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Time to Turn
Posted on: Thursday September 23, 2021 at: 5:34 pm
We spent last weekend at Lechlade, a gorgeous spot at the top end of the navigable, non-tidal Thames.
Helen enjoying the sun
This is where we had the curious cows that I previously posted about.
Turning point
It was time to turn around to head back down the river to Oxford to join the Oxford canal and head North, back towards Droitwich again. This is the final turning point on the river.
Shallow water
If you look at this picture, you can see it is very shallow on the right side, which made it rather challenging to turn a 58ft boat.
About to turn
This is the view from the boat as we were starting to make the turn.
This means we have now travelled the full length of the Thames. We were at Teddington Lock, the lowest end of the non-tidal river, two weeks ago. It has been challenging at times, as rivers generally are, because of the lack of moorings. There are many cruisers about and a lot of hire boats, which makes the shortage of moorings a major issue. Fortunately, the Upper Thames (above Oxford) is very much quieter and is also rather lovely, with several field moorings like the one at Lechlade. We have stopped, and lingered, at some truly beautiful spots. As ever, click on the images for a bigger view.
Tight spot
Posted on: Sunday August 29, 2021 at: 2:16 pm
We have been quiet for a while, due to an admin problem which has, fortunately, now been sorted.
A couple of weeks ago, we were in Bristol Harbour and upon returning to the mooring we had been using, outside the Arnolfini, we discovered it had been occupied by several large cruisers. So, we had to go looking for another place to moor.
There is a small bay in the harbour called “Brunel Quay” and we spotted a gap between a cruiser and a sailing yacht. “Just right for us” we thought and in we went – much to the trepidation of the other boat crews. However, we slipped into the space without touching either of the boats and fitted perfectly, with no room to spare. Do we know our boat or what?
Tight fit
Close
Bow
Stern
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Cruising through all weathers
Posted on: Tuesday May 22, 2018 at: 7:04 pm
Haven’t we been having some beautiful weather recently? In fact, it is the first really sunny, warm weather we have had as we were away last year when summer happened – early. However, it was proceeded by some very gusty spells.
Blue mat on stern deck
This is a picture of the matting we have on our stern deck:
Interlocking, blue sections. Highly expensive they were supplied by Aldi (or it may have been Lidl) at great cost of about £7. However, it is quite light and recently we have twice discovered bits missing (the middle bit the first time and the right hand bit the second). A nuisance, but not exactly a disaster. However, on both occasions we found the missing bits – in the first case a mile down the canal and after a lock, in the second jammed against another boat near the top of a lock. Now we take it in if it is getting a bit windy.
On the subject of being windy, we are currently on what is called the “Middle Levels Navigation”. It is a passage through the fens of Cambridgeshire and Norfolk and is rather flat. It is also rather exposed and it quickly becomes obvious why there are so many wind turbines here.
Moored to a tree
The mooring we are currently on – you can see it on the left photo – was marked on our maps as a typical 36 hour mooring and was located ideally for us to make a quick run to the locks that will take us through onto the tidal Great Ouse and then onto the non-tidal Great Ouse tomorrow. In fact, there are no other options after this. So, when we got here and saw the mooring it was rather – disappointing. It is rather old and rickety. Not only that, but there are no rings, bollards or cleats to tie onto. Add to that the fierce side wind (maybe a gale) from the left and we were faced with quite a challenge. It was the toughest mooring we have ever faced. I managed to get Helen onto the deck, but with nothing to tie onto, we had to improvise quickly. Fortunately there are a couple of benches hidden in the long grass and she was able to get the rope around one of these and hang on tightly (her hands were a bit sore afterwards). That enabled me to eventually bring the stern in and tie off to another bench. We moved the bow line to tie onto a nearby tree and the centre line to a signpost and are now safely secured – we hope. However, we are bouncing about rather a lot.
Brandy Pad and Copperkins at Braunston
Recently, we had the pleasure of meeting up with our friends Rob and Susan on their narrowboat “Copperkins ll”. It was Rob and Susan that invited us to stay on their boat with them over New Year several times and that educated us about what to expect in the winter. Valuable experience that has served us well.
Lastly, a few photos from the last few days of sunshine on the River Nene. Click on them (and any of the others) for a bigger version:
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