Monday 29th
August to Tuesday 30th August 2016
Having decided earlier this year that we would spend another
year in/around/near London and in particular cruising more of the Thames it had
made sense to do it properly – hence we (meaning me) had done the VHF Operators
course and we had purchased a VHF radio (Receiver/transmitter) and now we had
booked our passage to leave Limehouse and go all the way to Teddington.
We were due out at 8:45am – Diane had wanted an early
morning cruise – this was as early as we could get at this time – her reasoning
was that there would be far less river traffic if the tourists weren’t awake
yet.
Also in our favour were the light to very light winds
forecast for the morning.
So after seeing two other boats head out at 8:00 am bound
for Brentford, we did the final part of the preparation – start the engine and
cast off – into the lock we went, following Dutch Barge Dorchester.
Final instructions from the lockkeeper; lower the water
level; and open the gates.
ready in the lock... |
...gates open... |
..off we go |
We had done this voyage last year and whilst we enjoyed it
we didn’t get to appreciate it all, so now we were definitely ready to do just
that.
Heading out was less rocky: the river was dead flat; Diane
had done her research and there were no other craft about.
We had a chance to enjoy – not even the appearance of a tug
dragging a barge of empty containers or the clipper close behind upset the
equilibrium – they were about the only craft we saw for the first hour of the
journey.
I never tire of seeing my lovely wife |
Some London landmarks - this one unfortunately isn't finished yet - still the top to go... |
...and the curved one - I think it is called The Penis |
Tower Bridge |
The toll office for Tower Bridge - oops, no, this is the Tower of London |
The air was clear and cool; the sun was now up but not too
high; the whole experience was totally different; were we enjoying it –
absolutely.
We had the chance to just relax and see everything around
us.
This used to be Boris' office - now it is Sadiq Khan's - the Lord Mayor of London |
(courtesy of Dot Campbell) |
(courtesy of Dot Campbell) |
and there she is - that is Gordon on the left and Dot on the right (she is a bit camera shy) |
Diane took her turn at the tiller; no problems or worries
for her – she is such a good boatperson and now able to do it all.
up closer |
Approaching Brentford channel we could see things we hadn’t
seen before, and then the journey to Teddington was relatively uneventful –
that is if you discount the canoeists who wanted to take up half of the river
(just needed to let them know we were coming); the family in the row-boat who
were seemingly using it like a 12m yacht and changing course at each stroke;
finally the large cruiser who decided that they wanted desperately to pass and
did so in a narrow section with a trip boat coming the other way (damned
fools), cutting in just in front to avoid a collision – we could see what was
going to happen and knew we were in no danger at all – it just shows that there
are still those out there who have no idea about using the waterways with
others in mind.
Anyway we arrived at Teddington, last in line of the
flotilla of boats, so we waited to the lock to re-empty and then we were
through.
Have to say that the idea of not speeding and creating a
wash in the lock cutting seems to have been forgotten by all of the cruisers who
came out of the lock with us – we knew that they were all speeding to get to Kingston and beyond and
find suitable mooring spots.
We were steadily moving – no point in rushing – finally
making it to Kingston and yes, the cruisers were
all vying for some choice locations that were empty; we couldn’t do anything
about it – we headed towards the moorings for Hampton Court Park in Kingston .
There was one space that we could see, but from where we
were it looked too small – funnily it got bigger as we got closer – Diane was
on the bow and I on the stern checking it out, slowly inching forward – the
stern cleared the boat behind before the bow reached the one in front – in we
went with a few feet spare at each end – luvvly jubbly.
All moored up and settled; a few minutes later a narrowboat
approached from upstream looking for a mooring but there were none left.
Diane, knowing it was Monday, suggested a lunch at The Slug
and Lettice (this was a 50% off food establishment), so we enjoyed a relaxing
repast.
Back to boat – I still had work to do – Diane had a chair to
hold down and papers to read (oh and she also had some relaxing to do).
We didn’t achieve much later in the evening and I headed off
to bed about 10pm, leaving Diane to look after some recording on the television
– I was knackered – we had done 22 miles today and coupled with the long day on
Sunday, it had caught up – didn’t let the head hit the pillow.
Tuesday morning and Diane informed me that Sue and Vic (No
Problem XL) were moored just at the end of the line of boats where we were – we
had not seen them, but then we hadn’t ventured that way; Sue had told Diane
that when she walked the dogs, she had not seen us when she passed by (easy to
explain that one – the height of the vegetation on the lower bank actually hid
the boat from view).
Anyway we caught up for a cuppa mid-morning and had a good
chat about any number of things –it was just on 8 weeks since we had last seen
them.
It was much of the usual things that we talked about; Diane
took Sue off to see the inside of Ferndale
– Sue hadn’t seen it since we had bought it from Dot and Derek, so a few changes
to have a look at.
Vic and I just left them to have a look – we looked after
the chairs.
The two girls exchanged some things between the boats – a
magazine rack came our way and a crotched blanket for the bed and some hand
towels found a new home on No Problem XL – things that we would have had to
leave on the boat at some time in the future when we decide to sell her.
After more than a couple of hours it all of a sudden was
lunch time – Sue and Vic needed to get ready to leave for their trip from Teddington
down to Brentford; Diane wanted to see the inside of the Chinese restaurant
again. So we said goodbye, we headed back to head out again.
After lunch it was back to the boat – me to work and Diane
to read the papers – there seems to be a pattern developing here – it ain’t
gonna happen for a third day (or will it?).
22 Miles, 2 Locks
YTD: 552
Miles (888 km) , 340 Locks, 4 Tunnels, 14 Lift
Bridges , 3 Swing Bridges
Total: 4347 Miles (6996 km), 3039 Locks, 116 Tunnels, 59 Lift Bridges ,
170 Swing Bridges