interested in comparing wake patterns. The cruiser has a 22 foot planing hull, probably weighs in at less than a ton, yet produces considerably more wash at the same speed than our 18 ton displacement hull.

Motor boat Serendipity passing alongside


Looking back, comparing wash.

And our bow wave.

It seems to be a general rule; we were bounced about big-time by a very nice slipper launch passing yesterday evening, but a large Dutch barge a little later didn’t affect us at all. I don’t know why, though.

Here’s where we ended up.

The path along the water’s edge is very overgrown though. My legs and arms have been thoroughly stung.

We were visited by an Egyptian gosling yesterday afternoon…

…and an adult was having a salad lunch across the way today.

Spells of heavy rain, interspersed with drizzly stuff, have been the norm this morning, but we’re getting a bit of sun this afternoon. It’s still breezy though, so there’s a good chance of more showers blowing through.

There’ve been a couple of bedraggled canoe groups go past, the rest of the light traffic is made up of cruisers, canopies up. Only a couple of narrowboats, unsurprisingly.

Today’s task was a repair to my headphones, the ones I use with my iPod when I‘m out running. I use ones that hook over the ears, rather than plug-ins, which I find uncomfortable and too good, cutting out the noise from approaching vehicles if I‘m road running. Anyway, extensive use had led to a broken connection in the plug end and as I’ve any number of pairs of the earplug type, I removed the ends of one of these and soldered the hook-over earphones on instead. A bit fiddly, but it saved me a couple of bob…

Tomorrow we’re heading up to Reading.

Locks 1, miles 1¼.

We’re getting earlier…

Nine o’clock this morning when we pulled pins at Marlow. Well, we were both up, and the forecast suggested showers later, so we’d thought we’d go.

Leaving our Marlow mooring

Although it was £12 a night (Yes, £12) to stay here, included was use of the showers in the leisure centre (there’s hairdryers, too, the receptionist pointed out, then laughed as I indicated my minimal requirement in that area), and also a session in the swimming pool. So all in all, not a bad deal, so long as you use the facilities.

It was about 20 minutes to Temple Lock, and we were through that like a dose of salts.

Approaching Temple Lock 

That would make Cookham about midway, then. Of course there’s another 30 miles of navigable water above Oxford. The total mileage from the head of navigation to Teddington Lock is around 125 miles, making the mid-point of the EA controlled river somewhere near Whitchurch Lock. The maths doesn’t add up though. It’s 30 miles from Inglesham to Oxford, then 53 to Temple and a further 58½ to “London”. That’s 140-ish miles. Maybe London refers to Limehouse and the junction with the Regents Canal? But that’s 6 miles too far. So the London referred to must be somewhere around Westminster Bridge.

Logical really.
I don’t know why I bothered to do that…

It was only around half a mile to Hurley Lock, where we had a short pause while a boat ahead left the lock.

Alongside is Peter Freebody’s boatyard, specialising in construction and restoration of traditional river craft. Some beautiful boats on their website…

We started to pick up traffic at Hambleden Lock, sharing the chamber with a “narra” and two cruisers, then we were on the wide open reach heading for Henley.

Heading for Henley

The temple on Temple Island was originally built as a fishing lodge for the then owner of Fawley Court in 1771. A 999 year lease was bought by the Henley Regatta in 1987, and the island and temple are available to hire for functions.

Images of the twin incarnations of the river are mounted above the central arch of Henley Bridge.

Thames on the downstream side…

…and Isis on the upstream.

We pulled in on the moorings alongside the park, and, after lunch, I set to and scrubbed the roof, that done I cleaned the bankside of the boat, and rinsed off the river side to remove streaks left from the roof washing.


The predicted rain has arrived, but it’s supposed to clear before morning, then returning on Sunday. Ah, well, we’ve done awfully well so far.

Locks 3, miles 8

It’s getting busier, we’re struggling for moorings!

This morning was just too good to miss, so we were on our way by 09:15. We first cruised down to Windsor Bridge before turning around and heading back upstream.

Windsor Bridge
Sorry, poor picture. Dratted sun!

Back past our mooring of two days on Baths Island

Windsor Racecourse boasts two landing stages for waterborne racegoers.

I’ve noticed that, although these river cruisers look all smart and shiny, some don’t half have smoky engines!

I’d hate to be following this guy through Harecastle Tunnel!

Boveney Lock was our first for today, and unfortunately we’d caught up with a couple of boats and there wasn’t room in the chamber for us as well. Still, I made good use of the pause, emptying a loo and getting rid of the rubbish.

Up Boveney Lock, on our own (for the last time today…).

Bray Lock was next, about 50 minutes away. On the way we passed these fine houses at Dedworth…


…fuel prices that gave me palpitations at Windsor Marina…

…the delightfully Gothic fantasy of Oakley Court Hotel…

…and Bray Film Studios, original home of Hammer Horror films, and more recently producing the miniature scenes in Alien and The Rocky Horror Picture Show.
The studio is under threat of demolition for redevelopment although the original building, Down House, will be retained.

It was at Bray Lock that the day started to unravel. I’d made the foolish comment to Mags this morning that we’d done well so far at the locks, rarely having to wait for boats in front of us.
When we arrived at the lock one of Salter’s scheduled boats was just going in to come down, followed by a narrowboat. It took a while to get them sorted out, then the two quite big boats in front filled the lock so we had to wait.

Bray Lock.

By the time they’d gone up and another two come down we’d gained quite a queue behind us, all cruiser types.

Going up Bray

As we left the lock it there was a mad scramble for those behind to overtake us before we reached Boulter’s Lock, two miles upstream.

There’re some smart houses along here between Bray and Maidenhead…
I do believe the middle one belongs to a certain Antipodean gentlemen who has been very much in the news recently…

Into Maidenhead, and the queues got longer, not helped by a trip boat inserting itself into the traffic flow.

Boulter’s Lock
When we finally got onto the landing I went up to see what the situation was and got co-opted into helping a single-hander on a wide-beam.

Finally up and out, and it was gratifying to see that the queues were at least as long at the top of the lock!


Cliveden looks down from a lofty 130 feet above Cliveden Deep.
This mansion dates from 1851, two previous ones having burnt down. It’s been home to  a Prince, Dukes, an Earl and a couple of Viscounts, not to mention the Astor family. Having been given to the National Trust it’s now leased  as a 5 star hotel.

Cookham was intended to be our last lock for today, there are some pleasant moorings on the meadow just above, and failing that there are moorings at Bourne End. 
But the only spaces available were too shallow for us, so we pushed on to Marlow. The moorings here below the lock were full so we were forced to go up this one too. I must have been getting a bit fed up as I didn’t take any pictures…

Above Marlow Lock you can’t help being cheered up by the view of the impressive suspension bridge.

Marlow.

Even better was the sight of a space alongside Higginson’s Park.

Even the £12 (yes, £12) overnight fee didn’t upset me. Well, maybe a little… There was an ice-cream van almost alongside which mitigated the shock somewhat. We’d had enough for the day, else we could have pushed on a bit further.

Henley tomorrow, where the moorings on the park are a very reasonable £9…

Locks 5, miles 12½