Rediscovery Cruise: Day 13

The mooring at Caversham was good — really surprisingly quiet once the kids had gone home from the playground.  When we moored up yesterday, we noticed that the fuel boat, Merchant, was moored on the other side, and arranged for a diesel delivery this morning.  Stanley the dog appears to be in charge, and under his direction we took on board 121 litres.

We set off down Caversham Lock and found plenty of space on the Tesco mooring, so we could do a big restock.  It was 10.30 before we set off again, heading for Sonning.  Below the lock there was some tree surgery going on, so we had to wait briefly before we could go through the bridge.

Shiplake Church looks great high up on the hill.  Then Lower Shiplake, below the lock, has some fantastic houses.

At Marsh Lock we were fourth in the queue, but all got in the lock.  Going through Henley is also exciting, with plenty going on.

There’s a lovely Mill at Hambledon Lock.

Medmenham Abbey looked fantastic in the sunshine, and then there’s Dansefield Hotel high up on the hill.

We passed Bisham Abbey, and went into Marlow where we’d hoped to stop for the night.  However, the moorings by the park were completely full, so we had to go down the lock.  Marlow is still a very pretty town.

We had a couple of abortive attempts at finding moorings, including getting stuck for a bit, when a very helpful boater gave us a pull to get free.  We ended up at Bourne End, where we asked a cruiser if he would move up a bit to create a space big enough for us.  We are right in front of No Problem XL — so we’ve had a nice socially distanced outdoor chat and drink with Sue and Vic, catching up on the four years or so since we last saw them.

20 miles, 8 locks.  (193 miles, 98 locks)

Autumn Cruise - Day 13

We set off from Runnymede at about 8.15, so reached Old Windsor Lock before the lock keeper had come on duty.  A blue circle displayed at the lock indicated that it was in self service mode.  Adrian went up to press the buttons.

It was a lovely sunny morning as we skirted Windsor Home Park, with Crown Estates signs warning against landing or mooring.  There were glimpses of the castle through the trees.

Romney Lock, just before Windsor, provided an example of the contrasting boats on the Thames.  We had to wait for boats to come down the lock, including one which appeared to be made of a few floats and some bits of caravan.  Then after we'd gone up, an enormous hotel barge, the Magna Carta, was coming along the lock cut.

We moored in Windsor, as Brian and Mike were catching the train home from there.  We took a brief walk into the town to have a quick look at the outside of the castle.

At Boveney Lock, we went to the other side of the lock island to the water point, and filled the tank.  At the lock itself were some giant flower pot men.

At Bray Lock, the lock keeper must have been on his lunch break, as it was self service.  This time, I went to press the buttons.

Between Bray and Maidenhead there are substantial houses of all styles.

Maidenhead has two great bridges, a railway bridge by Brunel which has the widest, flatest brick arch in the world, apparently, and an earlier road bridge.

Boulter's Lock in Maidenhead is very large, and is crossed by an attractive bridge.

We thought about stopping at Cliveden Reach, but the moorings are described as 'informal', which seems to mean getting into whatever gaps there are.  And the gaps were filled with plastic boats.  It's a dramatic part of the river, with steep wooded sides and Cliveden House high in the trees.

We went up through Cookham Lock, which is in a beautiful spot, and on through Cookham Bridge, a surprisingly flimsy-looking Victorian cast iron structre.

We stopped for the night the other side of Bourne End, just past the town's on-river marina.

16 miles, 6 locks.  (184 miles, 127 locks)