Messing About on the River (Part Two).

Sunday 24th to Friday 29th September 2017 on the Wey and Arun Canal.
More visitors on Sunday - Adrian, Sandra and Alex joined us at Millmead Lock in Guildford for a day trip to Godalming and back.

As we arrived in Godalming, the trip boat "Iona" was just leaving, pulled again by "Buddy". Such a beautiful sight and completely silent! There had been a lot of canoeists on the river on our way down and when Iona returned, the steerer remarked that, at times, the language got a little colourful as the canoeists did not seem to appreciate the fact that a horse drawn boat has "no ***** brakes"!

The five of us had a super lunch in the "Bel and Dragon" in Godalming. It was a really lovely day, as we rarely see the three of them and it was so good to catch up with Alex, who will be fifteen next month.

We sailed back to the Water Meadows outside Guildford where we said goodbye to Adrian, Sandra and Alex.
On the Monday, we went home by bus and picked up the car, so we were able to go home again by car on Tuesday to talk to the builders.
On Wednesday, we cruised down to Godalming again. At Cattershall Lock, we offered a lift into town to two Spanish ladies who had been walking alongside us along the towpath and who were intrigued by the narrowboat business.

After they left us in Godalming, we went shopping and, on our return, we found that they (Isabel and Elena) had left us a very sweet "thank you" gift on MM's stern.

In the evening, we had a farewell supper with Erika and the boys at their house in Milford. It was lovely.  And we caught the bus back to Godalming in the rain!
Finally, on Thursday, we said a reluctant goodbye to Godalming; it's been terrific here (even if Waitrose failed to have any fresh peas in their pods, said M!).

We returned to Guildford where we treated ourselves to a special Wagamama supper opposite the statue of the "happy scholar".

On Friday, we caught the bus back home for the last time before we take MM back to her winter mooring in Staffordshire. We've had an absolutely super two weeks "messing about on the river" down here in Surrey and it was particularly special because so many of our family came to visit.
Tomorrow we start the "Big Push" to get MM back to Aston Marina in two weeks. The "Canalplan" application says that it is 228 miles, 106 locks and will take about 109 hours - so watch this space!!
Over 6 Days: 16 miles, 13 locks and 13.8 hours.
Trip: 353 miles, 324 locks and 237.8 hours.

Messing About on the River (Part One).

Monday 18th to Saturday 23rd September 2017 on the River Wey.
We are back on MM and heading out of Pyrford Marina on to the River Wey (or technically the Wey Navigation and the Godalming Navigation) for two weeks since the construction on our house has got to the point where we are without drains or water so we can no longer stay there.
As we prepared to leave Pyrford, we walked round the marina looking for a friend's narrowboat. When we were on the far side of the marina there was a very heavy rainstorm - so we got very wet, despite taking shelter under a large tree!

To add to our troubles, this morning the central heating boiler on MM failed. Luckily Steve at Pyrford was able to help; he and R quickly identified that the air pump had stopped working and R was able to order a new one for delivery in two days' time. In the meantime, running the engine heats the water, so we can still have a shower, even if the boat is rather cold!
We cruised south as far as Newark Priory Lock where R realised that he had left our special "River Wey" windlass back at Pyrford Lock so he walked the two miles to Pyrford to retrieve it, and then two miles back - by which time it was getting dark so we stayed put for the night. The early morning was magical as the sun rose through the mist.

We moored that evening next to the water meadows in Guildford; one of our very special places as we moored here when MM was brand new in 2011. R relaxed in the evening sunshine.

The canoeists and rowers were out in force on such a lovely evening.

Next day, R managed to pick up the replacement part for MM's boiler and was able to fit it without any difficulty. Great to have heating and hot water again!

The early morning mist lingered over the water meadows.

We set off for Godalming, St Catherine's lock is a special one for us as it can be seen from the train between Reigate and Guildford and we always look out for it when travelling by train.

Duck! Not the feathered variety but one of the lowest bridges on the entire waterway network!

In Godalming, Erika, Lucas and Rory came to MM with Erika's neighbour Karen and her son Stanley and we took them out for a short cruise to Farncombe and back. They three boys were fascinated.

Karen and Erika also seemed to enjoy themselves; although R does not seem to have got the joke!.

The evening light, moored up in Godalming was beautiful, reminiscent of a Constable painting.

While we were in Godalming, we were lucky enough to see the trip boat nb "Iona", one of the very few traditional horse drawn trip boats on the network, pulled by "Buddy" the horse. Such a lovely sight.

On Saturday, there was the annual River Wey Festival at Dapdune Wharf in Guildford.and we arranged for Erika, Dan, Lucas, Rory, Charles, Emma, Penny and Minnie to join us there. We set off from Godalming early and planned to pick up Erika and family on the way. We met up at Unstead Lock, but a locked gate (with anti-climb grease on it) meant that they couldn't get on to the towpath so they handed the boys to us over the high hedge and we continued with the boys while Erika and Dan went to try to find where they could park the car and access the towpath.

Eventually they caught up with us and, as we went through St. Catherine's Lock, we saw the Reigate train approaching Guildford.

When we got into Guildford, M received a phone call from her sister-in-law Christine asking where we were because they were in Guildford. It turned out that Christine, John and Jessica had been on the train that we had seen at St. Catherine's! They came and met us at Millmead and we all sailed up to Dapdune, where they were forced to walk the plank!

After John, Christine and Jessica had left, we all walked in to the Festival at Dapdune Wharf (on the other side of the canal from MM's mooring), where we met up with Charles, Emma, Penny and Minnie, who were already there with a super picnic lunch.

The Festival exceeded all expectations. There were all sorts of craft stalls, excellent food and drink facilities, Morris Dancing, an exhibition of commercial diving, a model railway, archery, a climbing wall - so much to do and see. Dan queued to buy some delicious "hot dog" type rolls while Penny and Minnie were fascinated by a man tossing pizza bases in the air and cooking them in a proper pizza oven.

Meanwhile Emma was choosing her sweet treat from "Waffle On", a waffle on a stick coated with chocolate and sweets.

Later, Emma tried her hand at archery and retired after her first arrow hit the bulls-eye. Minnie tried too, but was not quite so successful, although she loved the idea.

We all went back to Erika and Dan's house for a delicious supper while the four cousins played together and then bathed together. Just a brilliant day.

Charles and Emma dropped us off at Dapdune where we were just in time to see the tail end of the illuminated parade of boats, which was spectacular.

The boats were covered with thousands of lights, one of the steerers even had lights all over his clothes and on his hat!

Six Days: 19 miles, 16 locks and 20.9 hours.
Trip: 337 miles, 311 locks and 224.0 hours.

The Final Push to Pyrford and Home.

Sunday 3rd and Monday 4th September 2017 in Pyrford Marina.
A special treat for our friend Soo was one of R's special "Smiley" breakfasts.

Even the swans were in a flirtatious mood this morning. As usual, every time they did the "heart" shape with their necks, the camera was not to hand or they were facing the wrong way. Drat!

In one of the locks, MM picked up this huge log on her bows and R retrieved it to a round of applause from the other boaters in the lock.

Windsor Castle makes a splendid view across Home Park.

Runnymead Lock celebrates its connection with the Magna Carta with this large sign painted on the lock house wall.

The fine weather finally came to an end as we turned off the Thames on to the Wey Navigation and entered Thames Lock.

Almost immediately is Town Lock with its very intimidating right-angle entrance...

And the very low bridge just before the lock gates. It doesn't make the most attractive start to this waterway but the surroundings become more attractive as you head south.

We moored up for the night outside the Pelican Pub and Soo generously treated us to dinner in the pub before we retired.

We had heard, somewhat to our alarm, that the builder for our house extension is starting this morning - two weeks earlier than we were expecting! Good job that we had already booked MM into Pyrford Marina.
We cruised the few miles to Pyrford, moored up M, walked the towpath to Byfleet Station and took the train home. The train journey took three hours (instead of less than an hour) as South West Trains was in chaos with all trains running over an hour late and one train to Waterloo being announced every five minutes for half an hour as departing from Platform 5, when it had actually already left!
Soo said that she'd had the most wonderful time and it was a pleasure to have her on board.
In a couple of weeks we will be back on MM as they will knock down our old kitchen and bathroom and cut off the water and drains - so please watch this space.
Two days: 17 miles, 11 locks and 7.9 hours.
Trip: 318 miles, 295 locks and 203.1 hours.

On to Windsor in the Sunshine.

Saturday 2nd September 2017 in Windsor.
Another magical early morning, we certainly have been blessed with the weather on this trip.

Yesterday, we met a group in canoes doing their Duke of Edinburgh trip. Today we met up with them again in one of the locks. It seems that they are doing a three day trip down to Windsor and, apart from being a bit chilly when camping overnight, they seem to be having a great time and were in good spirits.

Soo decided to spend some time in the bow of MM practising her singing. She certainly seemed to be enjoying herself.

We passed a little cabin cruiser "Marinella" that had run firmly aground, so we offered to help. R managed to get a rope to them and tried pulling them off forwards but they were stuck fast and, as the mooring cleat on their bow was very high, it was threatening to roll them over. The river was also drifting MM down past them, so R threw them another rope, which they tied on to the stern low down, and MM was able to pull them off sideways stern first. They were VERY grateful!

At Cookham, there was a pageant with dragon boat racing just like we saw in Worcester. We stopped to watch the finish of this race.

Passing Cliveden, R and Soo enjoyed their lunch on the move.

At Boulter's Lock, Soo treated us to very welcome Magnums ("Magna" said M!).

A jazz band was entertaining this happy crowd on the steam boat "Streatley".

Soon after, we passed a beautiful paddle steamer. You really do see all sorts of craft on the River Thames. There is a marvellous camaraderie among all the boaters, from huge trip boats and expensive gin palaces to the smallest canoe or paddle-board. Everyone was happy and smiling in the sunshine.

We rounded off the day with G&Ts before dinner, sitting on an old willow next to our mooring in Windsor.

As darkness fell, we were entertained by a cavalcade of illuminated boats, one of which was playing "Land of Hope and Glory" at full volume! Brilliant!

Today:20 miles, 8 locks and 7.9 hours.
Trip: 301 miles, 284 locks and 195.2 hours.

September and Soo Arrive Together.

Friday 1st September 2017 at Henley.
A lovely early morning in Goring, breasted up with another boat.

Breakfast at Pierreponts was a must - and as good as ever. Traditional boiled eggs and marmite soldiers - delicious! And the finest capuccino this side of Italy.

We have many happy memories of this place and it was wonderful to visit again and very pleasing to see that it continues to be just as successful under its new owners.

Caroline and Stuart, who used to own Pierreponts, have now opened an amazing delicatessen in the village, where Stuart continues to weave his culinary magic with Caroline's help - just look at Caroline's take on lemon curd tarts! (We bought three of these works of art and they tasted as good as they looked).

And their fruit and veg selection was eye-catching. "Bliss!", said M.

Back at the river, we let loose and waved goodbye to the crew of nb "Nattergal".

This stretch of the Thames is quite remote and very beautiful.

Our lovely friend Jon, who was the carpenter on MM, is now driving trains for GWR and must cross this bridge many times (as we have!).

We arrived in Reading just before one o'clock and R walked to the station to meet our friend Soo who is joining us for a few days. He spotted Soo coming down the escalator as he walked through the door. Perfect timing!
We moved MM on a bit further to where there are moorings outside a large Tesco store and Soo and R went in for a "few more bits". As they returned a small drama unfurled behind them involving the trip boat the "African Queen".

It seems that the huge "African Queen" was trying to get its nose close in to the bank to pick up two crew members. The boat hit a tree, ripping off a large branch which then fell on some of the passengers so, for a while, tempers were decidedly frayed. We watched the "entertainment" with amusement as the captain expressed his displeasure somewhat forcefully!

We arrived in lovely Henley as a hot air balloon drifted past.

R and Soo were clearly enjoying themselves.

... especially when served up with G&Ts!

A pretty sunset at Henley, but there is a £10 mooring charge here (six years ago it was £6!).

Today: 13 miles, 6 locks and 6.5 hours.
Trip: 281 miles, 276 locks and 187.3 hours.