Andrew Comes to Visit.

 Wednesday 30th June 2021 in Guildford.

At least a year ago, M had invited Andrew (an old friend from M's choir) to join us on board for a day - and today was the day (at last)!

M went to meet Andrew off the train while R moved MM down to Millmead Lock. After a cuppa, we set off through Millmead Lock (Andrew's first ever experience of a lock) and cruised up to Dapdune Wharf to turn and fill up with water. We went back through Millmead and carried on south. Andrew tried his hand at the tiller and soon got the hang of it..

 Because you have to swing the tiller left to go right and swing the tiller right to go left, it is not intuitive. Also, if left to her own devices, MM will wander off in either direction (she IS a woman, after all!), so steering requires a lot of concentration. Andrew did extremely well. He did confess to being a little apprehensive! We went through St Catherine's Lock, turned at Gun's Mouth and moored up just above St Catherine's for some lunch.

M finally managed to get a photo of the Reigate to Guildford train as it passed St Catherine's Lock, with Andrew in the foreground.

M took this photo just because it shows the meadowsweet just coming into bloom but it also turned out to be a lovely photo of this beautiful river.

Before we left St Catherine's Lock, M photographed R and Andrew.

Back in Guildford, R walked Andrew back to the railway station. It was a real pleasure to have him with us. He was great company and took a real interest in all that we did. We hope very much that he may join us again soon for another day out.

Today: 5 miles, 4 locks and 8.4 hours (including power for three days)

Trip: 246 miles, 124 locks and 115.9 hours.

Peter & Janet Visit.

 Tuesday 29th June 2021 still at Guildford.

Today, Peter and Janet came up from Haslemere. We had not seen them for far too long (well before Lockdown); and it was absolutely wonderful to see them and to have a proper catch up.

We had booked lunch at the Weyside Inn overlooking the river. It was the first time we had been there despite passing it innumerable times on MM and on the bus. This is the view from the road:

 

And this is the much nicer view from the river:

What a good choice! Lunch was excellent and M, who rates chips on a scale of 1 to 10, awarded them a gold star - the best chips ever!

With characteristic generosity, they had brought a carrier bag of goodies including these beautiful flowers. We didn't have a vase tall enough for them, so we used the cafetiere - and what a pretty picture they made.

So nice to spend some time with them again.

Today: MM had another day off!

Boiled Eggs for Breakfast and a Day Off.

 Sunday 27th and Monday 28th June 2021 in Guildford.

Boiled eggs for breakfast was mandatory, as Rory had been allowed to take "his" egg home yesterday on condition that he sent us a photo of him having it for breakfast today. The picture duly arrived:

 

 M had promised to do the same, so we have a rare photograph of M (who is normally behind the camera) enjoying her morning egg.

R washed the roof, while M washed the side of MM. Mooring under trees is always bad news for the roof as it gets covered with bits falling from the trees. But it is well worth it in such lovely moorings as these.

Our reward was another coffee at CHOC (the Ceylon House of Coffee). Do they do loyalty cards??!

We had a quiet afternoon, some of which was spent watching a competition organised by the Guildford Rowing Club a few yards from our mooring. In the evening, the heavens opened and it poured with rain and became quite dark and oppressive.

On Monday, we had a day off. M caught the no. 32 bus, which most conveniently picks up opposite our mooring and stops outside our house (couldn't be easier!), and went home for the day to do some gardening and to go to the gym in the evening. Meanwhile, R took the no. 71 bus to Milford, which stops outside Erika and Dan's house, and spent the day working on the boys' model railway. Dan kindly gave him a lift back to MM and he walked up to the station to meet M, who had to catch the train back to Guildford as the No. 32 bus doesn't run that late.

Two Days: MM had a rest too.

A Visit form Erika, Dan, Lucas and Rory.

 Saturday 26th June 2021 in Guildford.

After an early start under rather overcast skies, the day brightened up as we reached Triggs Lock.

It soon turned into a lovely day as we made our way south towards Guildford.

Bowers Lock is in a truly picturesque setting surrounded by mature trees. The approach to the lock is a tight left turn across a strong river current that tends to push you back, so you have to aim to go past the lock as you turn and then let the current carry you back to slide into the lock. Behind the trees in the distance is Sutton Place, once the home of J. Paul Getty but now owned by a Russian oligarch billionaire and therefore sadly not accessible to the public.

On our way, we stopped at Dapdune Wharf, home to the Navigation Office of the National Trust, in order to purchase a licence for the Wey Navigation for the next three weeks. However, we found out that the office only opens on Tuesday and Thursday - so there was nobody that we could buy a licence from! We also found that you cannot buy a licence on-line, the only way to get a licence was to apply by post - so we duly filled out the forms and sent a cheque by mail. Good old NT, chaotic as ever!

We moored under the willow trees next to the White House Pub in Guildford, one of our regular spots.

M fell into conversation with a young man on the towpath, and he recommended a new coffee shop in the High Street. So, off we went to find it.

And what a find it was! The "Ceylon House of Coffee", or CHOC for short, was excellent and produced a cappuccino that R scored as a very rare 9.5 out of 10. We think there's a fighting chance we will become regulars over the next couple of weeks!

Erika and Dan arrived early afternoon with Lucas and Rory for a day trip. Erika and Dan left the boys with us and took their car back to Shalford while we went through Millmead Lock. Rory elected to stay on MM through the lock and looked a very lone and tiny figure on his own as we filled the lock.

Erika and Dan walked back from Shalford to meet us, the intention was that we would stop to pick them up along the way. R tried but MM ran firmly aground well away from the bank. It took him a while, and the long pole, to get MM free - so we all carried on to St. Catherine's Lock, where Erika and Dan were able to get back on board.

For some reason, Rory took a shine to one of our eggs and he carried it lovingly for the rest of the afternoon and even took it home!

At Shalford, there is a very low bridge; MM can just squeeze through with about six inches to spare, but everyone has to duck down to miss the bridge.

We turned at Gun's Mouth and headed back through St. Catherine's Lock, where the boys opened the lock gates on their own. A great effort as they are very heavy gates - they are both now nicknamed "Mini-Hercules"!

They then left to walk back to their car at Shalford. Looks like they had a great time!

We went back to the water meadows outside Guildford where we moored up. However, tonight is Saturday and "Randy & the Rockets" are back doing on-line gigs every Saturday during the Lockdown extension but, tragedy, there was no internet signal! R went off and found that there was a signal a few hundred yards further on, so he un-moored MM, moved and re-moored.

The evening was spent happily listening to "Randy & the Rockets" on YouTube.

Today: 10 miles, 6 locks and 5.1 hours.

Trip: 241 miles, 120 locks and 107.5 hours.

Back to MM

 Friday 25th June 2021 at Send

The weather was positive as we started off back to MM at the Cartbridge Marina. A very straightforward journey starting with the bus from outside our house to Guildford, then another bus to Send and a short walk to the marina. We were carrying very little as we had driven down to the marina the previous day with all the "stuff", including groceries from Waitrose, clean laundry, a new vacuum cleaner (the old one died) and a spare throttle cable.

Cartbridge Marina is small and very peaceful but the facilities are very limited. It seemed that there was never anyone in authority around. Eventually, we discovered that the owner was away this week and had switched off his phone so there was no way of contacting him. Luckily we found someone else who actually works there and so we were able to pay for our mooring, get a pumpout and fill with water. Unusually, the mooring fee went to a local canal charity called "Swingbridge" and so our mooring fee and pumpout fee went straight into their collection box! We approved!

Around teatime, we set off in lovely sunshine. In the photo, it looks as if we are heading for the bank but actually it is the exit, a bit narrow and obscured by vegetation.

By now, it was hot and quite late in the day, so we decided to moor just a few hundred yards upstream where we had moored with "Inkling" on the way down. We call the mooring "Sticky Tree Bridge", as there are poplar trees overhead which drop a sticky secretion - a bit like lime trees do. We moored just out of their reach!

Then it was a question of getting all the "stuff" organised and put away neatly.

While M was watering the geraniums, a passing cyclist asked M for assistance. It seemed the pedal had come off his very expensive new bicycle and he still had another 14 miles to ride. Did we, by any chance, have an allen key he could use? Of course we did - R's tool box is a veritable Treasure Trove of such items!!

R to the rescue and Mark pedalled away a happy man. We hope that he managed to complete his journey without further incident.

Today: 0 miles, 0 locks and 0.2 hours.

Trip: 231 miles, 114 locks and 102.4 hours.

Back to Send and Cartbridge Marina for a Week

 Thursday 17th and Friday 18th June 2021 at Cartbridge.

Poor MM, R had washed her down and cleaned the windows yesterday morning but overnight the rain had brought all sorts of dirt and debris down from the overhanging poplar and willow trees.

It was still raining slightly as we set off after breakfast but fortunately it didn't last and we cruised in dry, if overcast, weather.

We passed Millmead weir which collapsed last year. A lady, standing on the bridge, filmed it as it happened.

The weir has been rebuilt but the bridge has still not been replaced.

 Poor Debenhams, scene of many happy afternoon teas on the riverside terrace by M while studying in Guildford in her youth, now lies empty and forlorn.

The trees at Bowers Lock are spectacular and deserve a special mention. This oak is particularly majestic and faces huge mature lime trees on the other side of the lock.

This may look like cow parsley lining the banks but it is actually hogweed. Beware the giant version when the sun is out!

We moored overnight back at Send, where we moored with Inkling on the way down, but not under the aspen with its sticky leaves!

In the morning, we will take MM into Cartbridge Marina, which is only a few hundred yards down river. By chance, Erika has to be in Reigate tomorrow morning, so she has very kindly offered to give us a lift home.

We expect to return to MM next Friday 25th to resume our cruising.

Today: 6 miles, 3 locks and 2.8 hours.

trip: 231 miles, 114 locks and 102.2 hours.

A Special Treat at Wagamamas

 Wednesday 16th June 2021 back in Guildford.

M was up at 5:20 to see the sunrise as mist still lingered over the water. Magic.

Before breakfast, while it was still cool, R washed down the roof and both sides of MM as she was covered in pollen and dust.

Although Shalford is the lowest bridge on the navigation, there are others almost as low that threatened the geraniums, but they passed unscathed, even if by the width of a gnat's whisker!

This steep sandy hill was always a favourite place of R's children and is now a favourite for Lucas and Rory as well as for many local children and teenagers. You can slide down the hill straight into the river!

Just south of Guildford, we passed a group working on a very tall tree, lopping branches. There was a chap in the top with a chainsaw who waved enthusiastically at us. You can just see him perched in the branches.

We moored back at our favourite spot on the water meadows above Guildford.

Guildford High Street is only a short walk away and M went to M&S, passing the wonderful statue of a student in full flight; she is fond of this sculpture, as it reminds her of a happy year spent at college in Guildford.  Meanwhile, R went to the railway station to try to buy a ticket to go up to Aston in order to pick up the car and bring it home. He had tried for a week on the Cross Country Train website without success but managed to get a ticket from the very helpful man in the Guildford Ticket office.

We had promised ourselves a treat at Wagamamas and were not disappointed. It was absolutely gorgeous!

Then, after an iced coffee in Nero's, we returned to MM.

The rain started at supper time just about the time forecast and continued for most of the night.

A bit different from what we have been used to over the last few weeks.

 Today: 3 miles, 3 locks and 2.0 hours.

Trip: 225 miles, 111 locks and 99.4 hours.

A Very Sad Parting of the Ways and a Visit from Lucas and Rory.

Tuesday 15th June 2021 in Godalming.

At Shalford, between Guildford and Godalming, there is a very low bridge with just 6' of clearance. MM can get through with a few inches to spare but we were all concerned that Inkling might not make it. If they couldn't get through it would be a long way to reverse before they could turn around, especially because Inkling is 70' long. Mel and Peter took Inca on a long walk down the towpath to check it out. When they came back they agreed that if they could make it, it would only be by a fraction of an inch. So, the decision was taken that Mel and Peter would turn Inkling at St Catherine's Lock and start back up towards the Thames, while MM would continue on to Godalming alone.

On the way to St Catherine's Lock there are some very tight turns. MM was able to get around without a problem.

Inkling is ten feet longer and had trouble getting round such a tight turn.

At St Catherine's Lock there is a winding hole just long enought to turn Inkling, even if it did mean Mel having to fend off the trees in the bow.

Finally, Inkling was round and they started off back north. They are going to go back via Teddington, Brentford and then up the Grand Union. They have to be back at Aston Marina by the 20th July to be ready for James and Katie's wedding.

After three and a half fabulous weeks travelling together, we shall really miss them. They were the easiest companions imaginable and we shared so many meals, G&Ts and great bottles of wine with them, not to mention much joy and laughter. We have already discussed travelling together to Liverpool next year in June/July after our planned trip to Skipton. We sadly waved them off into the distance. M felt quite emotional.

St Catherine's Lock is in a lovely setting next to the railway line between Reigate and Guildford. This is the lock that R created for his model railway.

This is the bridge at Shalford: MM passes underneath with only a few inches to spare. The geraniums had been carefully relocated out of harm's way!

You have to duck right down - so you cannot see where you are going while you go under it. Fun!

Finally, we arrived at Godalming, the most southerly point on the canal network.

The wharf mooring is lovely - and surprisingly empty. We moored up where the horse drawn trip boat used to moor. Unfortunately the trip boat had to move a couple of years ago.

Erika, Dan, Lucas and Rory arrived after school. We set out a blanket and the chairs on the grassy bank and had a super picnic. The boys badgered R into taking them on MM and turning round in the basin while Erika, Dan and M looked on.

Lucas kept threatening to jump or fall in the river and eventually decided to go for a swim. Erika got quite wet keeping an eye on him.

Later in the evening, there were sounds of great hilarity beside MM. Two teams of local youngsters were playing an improvised game of water polo in kayaks, supervised by a couple of adults who acted as the referees and goals at each end.

Several times, MM got thumped and afterwards the adults apologised, but we said that we had thoroughly enjoyed watching them. Great fun and not an electronic screen in sight! Kids should do more of this instead of playing with gadgets!

Today: 3 miles, 3 locks and 2.0 hours.

Trip: 222 miles, 108 locks and 97.4 hours.