Day 19: Reading to Marlow
By this time I could smell the barn and was feeling slightly anxious about getting where I needed to be when. I had a friend coming for drinks on the boat in the evening, but I did leave late from Reading because I took a few minutes in the morning to see the Bayeux Tapestry.
Because this was my first day alone on the Thames, I had to figure out the rule for Thames locks that requires you to have two ropes from the boat to bollards while in a lock, which is obviously most easily accomplished with two people. Normally you use the bow and stern lines, but experienced narrow boaters will know the centre line is the best for controlling a boat single-handed. My solution, approved by the first lock keeper of the day, was to use the centre line to stop the boat (as normal) then keep that on one bollard, and add the stern line around another.
The next notable milestone was a stately chug through Henley-on-Thames, home of the Henley Royal Regatta, an annual rowing competition that takes over the town each July. Run since 1839, the regatta is a highlight of the social calendar - attending is as much (if not more) about being seen than it is about watching rowing. The course starts at Temple Island and ends just above Henley Bridge. And because the race had finished just three days earlier, the floating booms that mark the course were still set up. And the arrows showing what way one is meant to navigate were clearly pointing onto the course so…
I made it to Marlow in good time and found the last spot at a local park near the high street. Went into town to pick up a few supplies, and since I was waiting for my friend to arrive, I lingered for a bit at pub #17, The Chequers. Old housemate Paul made it to the boat by about 8pm and we had a nice night of G&Ts and chat before he caught the last train back to London. I’ll get there soon enough, though my route will be more circuitous.
Stats: 17 miles, 7 locks, 3.4lmph
Day 20: Marlow to Runnymede
A relatively uneventful day on the boat. Chugged along, ticked off the miles and the locks, and generally enjoyed the fact that the weather has been incredible for the whole trip. I’ve actually got little sunburned patches on my shins. Also, the windlass injury from Day 3 is healing well, and I’ve developed some pretty impressive rope-handling callouses on my hands. The first couple of days my hands were complaining a lot in the morning - tender and swollen and not at all happy about the excessive and particular demands of handling ropes that much. Now they’re tough as old boots.
Before he departed, Piran loaned me his English Heritage guide to the Thames Path - a walking trail that follows the course of the river from the Thames barrier to its source. The river is wide enough that I could have the book in my lap and consult as I go with little fear of veering so wildly off course that I hit anything. There’s a lot of room to move out here. The Thames Path guide calls this part of the river "Wind in the Willows" country, since it was the long time home of the author of the classic, Kenneth Grahame. This stretch of the river is the setting for the book, and several of the stately homes along the way are purported to have been the inspiration for Toad Hall. The Thames path guide has been a nice addition to my existing maps in the trusty Nicholson Waterways Guides.
If Henley was a highlight of Day 19, then surely Windsor was the notable location of Day 20. I had thought I might moor up for the night in Windsor, but arrived quite early so I decided to push on.
It was good that I kept going, because I ended up getting a really nice mooring on National Trust property right at Runnymede, which Astute Go Stay Work Play Live Readers will recall is the site where King John signed the Magna Carta in 1215. It was a secluded leafy spot with room for just one boat, marred only by the busy road that runs between the river and all the Magna Carta tourist spots. Poor planning. Luckily, my spot had a nice screen of trees which screened me from the traffic noise a bit though, it did nothing for the fact that I was also on a busy flight path.
I arrived just in time to pay my mooring fee at the National Trust tea shop, and though they were sort of technically closed the woman in the shop gave me lots of guides and information about the area, which I used to combine a run and a visit, including these notable sites:
I also climbed the hill up to the RAF Memorial but arrived just as the caretaker was about to shut the gates, so there was no time to look around. Instead I took the long way back to the mooring and had a very agreeable evening having dinner out on the back deck enjoying my bucolic mooring. Good day.
Stats: 20 miles, 8 locks, 3.7lmph
Day 21: Runnymede to Kingston
The goal for Day 21 was to find a mooring at Kingston-on-Thames, a short run away from Teddington Lock. Teddington is the lock that separates the tidal downstream part of the Thames from the non-tidal upstream bit I've been on. Irritatingly, there's a short bit of tidal water between Teddington lock and Brentford lock - the entrance to the Grand Union Canal. This means a few hours on the tidal Thames, which needs to be done at just the right time to catch the tides - as they're on the turn - minimising the current and giving a keel-less little narrowboat a hope of maintaining control and making the hairpin turn into Brentford. I'm a bit (read: a LOT) nervous about this manoeuvre, so I wanted to get to Kingston in good time to be able to scope things out.
The day itself was relatively easy. I ended up sharing locks with a couple who were heading for the River Wey. I've found that boaters are almost entirely a friendly, chatty and contented lot, and it was nice having someone to talk to while waiting in the locks. I was also chuffed that, as they faffed with their ropes getting sorted in one lock they commented, "I don't know how you do this on your own!". Maybe I'm getting the hang of this.
I shared a couple locks as well with a boat that was also planning the Teddington-Brentford trio Saturday, and the driver passed on his knowledge of three previous transits, advising me to be in the lock at 11:20am. It was nice to have that bit of inside knowledge, and it chimed with the timings advised on the CRT website. Or so we thought...
Luckily, once I reached Kingston there were two small narrowboats moored at the very end of the public space and they kindly waved me in to double-moor. They also helped haul the boat alongside after I missed the first pass and had to turn and come in again. Peter, Sandy, Ian, Tess the dog and Gladys the cat were exceptionally welcoming, offering tea and crisps after I got tied off. We chatted amiably in the afternoon sun, and I found out they were also planning the Teddington-Brentford run, and were nervous newbies, so we commiserated together. It was a lovely little impromptu community of three boats.
I spent the evening walking the mile down to Teddington Lock to check it out with my own eyes, and got further advice from a narrowboat that had come through travelling upstream that day. Then I zipped back to Kingston and pub #18 - The Druid's Head - before retiring to the boat in nervous anticipation of the next day's challenge. More on that, hopefully with a triumphant report on the final leg, when we return.
Stats: 14 miles 5 locks 2.9 lmph
By this time I could smell the barn and was feeling slightly anxious about getting where I needed to be when. I had a friend coming for drinks on the boat in the evening, but I did leave late from Reading because I took a few minutes in the morning to see the Bayeux Tapestry.
You thought it was in Bayeux didn’t you? Actually, you’re right. This is part of a complete copy hand-embroidered in the late 19th century by 35 members of the Leek Embroidery Society, who spent just over a year on the replica, led by Elizabeth Wardle. Housed at the Reading Museum, not far from the river.
Box ticked, I made my way around Fry’s Island to the good folks at Caversham Boat Services where they have a diesel pump on a long, narrow-boat friendly wharf that was easy to access. 105 litres of diesel and 5 litres of 30w motor oil and I was off on my own again, this time on the big bad river. (To clarify - the engine did not need an injection of 5 litres of oil in one hit, but I have been adding a few glugs most mornings, and I didn’t want to run out.)
Because this was my first day alone on the Thames, I had to figure out the rule for Thames locks that requires you to have two ropes from the boat to bollards while in a lock, which is obviously most easily accomplished with two people. Normally you use the bow and stern lines, but experienced narrow boaters will know the centre line is the best for controlling a boat single-handed. My solution, approved by the first lock keeper of the day, was to use the centre line to stop the boat (as normal) then keep that on one bollard, and add the stern line around another.
Standing on the back deck, both ropes in one hand. No problem.
And this is not something I was expecting to see in a lock… giant inflatable rubber duck on a raft. A fundraising scheme in aid of the RNLI.
Lucky Nickel on the Henley Regatta Course! Completed at a speed of about 4mph.
Stats: 17 miles, 7 locks, 3.4lmph
Day 20: Marlow to Runnymede
A relatively uneventful day on the boat. Chugged along, ticked off the miles and the locks, and generally enjoyed the fact that the weather has been incredible for the whole trip. I’ve actually got little sunburned patches on my shins. Also, the windlass injury from Day 3 is healing well, and I’ve developed some pretty impressive rope-handling callouses on my hands. The first couple of days my hands were complaining a lot in the morning - tender and swollen and not at all happy about the excessive and particular demands of handling ropes that much. Now they’re tough as old boots.
Before he departed, Piran loaned me his English Heritage guide to the Thames Path - a walking trail that follows the course of the river from the Thames barrier to its source. The river is wide enough that I could have the book in my lap and consult as I go with little fear of veering so wildly off course that I hit anything. There’s a lot of room to move out here. The Thames Path guide calls this part of the river "Wind in the Willows" country, since it was the long time home of the author of the classic, Kenneth Grahame. This stretch of the river is the setting for the book, and several of the stately homes along the way are purported to have been the inspiration for Toad Hall. The Thames path guide has been a nice addition to my existing maps in the trusty Nicholson Waterways Guides.
I haven’t shown you the Nicholson Guides yet - they cover all the navigable inland waterways and have been my constant companion. I love how the map just kind of fades out when you get too far from the water. I also love that they show you not just useful things like where the locks and water points and boat yards are, but also spend a good amount of time and column inches on local sights and pubs.
Not, however, without seeing this from a new and satisfying perspective.
Definitely no mooring here, round the back of the Windsor Castle and near the site of Frogmore Cottage, current home of Prince Harry and Meaghan and baby Archie.
Private mooring.
An artwork called “The Jurors” by Hew Locke. Twelve bronze chairs "each decorated front and back with images and symbols relating to past and ongoing struggles for freedom, rule of law and equal rights."
The John F. Kennedy Memorial
Runnymede Memorial to the Magna Carta, interestingly built by the American Bar Association
And my favourite, a new “architectural artwork” called Writ in Water by Mark Wallinger, of Underground Labyrinth fame!
It’s also a bit of a labyrinth
With this at the centre
A quotation from the Magna Carta inscribed in mirror image in a steel ring that surrounds a pool of water. The words are read in the reflection. Lovely.
Stats: 20 miles, 8 locks, 3.7lmph
Day 21: Runnymede to Kingston
The goal for Day 21 was to find a mooring at Kingston-on-Thames, a short run away from Teddington Lock. Teddington is the lock that separates the tidal downstream part of the Thames from the non-tidal upstream bit I've been on. Irritatingly, there's a short bit of tidal water between Teddington lock and Brentford lock - the entrance to the Grand Union Canal. This means a few hours on the tidal Thames, which needs to be done at just the right time to catch the tides - as they're on the turn - minimising the current and giving a keel-less little narrowboat a hope of maintaining control and making the hairpin turn into Brentford. I'm a bit (read: a LOT) nervous about this manoeuvre, so I wanted to get to Kingston in good time to be able to scope things out.
The day itself was relatively easy. I ended up sharing locks with a couple who were heading for the River Wey. I've found that boaters are almost entirely a friendly, chatty and contented lot, and it was nice having someone to talk to while waiting in the locks. I was also chuffed that, as they faffed with their ropes getting sorted in one lock they commented, "I don't know how you do this on your own!". Maybe I'm getting the hang of this.
Preparing to go through Shepperton lock, at the confluence of the Thames and the Wey Navigation
Looking back at closed lock gates
Passed another big site on Day 21 - Hampton Court! There were moorings a bit further on from this, which I maybe should have taken advantage of. Instead, I pushed on to Kingston to be closer to the lock for the big day.
Tess on the neighbouring boat
Stats: 14 miles 5 locks 2.9 lmph
1 Comment:
ACK - How does it end???
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