A lot to catch up on ... where was I?
Wednesday (16th May) still moored at Dorney just upstream of Windsor and we're ready to move on; places to go, people to see.
Penny doesn't want her 'stick throwing friend' to leave as we wave cheerio to Sue and Vic. They will follow us soon.
Although the day was bright enough there was a rather chilly wind and we gradually put on extra layers as we cruised the Thames; in places it was a bit like being in a wind tunnel as we retrace our steps upstream
An airbnb, you could stay in this lovely house for £600 per night, it sleeps up to 7 adults.
The hawthorn blossom is exceptional this year and smells wonderful!
Work on the Monkey Island hotel is still not complete, it was originally going to open in late 2017 and delayed to summer 2018, but there's still a lot of work to do both outside and in ... watch this space!
We've three locks to do today. Bray is the first and there's a lock keeper on duty so my job here is to hold the bow rope as we rise.
These two boats must have come adrift during high water and are now stuck firmly in the weir. Check out the name of the white one ... it certainly has!
We've seen this flat a few times now in the area removing debris from the Thames
Cruising through Bray
... and Maidenhead. We've let the work flat go ahead of us.
From this in June 2016 .. to this today at Taplow Riverside as we approach Boulters Lock
Roux at Skindles due to open this Autumn
I was pleased to see that the house to the left of the town houses has been renovated keeping its original design.
I'm not so keen on the huge blocks going up a few hundred yards further up river on the same development though
Boulters Lock is deep and the work flat is already inside, you can see Still Rockin's bow rope is up over the bollard at the top of the lock wall. Nice story ... there was a very young boy with his mum watching what was going on in the lock and asking lots of questions. He saw the big bucket on the flat and was fascinated. The operator of the machine asked if he wanted to see how it worked and of course the boy said 'yes!' Duly switched on the grabber was raised, swung and lowered and the young boy's face was a delight to see.
The lock-full of boats very slowly exit the lock cut carefully navigating past the hire boat on the 'no mooring'
Mallard ducklings - cute!
Cruising through Cliveden Reach
New sculptures have arrived at Cliveden House, but I'm really not sure what this one is ... a dog, a bear, or George suggested a tortoise rising up on its front legs ... any more suggestions?
Police at Cliveden ... what's going on here then? We now know of course that Meghan and her mum were staying here prior to Meghan and Harry's wedding on Saturday.
A short distance on we came to the last lock today at Cookham ...
and whilst we waited for the lock to be ready for us
I walked over to the weir stream and saw this building across the river. It looks very much like the National Trust properties along the bank below Cliveden House and looks like it would be rather dark inside.
Out of the lock cut we turned right and went under the bridge from where we could see a space just big enough for us on Cookham visitor moorings. This will do us for a few nights.
It’s lovely to travel with you, Carol. I like your before and after photos too. There’s always something going on on the river, isn’t there? Shame about those boats on the weir! Such a lot of damage. How would they get them off there?
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comment Val, as you say there's always something going on on the River Thames even though this is the third consecutive summer we've been cruising it. I've absolutely no idea how they will get those boats off there, I'm glad it's not my job!
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