Pangbourne

We have moved on to Pangbourne and are sitting with a cooling wind blowing through the boat as we enjoy a pleasant cup of tea. We stopped off at Tescos on the way; well it is so handy it being right next to the canal.

My rope throwing has gone out of the window today as at the two locks we came through I had the lock keeper come and take the rope from me, just one of those days I guess. Last time we came through this stretch the Thames was in full flow as the red boards had just come down, today it had calm and tranquil persona. Although there was a bit of a head wind.

A narrow boat has just gone by with what I think of as a great name and underlying statement. Name: Relativity. Statement: Travelling at the speed of Life.

Mick has now exchanged contracts and is looking for flights to New Zealand, not the best time to go from a cost perspective but still a relief that things are going to plan. How long he will be there for remains to be seen. He intends to live in Christchurch for a while. So you can guess where we will be going next year for a week or two.

Today we did 8.82 miles and 2 Locks

Statistics so far:-

629.26 Miles, 485 Locks, 47 Swing Bidges, 27 Lift Bridges, 6 Tunnels.

Sonning

Just a quick update for yesterday, we set off early hoping to beat the forecasted rain. As a result we had to operate the first lock ourselves as there was no lock keeper in attendance. The promised rain did materialise and I was absolutely soaked. We are now moored up just above the Sonning Lock. We were going to walk into Reading to do some shopping but the wind and the rain drove us back and we ended up doing an easy Geocache on Sonning bridge instead.

We met up with Risa in the evening for an indifferent meal at the Bull, I have stopped doing the GRPS, suffice it to say it would not have scored too highly on that. It always surprises me that popular places like the Bull can serve up such nondescript food. Still we had a great time chatting to Risa.

Today we did 6.13 miles and 3 Locks

Statistics so far:-

620.44 Miles, 483 Locks, 47 Swing Bidges, 27 Lift Bridges, 6 Tunnels.

Henley

The morning started off bright enough but we waited until it was raining cats before we set off. It was a strange old day weather wise, one minute we had heavy showers and then the clouds would clear and the sun would come out and we thought yes that is it not a dark cloud to be had. Off with the wet gear and then from no where yet more rain.

We stopped at Marlow for lunch and a bit of a shop. We would have stayed in Marlow but as the weather had improved we thought that we should move on as we had only come a short distance. Of course as soon as we had pulled pins the clouds moved in and the skies opened up.

During one of these rain events we met one of these coming out of Temple Lock.

Hotel Barge

The Thames between Marlow and Henley is very picturesque and wide sweeping in places.

Wild Thames

We did try and moor up after Hurley but as I was undecided as to whether to go in front of a tree or behind it we ended up in it, the tree then tried to remove the bikes and then the chimney, we gave that up as a bad job and moved on to Henley.

Today we did 12.59 miles and 4 Locks

Statistics so far:-

614.31 Miles, 480 Locks, 47 Swing Bidges, 27 Lift Bridges, 6 Tunnels.

Relaxing Cookham

This time last year we were at Cookham with severe battery problems and a failed alternator. This year touches head we do not have these problems and can enjoy the peace that is Cookham.

I was up very early this morning, it being a Sunday and 7 am being totally inappropriate, but there you are.

We came through Maiden head which boasts two famous bridges, the first going up river is a railway bridge which is the flattest and widest brick arch in the world and was built by Brunel.

Maidenhead Railway Bridge

There are two such arches spanning the Thames, the second bridge is the aptly named Maidenhead Bridge dating from 1772, both of these facts are stolen from the Pearson’s guide.

Maidenhead Bridge

We did go passed Michael Parkinson in a very smart river boat and he did us the honour of turning around and mooring up so that we could get a photo. I wont put it here as it was some distance away and the resolution probably leaves a lot to be desired.

Cookham is a sleepy old village, spot the cars.

Cookham

We did visit the Stanley Spencer Art museum the last time we were here and Frances has been holding on to a Spencer walk around Cookham that she found in the Guardian some months ago, so we decided to do that. It was a 5.6 mile walk around the country side and back to Boulters Lock and then along the Thames path.

Walk around Cookham

Arty Shot

Today we did 9.71 miles and 4 Locks

Statistics so far:-

601.72 Miles, 476 Locks, 47 Swing Bidges, 27 Lift Bridges, 6 Tunnels.

Windsor Castle

We set off reasonably early this morning in beautiful sunshine and little traffic, was it really Saturday? Yes of course it was as we had had pain au chocolat. We came passed some interesting houses and boats and I thought that this looked very picturesque.

Tall Boat

We have moored up on an island next to Windsor castle.

Last time we were here we had to work and by the time we got to the castle it wasn’t worth going in, this time that does not apply and we had a tour of the castle, the garden that resides in the moat was very impressive.

Garden pond - good use of hole left by crane

Garden

Another Garden view

And just to prove we did actually move around inside, here is a Norman arch, well more accurately above a Norman arch. Apparently this did have to repel at least one attack.

Norman Arch

After visiting the castle we were in desperate need of sustenance and we found it in the Carpenters Arm, which not only supplied us with good ale but also at a very reasonable price. When we came out we came across this house.

Crooked House

Enough to make anyone sign the pledge.

Today we did 5.57 miles and 2 Locks

Statistics so far:-

592.01 Miles, 472 Locks, 47 Swing Bidges, 27 Lift Bridges, 6 Tunnels.

Runnymede

The hot and humid night was relieved a little by a heavy thunder storm, which gave the morning a fresh feel after several days of sweltering heat. After a cloudy start to the day the sun appeared and it was business as usual as we made our way up the Thames. We have stopped at Runnymede so that we could walk through Coopers wood, we are next to Magna Carta Island where presumably the Magna Carta was signed by King John.

Frances fancied watching the Tennis so we are to blame for Murray’s loss, this was the first time we had watched. After the Tennis we set off up towards the wood first visiting the American Bar Magna Carta memorial.

Magna Carta Memorial

Then we meandered through the wood and upwards to the Air Force memorial, which unfortunately closes at 6pm and it was well after that by the time we got there.

Air Force Memorial

So I didn’t get the chance to see if my Uncles name was inscribed on the memorial, he had been a gunner on a Lancaster bomber that went missing during the war.

Glancing back on our way down to catch the late sun illuminating the side of the hill.

Coopers Wood

Today we did 8.69 miles and 4 Locks

Statistics so far:-

586.44 Miles, 470 Locks, 47 Swing Bidges, 27 Lift Bridges, 6 Tunnels.

It’s a small world

Yesterday while we were out having a picnic with Ralph and Gaby, NB Helen Louise moored up with John and Liz on board. They were both from New Zealand and it turns out that John was from Wanganui and went to the same school as Frances, albeit several years earlier. His younger brother may have been in the same class. It was a real shame that Frances had to go back to Croxley and that they had to leave this morning as she could have brought her school photo and identified John’s brother. Still I had a fairly lengthy chat with them last night and hopefully we will meet up again. They do know fellow bloggers Derek and Dot from Gypsy Rover and Andrew from Khayamanzi. I do hope that we meet up with them again.

Mick turned up with Frances late afternoon, which brought my reading to an abrupt halt, I had been sitting in the shade reading since the morning and really enjoying it, just like being on holiday in fact, even missed out on lunch as I was so engrossed. Q by Luther Blissett in case you are interested. Luther Blisset played for Watford before going to Milan. In the 90’s we saw lots of graffiti and bills relating to Luther when on holiday in Italy, it became a cult out there and they had leaflets at the bottom of posts and if you bent down to read them they said ‘Bow down to Luther Blissett’. The book I am reading was written by four anonymous authors living in Bologna and has nothing to do with Luther Blisset the footballer or so the sleeve notes of the book say.

Our current moorings:-

Current mooring

Tomorrow we are moving on possibly to Windsor.

Statistics so far:-

577.75 Miles, 466 Locks, 47 Swing Bidges, 27 Lift Bridges, 6 Tunnels.

Another Ralphy visit

Last night we did a spot of Geocaching, there were 3 caches very near the boat so not too much effort. At one we found and have retrieved a very beautiful Geocoin.

Geocoin front

Geocoin back

We will take it down the Thames with us and deposit at another cache.

Gaby came over to collect Frances who is going back home for the evening, she will be back tomorrow. So we had a bit of a picnic by the side of the boat, this mooring is ideal for such activity.

Gaby Ralph and Grandma

Grandad and Ralph

Well as I have the boat to myself, I’m off to party.

Statistics so far:-

577.75 Miles, 466 Locks, 47 Swing Bidges, 27 Lift Bridges, 6 Tunnels.

Sunny Shepperton

We have added some more furniture to our boat, an oak stool which we will use as an occasional table and two oak trays, both from Habitat.

We are now moored up at Shepperton, but boy does this hot weather bring out the noisy rabble, we are surrounded my fifth or sixth formers who are totally oblivious to any boaters that may be around them, they communicate by shouting at the top of the voices in what appears to be an earlier civilisations entry into language. We had two groups last night at Kingston, one male and the other female separated by about 200 metres and shouting drunkenly at each other about who knows what, and this was at 3am. Fortunately they were on the other side of the river.

We came back up the river and straight though Walton as we felt that we could not in all fairness moor up there after having stayed there only a couple of days earlier. For Pink Floyd fans everywhere we think that this house boat belongs to Dave Gilmour.

Houseboat

I have to say that anyone either blogging or reading blogs in this weather deserves a medal or maybe having their head examining.

Today we did 8.97 miles and 2 Locks

Statistics so far:-

577.75 Miles, 466 Locks, 47 Swing Bidges, 27 Lift Bridges, 6 Tunnels.

Tropical Kingston

Kingston has been very tropical today, it is very close and there is a definite feeling of a thunder storm in the air. We could be in the Caribbean.

We intended to set off on our bikes early this morning, but what with breakfast, a bit of reading and some catching up in the blogging world, we did not set off until 10:30.

We cycled up to Hampton court and then around to Bushy Park, which you do not hear much about but it is a royal park, in fact it is the second largest after Richmond Park. It started off in the hands of Cardinal Wolsey, but Henry the eighth took a shining to it and chucked him out so that he could have it himself and the rest as they say is history.

Being a royal park it is full of deer and we came across quite a few family groups sitting in the shade to escape the midday sun, when only mad dogs and Lazy Day cyclists were out and about.

Deer enjoying the shade

We were watching one group when a lone stag decided to wonder out of the group and have a bite of grass along side of us.

Royal Stag

We returned back to the boat thoroughly whacked and as Frances has said just a few minutes ago, ‘We don’t need to go for our walk tonight’ to true.

Statistics so far:-

568.78 Miles, 464 Locks, 47 Swing Bidges, 27 Lift Bridges, 6 Tunnels.