Off the Wey but Molly has problems

 Leaving the visitor moorings at Pyrford just before 8 o’clock on Saturday morning

 ... when we soon came across National Trust equipment which has obviously been used to back-fill to maintain the river banks - this is probably the site that the tug and flat we saw yesterday had been working all week.

These beautiful reeds swayed in the slight breeze, a lovely sight

Molly isn’t feeling quite herself today and wanted to be off the boat so I walked for a while, if I’d more time I would have loved to explore what’s at the end of this bridge and pathway

We walked to New Haw Lock and waited

… for George to bring Still Rockin’ in

We can see that Coxes Lock is open and read for us to go straight in

Alexander Raby Mill, Daniel Lambert Mill and John Bunn Mill were a mixture of industrial mill/foundry as well as accommodation for 207 years. They were commercially operated until 1983

The large Mill Pond at the lock helps to control the water depth 

… which falls 8’6” into the river but would originally have turned the mill’s waterwheel. For more information re Coxes Mill and lock click here

After all the rain of the past few days the current from the mill stream was fierce!  It caught us in its clutches and it was a hell of a job to get out of it and we could see a boat coming from the other side of the bridge! 

The steerer sounded his horn but there was nowhere we could go and we hoped against hope that he would stay where he was.  George slamed the propellor into reverse and used the bow thruster to get us into the towpath side and thank goodness the oncoming boat stayed where it was!

We were amazed to see who’s boat it was - Ray (Oakie) on nb Stronghold! He told us that for just a moment he thought that we were a narrowboat and was actually going to come through the bridge at the same time as us - I’m so glad he realised when he did, it could have been a very nasty accident!

The next lock is Weybridge Town Lock which has a very awkward bend on the other side of the bridge

… that’s the bridge we need to navigate

… and that’s the bridge we’ve just come through

… passing the lock landing where boats wait for the lock to be ready going upstream and the bow is still coming round to make the bridge

There are some amazing properties on this reach

More properties but of a very different kind at Bull Dogs Island as we approach Thames Lock which will take us back onto the river Thames just 3 hours after pulling the pins at Pyrford.

We moored up on the visitor moorings at Weighbridge and it was like the grand-prix outside, the hot sunshine had brought out every man and his boat and they were all dashing up and down past the moorings.

As it cooled down around 6pm it also calmed down outside and as I looked out at the scene this is what I saw ...

Magic!

(written Sunday, posted to blog Monday)

As I mentioned earlier Molly had not been herself, she was very unsettled indeed, rubbing her eyes, scratching her face, licking her lips and wanting to be up, down, in, out but not still at all.

She woke us up this morning at 4-am and George took her out, she did her business but was also sick a couple of times and this continued all morning, all she wanted to do was to be out and graze on the grass.  I wasn’t quick enough at one point to get her off the boat and she was sick on the deck and I noticed a trace of blood in it so it was time to get in touch with the vet.

We’ve used the vet here at Shepperton before but today they could only see us at Teddington which was too far.  We managed to get an emergency appointment with a vet a few miles away at Hersham but after ringing 10 taxi companies we couldn’t get one which would take a dog! We rang the vet and she said that she’d come and collect us (as she couldn’t get the animal ambulance to start!). 

She’s had x-rays and a blood test and George waited for the results as they wanted to rule out pancreatitis, but unfortunately the vet couldn’t and Molly has been kept at the vet hospital on a saline drip to rehydrate her.  They will have to keep her sedated at she suffers badly from separation anxiety.  The vet will call us tomorrow and let us know how she is and when we can collect her.  

Pancreatitis can be caused by fatty foods (of the human kind) especially sausage and we thought about the leftover bbq sausages she’s shared over the past couple of weeks.  From now on her diet will be plain and simple dog food, no human treats and no gravy either.  I do hope she’s alright it feels horrible here without her.

{Edit/update} Monday morning 8:30 - just received a call from the vet - Molly is much brighter this morning and has been rushing around the garden there.  She has to have more medication today to stop the sickness but we can collect her after 2:30 today with meds etc., I am sooooo relieved!