No Room at Cookham

If we hadn`t wanted to be at Cookham for the station to carry me down to London for my bi-weekly granny sitting I don't think we would have moved today!    We cannot complain too much as I think it is the first wet trip we have had this year.

It wasn`t too heavy when we started out but the showers became more frequent and heavier.  Still it was only a hop skip and a jump down to Cookham.   

Just a little shed at the bottom of the garden

Methinks a bit of mast lowering required before going under any bridges!

Sadly all the moorings were full when we arrived and no sign of anyone moving, how sensible in this weather.   There were spaces in the field to rough moor so we managed to squeeze ourselves in.   A rather high leap for Barney to get off....none too easy for me either!!!
Luckily we had the pram hood up and everything zipped up just as a really nasty squall came through so today was definitely a day to spend below with just a couple of short forays outside for barney.

The field still belongs to whoever owns the moorings so we still had knock on the door late afternoon to collect our money.!!!   So here we stay for about a week.

Total distance:3.16 miles 

Elapsed time:1h10m1s

 Locks:0     Bridges:2
Average speed:2.70 mph (2.70 lock/mph)

Weekend in Marlow.

Looking back from our mooring at the lock and Marlow church

In some ways we had a lovely spot right at the bottom of Higgenson Park BUT it was a bit too public for my liking.    Mind you it had the attraction of an very adjacent ice cream van!

Marlow is still a lovely if expensive spot.   Mooring has gone up again now £14 a night however we bit the bullet and paid up.  That does give you entry to the showers in the sports centre and reduced price entry to the swimming pool, neither of which we took advantage of.  Interestingly there are quite a few  empty shops on the High Street and we have heard that Waitrose is to close as it is not making a profit here.   Today we have gone down through Marlow lock and were lucky enough to find a space on the moorings below.   Room for about 4 boats n a nice quiet spot but with a reasonable size park area just up the steps from the mooring so all good for Barney

The town is nice (if you are not driving!) but we rebelled against the price of most places Sunday lunch and once again visited M&S Simply Food and did much better.

All Saints Church by the bridge is large and the congregation at Sung Eucharist was moderate but very friendly.   As we chatted on departure the church was beginning to fill up again for the following service which was apparently much more informal....seemed to be a big difference in the age group coming in as well!!!

Onward tomorrow and we hope we will be lucky enough to find a mooring at Cookham.   

Blissfu temperature today

After yesterdays temperature rendering us all quite lifeless, today has been such a welcome change.

All we could do was sit in the shade.

A wet towel draped over the legs was a great comfort!!

We did try a wet towel over Barney but he didn't seem to appreciate it.    I so longed to have a swim in the river as lots of other people were doing, including Boe, but I knew there was no way I could get out again.   We do have a plastic boarding ladder but don't think I could manage it...….
Instead I had to resort every couple of hours to a cold shower.

This is Boe trying to get friendly with the Canada Geese.....

.she almost had her nose pecked off 

Today the plan was an early start for all.  Boe off to Exeter where she is relocating, and after 10 days in Henley we were off to Marlow.   Timing was critical as the moorings fill up pretty quickly at the weekend especially.

en route we passed Medmenham and the sailing club 

where 34 years ago Geoff launched the Wharram Catamaran 

that he built with the aid of friend Jim Crint.

The chimneys of Danesfield House in the background.  Once the Officers Mess 

when RAF Signals Command was at Medmenham

Mr Whippy on Water??

We stopped to water at Hurley Lock and reached Marlow at an optimum time 10.30am

Not just coffee time but plenty of space to choose from.    A very different story 2 hours later.

The moorings are by Higginson Park and a bit too public for my liking but Geoff likes to wave merrily to all the curious faces that come a bit too close to the side hatch!!

So here we stay for the weekend.

Total distance:8.08 miles 

Elapsed time:3h30m0s

 Locks:3 Bridges:4
Average speed:2.31 mph (3.17 lock/mph)

still lingering in Henley

I returned from Granny duties on Saturday and the intention was to move on Tuesday but the forecast for a mini heatwave changed our minds!

We had a shady spot with plenty of trees on our adjacent shore so we decided to savour the delights of the riverbank at Henley a while longer.

No need to become bored as there is plenty to see......

 

Variation of a mobile home

Club to Pub 1.5KM swim

This was but a fraction of the number of swimmers.  

Various group all with different coloured swimming hats.

Amphibian Cars

Various trip boats plying up and down

The biggest duck of all

In addition to all this we have had various visitors and have spent several hours watching the world go by.

One more day tomorrow as the forecast is to be hotter than ever!!  The plan then is a very early start on Friday, when it is forecast to become cooler.

Henley via Reading and Sonning

The old man of the sea!

Goodbye Reading and the many (too many) Canada geese at the mooring.

Morning above Sonning lock

We had a quiet night moored above the lock at Sonning and today Tuesday we were joined by Giles and his Father-in-law Dennis for the trip to Henley.  Slightly colder start than of late but by did it make up for it later.

Just after the lock at Sonning you can catch a glimpse of the weir through the trees.

 We used the sani station just  before Shiplake lock and then had a short wait for our turn

Some of these cruisers are very high beasts and I wonder what it must be like to steer from such an elevated position

Giles had not done this stretch on the water before so we had to go reasonably slowly on the next stretch to Henley as he wanted to get a good look at the back of all the large houses that he frequently passes on the road side.  (He is an architect after all)

Finally Marsh Lock and the next question was would there be space at Henley...…...well we were lucky but only just.    The moorings are very busy and there were very few places.   We eventually managed to manoeuvre ourselves into a reasonably shady spot but with only the bow in.

A pleasant lunch time with Denis and Giles in the shade of the trees on the shore.   We were joined by George and Raquel two of Giles employees (he has an office in Henley) and also by Archie, Raquel`s 2 year old Jack Russell cross.   Barney was not overly impressed and kept his distance.  

So Henley for the week and tomorrow I am off for my granny duties for a couple of days leaving Geoff in peace!

Layover in Goring

After a very peaceful couple of days on our quiet mooring which I think is called Runsford Hole, we moved down to Goring as I was required for Baby sitting duties on Saturday night.   En route we filled up with water at Cleeve lock.  We timed our arrival well at Goring just arriving after 10am.  We had a reasonable amount of space to choose from.  Mooring fees are the same as last year, one night free and £5 for up to 2 more nights.  However the company who used to administer collection, which you could do on the phone or on line, has apparently been kicked into touch and is now controlled by the duty lock keeper.  

Thursday evening we had  a last minute invitation from son Giles to go for a meal at Masooms the Indian Restaurant.  The reason for it being last minute are far to complicated to explain but it was very welcome and I set aside the supper I| had prepared for the next day!

The moorings filled up soon after we arrived and stayed busy throughout our stay.  

Some lovely house in this part of the world, most of which we could not afford!!

This one is just below the lock at Goring

The tennis at Wimbledon is still on during this week much to Geoff`s dismay!   It is the only time I get priority on the TV.   My collection for baby sitting duties had to be tied in with the Ladies Singles finals.  What a fantastic match.

I departed Giles early on the Sunday morning as we wanted to get down to Reading reasonably early.

We don`t normally travel on a Sunday so were surprised that despite the early hour we had plenty of company in the locks.  This worked in our favour at Mapledurham lock as not only was it on Self Service but the electricity had failed so it was all manually operated.  With 4 boats in the lock there were plenty of helpers.  Geoff did his bit but actually got away quite lightly as there were some rather keen people around!

Good run all the way to Reading where we stopped at Caversham Boat Services to refuel and buy gas.

Any letters to post

We moved round the corner to moor on the Caversham Meadows moorings which does not promise to be a peaceful mooring as it turns out there is the Readipop Festival just across the field.   The noise is quite loud as it seems to be reverberating off the tall buildings on the other side of the river.  I would imagine it will go on quite late.  C`est la vie.

Men's Finals this afternoon which was a nail biting match...…..Geoff is relieved that it is all over for another year and he now has control of his TV again.

Total distance:10.31 miles 

Elapsed time:3h13m19s 

Locks:2 

Bridges:3
Average speed:3.20 mph (3.82 lock/mph)

sojourn in Wallingford.

We had a very early start from Abingdon (0710!!!) as we wanted to have the best chance of a mooring at Wallingford.

Great stay at Abingdon...see you on the return journey

Waiting patiently at Culham Lock.  There is a notice which says it takes 20  minutes to fill!

lovely day for the run southwards.

The Poppies are faring better than Geoff`s Tomatoes!

One has already bitten the dust...might be due to lack of watering.!

Our early morning start paid dividends as we had the pick of places when we arrived

However it soon filled up

The mooring price has risen here from £7 last year to £10 this year.   The result of this is that there are quite a few very early departures before Angie the warden comes around!   Not us I hasten to add!!

I left Geoff happily there whilst I slid off to London for Grannie time.   Returning on Saturday we had another visit from Boe for the night.   Its lovely being closer to all the family, we see so much more of them.

Lots of tennis to watch at the moment....the only sport I really watch!!!

On Monday Bob and Rosie Hall came to visit.   Geoff and I walked to Benson to the café there and met them and had a very good lunch.   Geoff and Bob walked back with Barney but I took a lift with Rosi....much better option!

Swans and 6 cygnets look lovely but are lethal if one is trying to have breakfast sitting on the side in the cratch!!

Several of these pretty motor launches around

St Peters Church (deconsecrated) and Wallingford Bridge

Earlyish start today Tuesday (we had paid) 

The destination was the lonely mooring about 1/2 a mile above Cleeve Lock.   Unfortunately it was occupied, but after consideration we decided there was just room......managed to get the bow in which is the important end for Barney!!!

The Thames path goes right alongside and there is a great big field for Barney

The plan is to have a couple of quiet days here before moving on to Goring on Thursday.

Total distance:4.68 miles 

Elapsed time:1h9m35s

 Locks:0 

Bridges:3
Average speed:4.03 mph (4.03 lock/mph)

Visitors galore at Abingdon.

Gardener of the Year watering his tomatoes.

Since that picture was taken he has treated himself to a baby (as in small!) watering can...….

A great weekend with lots of visitors.   Friday Hugh and Ann arrived and we went to the Nags Head for lunch.  Friday afternoon Gill Smith and Doreen dropped in for a cup of tea...extremely welcome visitors as they came bearing gifts...….CAKE.   Not to mention the bottle of prosecco......

Saturday Dick and Jackie Gould  arrived for a planned picnic.   Saturday was incredibly hot so we were forced to retreat into the shade of the nearby trees.  They came bearing a cool box full of goodies....the odd G&T may have been consumed.....

Later in the afternoon I was collected by Giles.  He had booked to take all 3 of the grand children to a water assault course.  The idea was that I could sit in the cafe and observe.  I did put my costume in hoping that I might just be able to go in the water for a swim.   Sadly that was not allowed….it was assault course or nothing.  Ella had decided at the last minute not to come so there was a spare ticket......would I like to use it????   I was not brave enough.   I would probably have drowned.

However when I saw what it was like I think I may have missed out......I think I could just have lingered at the beginning getting cool in the water.

Later Saturday evening the wind changed direction by 180 degrees  and Sunday dawned much colder.

This did not deter Giles and tribe from coming for another picnic

Some of the crew were very brave

Boe was busy with her wild life photos, in fact several of the photos above are courtesy of Boe.

About half an hour after their departure Gill and Doreen arrived for another cuppa, and the odd glass of prosecco.

Today, Monday has been very quiet!!