M. woke at 5:00am and lay thinking what a wonderful paeaceful spot this is with just the birds singing merrily. Then the first of a procession of 747s roared into Heathrow above us!
The Thames is beautiful, but how very different it is from the gentle rural waterways. A combination of the glorious weather and the fact that it is a Sunday brought the "gin palaces" out in droves today. The cabin cruiser folk dress and act so differently from narrowboaters - they all look like "cool dudes" in their sunhats and shades; the chaps in shorts and short-sleeved shirts, their ladies in smart dresses and sometimes just bikinis. Narrowboaters don't dress like that! Scruffy clothes are the norm and poor M hates looking less than elegant!!
Windsor Castle was an impressive companion on our left as we looped around the Royal Park.
We moored up in Windsor on the island park next to Brunel's famous "Bowstring" bridge and walked into town to do some shopping in Waitrose. On the way back, laden with groceries, we stopped off for a welcome ice-cream at a spot where, ironically, we had stood three years ago on a one-day trip to Windsor wistfully watching the narrowboats moored there and dreaming of having our own one day. Now we have our own beautiful "dream come true"; we love her dearly and every minute we spend with her.
The park was packed with folk having picnics and generally enjoying the sunshine. The river was a marine version of the M25; as we had anticipated, it was very busy today with cruisers, motorboats, rowboats, dingies, canoes and a very grand paddle steamer - even the occasional swimmer! Many of the day hirers didn't appear to have any idea what they were doing but against the odds, no one capsized, and they were all having a great time. You never saw so many happy people!
When we left Windsor behind, we had to go through Boveney Lock, which is much smaller than the huge locks downstream and can only take about four boats at a time. As there were at least 15 boats queuing, it took us the best part of an hour and a half to get through. Still, it was a lovely evening just to sit in the middle of the river quietly waiting and enjoying a G&T.
Between Windsor and Maidenhead most of the riverbank is privately owned, so there are very few places to moor. As a result we went all the way into Maidenhead where there are some nice municipal moorings just before another of Brunel's railway bridges, this time the wide arched bridge was built for the Great Western Railway.
We spotted an empty space beside a moored narrowboat "Dragonfly" and gently made our way in. Then we saw to our great surprise that she was a "twin" - a Kingsground fit-out on an Alexander shell! We introduced ourselves to her owners, Richard and Lizzie, and spent a happy evening swapping stories and comparing experiences over a bottle of rosé on their boat. Four years after their build, they are still delighted with their boat.
Today: 4 locks, 9 miles and 4.8 hours
Trip: 12 locks, 23 miles and 12.8 hours (156.1 total)
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