Dark Shadows, catastrophe and heritage trails

Monday 27^th June to Wednesday 6^th July 2016

We hung on in Thrupp for one more day before finally heading off early on Tuesday morning down to Oxford to moor up in Jericho; Sue and Andy veered off at Dukes Cut to head west on the Thames; Dot and Gordon carried onto Jericho where both boats moored up – there were what you might call “plenty of moorings for this area” and thus we had no problems.

We had seen most of the stuff in Oxford but still managed to while away a couple of hours before getting a message from Dot and Gordon– “fancy a drink” in Bookbinders – “hell yeah”.

A couple of bottles of red went down rather well before we walked back to the boats.

Just a late afternoon drink - Gordon was up for it!

Not long after, catastrophe hit – just simply wanting a cup of tea, the kettle was taking a bit of time to boil and would never have done so as we found out.

I had changed over the gas bottles just a day earlier, but we were out of gas – I can only blame myself for not tightening the connection fully – no chance of purchasing new bottles until the next morning.

Gordon came to the rescue loaning us their spare bottle for the evening; following morning we returned it; moved the boat down to the East Street mooring and strolled down to the Calor Gas Centre just a few hundred metres away and bought two new bottles – just £52 – back on board they were properly installed and we were literally “cooking with gas”.

First lock of the day - self service - the cruiser behind us was game coming in with us

Wednesday and we were ready to head off early; just waited got Dot and Gordon to come down through Isis Lock and then we headed off; we caught up with Andy and Sue who the previous day had about-faced and made back towards Oxford on the Thames but with no moorings until Sandford Lock had to settle for that.

Caught sight of and said hello to Tony (alias Peter) and Helen on nb Holderness who had moored there also – Diane had been reading their blog and knew they were around.

The three boats continued down to Abingdon where we moored up; Festina Lente morred behind us and Ewn Ha Cul carried on to Day’s Lock.

Abingdon

We had stopped at Abingdon last year but I had not been able to have a good look around and Diane liked the town so we thought that this was a good place to stop and with pleasant mooring it was an easy choice to make.

A bit of shopping and a bit of walking and we were largely satisfied; perhaps another day to just relax and enjoy the open space that we had been afforded would have been nice, but we do have a bit of a schedule (yet again!).

So it was onto Day’s Lock where it seemed that a great gathering of boats had occurred – well at least enough to make sure that the available mooring spots were all taken, but never to worry we breasted up next to Ewn Ha Cul and were behind Richard and Sharon (nb Oakapple).

We were being shadowed now as Holderness appeared from out of the sun (well just from the west) – they ventured through the lock to find a mooring spot below – hopefully.

Again, last year I had missed the walk into Dorchester; Dot wanted to see the archeological dig (in the middle of the allotments – probably likely to find an ancient carrot and cabbage as much as anything else).

The archeological dig - or is it just that the potatoes are ready for picking

Morning view...

...evening view

It was a lengthy walk into the town, but essentially it was well worth it – it has been the scenery used for many films and TV  shows – most notably Midsomer Murders – a visit to the church and to the museum and it would also have been an afternoon tea but the café wasn’t open - as a very last resort we opted for a drink in the pub – oh well, the sacrifice was worth it.

During this touristy bit we were surrounded by Tony and Helen – the dark shadows had found us – so the total for a drink now rose to 8.

from left, me, Richard, Sharon, Dot, Helen and Tony (at the back), Gordon and Diane
(at the front)

We knew they would be and it passed to be that they are a lovely couple with a good sense of humour – despite being from Hull, but we won’t hold it against them, just that Hull is in Yorkshire (sorry Jim and Joan!!)

Back to the boats; there was a bit of a gathering on the bank but the lack of any warmth and some tiredness necessitated a retreat back.

Earlyish (well very early - before 6am) next morning we cast off and the two boats headed further on – Ferndale and Ewn Ha Cul – we stopped at Beal Park; D and G carried on further – we had wanted to moor here to have a look at Basildon Park, which according to my lovely (distance-challenged) wife, was just a short walk away.

After jumping fences to avoid the road without a footpath and then hiking half the length of the A329 we found the entrance – it was then just a matter of an uphill climb to challenge the Tour de France climbers – we made it and luckily the air ambulance people were on standby with the oxygen tent already set up.

Despite the trek it was a particularly lovely property to look through – a property that has had a bit of a sad and abused history until a couple bought it back in the early 1950’s and saved it from ruin – restoring it to its appropriate grandeur.

Passed by Seyella in Wallingford - pretty well sure that they would have moved on by now

The entrance - found it after miles of trekking...

...but the house was well worth the effort

This is the Shell Room - just for Elaine

Going down the hill was much easier and the boat was just where we had left – thankfully!

Cruising along the Thames in the early morning is such a delight - just something that needs to be experienced..

We had said to ourselves that we would like to moor in places that we had not stayed previously and until this point we had achieved exactly no new places; now we would have a chance to see something new – and where do you think we picked – lovely Reading – some very lovely moorings well above Caversham bridge where we had stayed last year had become non-mooring sites – due to the lobbying of the well-heeled snobs across the river who had tired of seeing boaters getting to stay for free.

This was the early picture just down from the lock that Diane operated - the gate on
the right is where she would need to come through to get back on the boat.
Unfortunately I didn't get a photo, but moments later these cows all crowded around the gate,
and poor Diane couldn't get through - her "fear" of cows didn't help either.
The faint cries of "help" could be heard and after tying the boat, there was a little bit of
hand-clapping to move them all away.

Anyway we decided that the environs closer to the bridge would be just as nice – and they would have been had it not been few hundred geese and swans that inhabited the area – it was not that they were particularly noisy (only at about 4:30am) but it was the extraordinary amount of shit that they left behind after stuffing themselves all day.

Still we spent a couple of days there (we cleared a path through it all from the boat to the footpath) – we explored Reading a bit; found where D and G moored in the town and had a few drinks with them; of course, we found the Waitrose for the free coffee and as our visit also covered a Monday, Diane was quickly onto having lunch at the Slug and Lettuce.

Overall it was a pleasant experience.

The Kennett - going through Reading...

...and the old castle - now off-limits due to unstable stonework

We met a lovely lady from nb Lunas – Evelyn (cannot remember her husband’s name – sorry about that) – well when I say met, she rapped on the side of the boat and after a brief chat with Diane, very politely said that I needed to get a hurry up and get the blog up to date – how could I refuse? I wasn’t game to argue with her – she was about 2 feet shorter but I am sure she would have pummelled me.

So now I am getting it done.

Managed to spot this fellow at one of the locks...

...before he flew off

...and these guys waiting to be fed breakfast

The moorings were only for 48 hours so we needed to move, this time heading towards Hambledon Lock moorings – downstream from Henley.

Unfortunately Diane was talking to someone at one of the locks who told her that Elton John would be there in concert the following night – that was it, we had to find moorings in Henley and she would find a spot somewhere where she could listen to the concert.

I gently pointed out that Wales were playing that night also – which would she do?

At that point in time, Wales could wait.

Well we found a mooring spot, just up from Ewn Ha Cul, with Festina Lente a few more boats closer to town – yes we were all back together.

A little excitement in Henley, as though regattas were not enough; the Argentinian Steakhouse was obviously doing too many steaks much too well done - a fire broke out in the back area and all patrons were safely evacuated as well as the staff - also every other shop, cafe and restaurant for 50 metres in every direction

We managed to find a heritage trail to find out a bit more about the town; Gordon and Andy decided to do a heritage trail of their own – the history of some of the pubs in the town – so absorbed in the historical facts of these establishments, we found them just in time to direct them back to the boats – not inebriated, but they would have been happy to continue.

The girls at play on their favourite tree...

...and this - if only!

As it turned out the concept of listening to the concert lost it’s appeal and all three boats moved off the following day – Ewn Ha Cul went on and on and on; we opted for the free mooring above the lock at Marlowe and FL were able to drop in just in front of us.

We had definitely not been here before – apparently Steve Redgrave was born here.

Again, another heritage trail to follow here – these are very informative and free of charge – just book with Diane (you also have to moor in the same town as us as well!)

Part of the exclusive heritage trail tour

I understand that he is giant of a man in rowing circles, but
Marlowe favourite son - Steve Redgrave - has a slightly
larger than life statue.

Here we stayed for the night – very quiet and very peaceful – but sadly it was not a hoped-for win to Wales in the semi-final, but they have done very very well indeed!!

Just a photo of what appears to be a pretty normal post box - much the same as
you would see anywhere in the country ...

...not sure that the collections would be likely to be too regular - certainly it
would be difficult to post and collect

61 Miles, 29 Locks, 4 Lift Bridges

YTD:  376 Miles (602 km) , 258 Locks, 4 Tunnels, 14 Lift Bridges, 3 Swing Bridges

Total: 4125 Miles (6600 km), 2957 Locks, 116 Tunnels, 59 Lift Bridges, 170 Swing Bridges

It's a long trip north and longer to get home

Saturday 25^th June to Sunday 26^th June 2016

The vehicle was hired, the accommodation was booked, bags were packed and at about 8am we bundled ourselves into the people mover, Andy set the sat-nav and we were off heading northwards to Macclesfield.

The purpose of the trip was that we all needed to see Paul and Elaine and how they were doing.

Such is the bond within this group that almost no matter where we are, we would drop everything to see one another and this was just such a special occasion.

As everyone who has read Paul’s blog will know, Elaine is battling cancer and now has gone into a Hospice in Macclesfield.

We called into Aston Marina along the way, only to have a break and to meet up with Roly and Bev who would also be joining us for the weekend, but in their own vehicle (dogs and all) and after this fuelling-up break we continued on our journey northwards.

No they weren't drunk in the back, but you have to worry about what they
were up to in the back seat.

In the cafe at Aston - fuelling the bodies - as if that was really required

Timing was important and we did well on that score, pulling into the carpark at the hospice at around 2pm – the time that Paul had asked us to be there and we spent a fun but emotional couple of hours with Elaine.

She is such a lovely person who cares more about everyone else around her rather than herself – we just love her so very much – just a few tears around.

Happy hats at the ready - our lovely ladies all together

...and the 4 of us behind - what a contrast

It was clear to us that she was starting to get tired and again we timed it well with Paul’s arrival with Wendy (from Mojacar).

We were all going out for dinner later with Paul and Wendy so we needed to freshen ourselves up a bit.

Off to Sutton Hall for a lovely dinner and a chance to try and cheer Paul up a bit – he has desperately needed something to smile about and we hoped that we could do just that – he was in good form throughout – I guess having so many friends around has helped for some time.

Friends for dinner? - just a few of us

The boys have the shoulder down technique going well here

It was not an early night, but it was also not a late morning getting up.

Debdale Park and quite a number of these lovely
wood carvings around

After breakfast and a bit of a walk around Debdale Park, we headed back to the hospice at the arranged time – 11am – Elaine was much perkier, having had a good night and we joked around as we have done countless times before.

It was more painful this time to say goodbye to Elaine.

We drove over to where Paul was staying and had a cuppa and cakes/biscuits with him before we left.

The sun is out and we do so enjoy each other's company

We have had a theme of rabbit ears going throughout the trip and here they are again

The drive back was a bit more quiet than the one up to Macclesfield the previous day.

It may have only been two days but it seemed like a week to most of us – we were exhausted.

Great thanks to Andy who did all of the driving, and a great job he did with it too.

Goodbye and Hello

Sunday 19^th June to Friday 24^th June 2016

Just a week ago and we were winging our way to Lechlade and now here we were back in Oxford, but it seemed that the intervening week was a hell of a lot longer than just 7 days and as a form of present for the journey from which we had just returned, we were rejoined by Andy and Sue – seems that they couldn’t do without us – that’s what I am saying for now and if that was not sufficient reason to be pleased, we were also joined by Dot and Gordon on nb Ewn Ha Cul – on their way south they had passed Roly and Bev heading in the other direction.

NB: we ran our engine despite the notice and stuff the neighbours – there were no complaints – probably because you cannot hear it anyway.

A roast lunch/dinner was in order and it would be more than the usual 2, the hob and oven were at bulging point but Diane produced another great dinner, albeit for 6 and the boat was full of fun and friends and happy times.

It was a bit like an Australian BBQ – men altogether in one group and the women in the other room – strange thing was that there were full bottles of red wine left over – oh well, they will do for next time.

Monday meant that we had to move – our 48 hours were up and we were contemplating further rule abandonment by staying an extra day, but Diane and Dot went to check the situation in Jericho and at about 18:30 we moved down to a quiet spot down there – opposite the site of the new wharf development.

Plans had been made the previous day to take advantage of the Slug and Lettuce Monday offer – 50% off all food – we all headed off for breakfast – we didn't think we were too early having first checked the opening time, but a locked door awaited us on arrival – seems that they were unusually quiet because they had forgot to open the place – can’t serve ‘em if you don’t let ‘em in.

The food was lovely and we sat for a while before deciding that we all needed a bit of Oxford exploration – even though Diane and I have been here a number of times before, it is still a lovely city to wander around in and absorb the atmosphere of a university city.

We returned to the boat, simply to rest for a bit – well Diane rested and I carried on working.

Tuesday was shopping day and we did a little bit – Waitrose – free coffee and not-free danishes – we did buy a few things and then carried onto Aldi, Aldi just a bit further down the road.

By the time we returned to the boat we had been joined by Andy and Sue who had moored just in front.

We had been looking forward to the late afternoon – having made plans to catch up with Leonie and Ray Eddington (previously of nb Firefly(NZ)) and who were both now working in Oxford – we hadn’t seen them for a couple of years and they would be returning to NZ later this year.

The recommended establishment was Bookbinders in Jericho – a pub that we had wanted to visit before.

This is one pub that, if you are in Oxford, you really must visit. Just go for a drink or for some food but enjoy the feel of the place.

We probably were just going to have a drink, but Dot and Gordon had arrived and had taken a table in the eating area, so naturally we all joined and had a great time together.

A return visit was organised for the following Friday to sample the Moules and Frites.

The six of us – Andy, Sue, Dot, Gordon and us had plans for the weekend together and we needed to find some longer moorings than just 48 hours – we had already been “clocked” in the Oxford area, so something further afield was required – suggestion – Thrupp – at least there were plenty of spaces in that area, so Wednesday morning (with very cloudy skies) we headed off – first down Isis Lock, wind, water-up and then back up again.

It wasn’t that long before the light rain started and whilst it did not become torrential it was steady enough that soon we were well wet.

Just 3 locks and the same number of lift bridges plus a few miles and we were there.

FL had arrived first and has secured one of the 7-day moorings; not long after we were also these and managed the mooring next to the last of these, but the boat on the end was only stopping for lunch, so they moved off and we moved in – 2 down, 1 to go.

The boat betweeen us was being readied and we casually asked what their plans were – they were leaving but were very kind and agreed to stay long enough for Ewn Ha Cul to arrived and we secured three 7-day moorings together – how was that for a stroke of luck?

The weekend plans were finalised and we enjoyed the lovely surroundings that are Thrupp – Annie’s tea rooms, where we had a surprise visit from Maffie – seems he finds us wherever we may be – good to see him again; the Boat Inn was invaded to celebrate Gordon’s birthday.

Andy had hired a people mover for the weekend trip and we made use of that with the trip back into Oxford for the meal at Bookbinders – this time there were 8 of us.

The Moules and frites were very good (but only served on Fridays) – poor Andy had to stay sober to get us back, but we managed a pint when we did get back, but generally it was a relatively early night in preparation for the next day.

7 Miles, 6 Locks, 3 Lift Bridges

YTD:  315 Miles (504 km) , 229 Locks, 4 Tunnels, 10 Lift Bridges, 3 Swing Bridges

Total: 4064 Miles (6502 km), 2928 Locks, 116 Tunnels, 55 Lift Bridges, 170 Swing Bridges

To there and back again!!

Sunday 12^th June 2016 – Saturday 18^th June 2016

Sunday, lovely Sunday – the day of rest for all of those working hard – and I have to include myself in that, since I am still in that part of the world.

In addition to that, it is a public holiday in Melbourne on the Monday – making it a long weekend.

Easily able to accept that a bit of cruising on Saturday morning to finally make it onto the Thames and then take it easy for the rest of the weekend – 2 days of peace and quiet, relaxing, taking it easy.

Maybe a little bit cruising, just to move a bit, see something different; do that before the coming rain arrived and then ….RELAX.

How is it that when you look back at the end of the day on exactly what happened, you wonder what happened there? Where did it all change from the plan that you had.

From being quietly moored at Farmoor reservoir, we found ourselves mooring up at Lechlade some 7 ½ hours later.

The reason – we caught up with Sue, Bev, Andy and Roly – a target worth venturing that far.

Back together with the “family” – that length of string gets ravelled in pretty damn quick.

The others had been there for a few days already and visited almost all of the local establishments and also a café or too – they knew intimately all of the ins and outs of each and every pub, so all we needed to do was re-familiarise ourselves from last year and follow along in the wake of the others.

It didn’t take too long and we were in the pub again, regaling over all sorts of stories and happenings.

 

Cheeky girls 

One stroke of luck for Diane was that the farmer had removed the cows from the field the day before we moored up and after our few days there, apparently they were back there again – how unfortunate for Diane that she didn’t get up close to them again.

Roly and Bev had need to be moving back onto the canal system again and the rest of us had no need to stay any longer – not that it would have been a hardship if we had done so, but this group have an affinity to each other and none of us would wish to see any less of each other unless there were overwhelming reasons.

 

...and more cheekiness

ohhh, ain't they all cute?

So off we moved on Wednesday but only as far as Radcot where we moored up opposite the caravan park – the one problem that we have with some of these moorings on the Thames is the prevalence of bloody geese and the shit they behind; so a little massive amount was cleared away allowing us to sit outside and enjoy a bit of the sunshine clouds.

After that we moved again the next day – just to Newbridge – in the hope of finding a pub which would be showing the rugby from Australia and New Zealand.

Perhaps the only entertainment we got was watching poor Roly doing a 180 in the boat after not being able to get his back end in and the current taking it completely around – but he then was moored up very well – sorry Roly but it was a bit funny to see poor Klara heading around – would have been tragic if you hadn’t made that leap to get back on.

Anyway, venturing into each of the two pubs, the guys found that there was simply no TV at all – took a couple of drinks to find that out though.

Back on the boats, it was a story of woe also – no TV signal; no internet and no bloody phone signal – big red cross through Newbridges for us for the future.

We did however enjoy a lovely meal at The Rose Revived Inn – the one over the bridge on the north side of the river.

The next day it was as far as Eynsham where we were able to enjoy a very peaceful few hours outside – Sue and Diane had been busy during the day baking and with master taster Roly at the ready for his expert opinion and also a crate full of beer and cider it was not going to be easy to not enjoy it all.

enjoying the sun and the drink - the food is all gone by this stage

Even the weather came to the fore and later on the local barn owl that patrols the area was swooping its way over the fields on the opposite bank as dusk was approaching – the first time that we have seen anything like this and very grateful to Sue and Andy for their powers of observation.

Sadly, all good things must come to an end and on Saturday morning we bid farewell to Sue and Andy as the four of us headed off, getting water at Eynsham Lock and then working our way through Duke’s Lock (I won’t it mention, again, what I think of the boats moored near there – you can look that up on the previous blog) – at the junction we turned right to Oxford and Roly and Bev turned left to head north – we would be seeing them again and very soon indeed.

Finally, we moored up at Bridge 240 on quite nice mooring, which have been here for some time, but there appears to be a CaRT notice advising that you cannot run engines or generators (AT ALL) – bloody d___ks across the otherside – buy a house on the canal and opposite an established mooring point and complain when the boat engine is run – I really can’t blame them – it’s CaRT and the Council who kowtow to every person who complains about anything – the silent majority will rise one day.

We did however enjoy a peaceful and quiet night!!

I know that I have been a bit slack over the last month and a few people have commented to us on that fact, but I have to say thank to Evelyn (nb Lunas), a fine lady of Scottish heritage and who scared me too much that I dare not get this blog written

46 Miles, 18 Locks, 2 Lift Bridges

YTD:  308 Miles (493 km) , 223 Locks, 4 Tunnels, 7 Lift Bridges, 3 Swing Bridges

Total: 4057 Miles (6491 km), 2922 Locks, 116 Tunnels, 52 Lift Bridges, 170 Swing Bridges