It was yet another beautiful sunny morning when we got up and prepared to leave our Runnymede mooring. We didn’t have any particular destination in mind when we set off as we had no particular needs to meet. We passed through Staines or Staines upon Thames as it is now known and shortly after found a good mooring on the edge of Laleham. After taking a short walk into the village we decided to walk back along the Thames path into Staines. For people of a certain age, Staines is synonymous with “Ali G” and the “Staines Massive”. This notoriety is apparently why the town changed its name and rebranded itself in 2012. Staines upon Thames is actually quite a nice place to visit, there are many shops and restaurants all within a very small, central area. We walked there and back and then visited the Three Horseshoes in Laleham before retiring for the evening. On our second day in Laleham we again walked to Staines, this time with some shopping bags ready for a bit of a big grocery shop at Waitrose in mind. We did that, caught the bus back to Laleham and then walked in the other direction to Chertsey lock.

Our final verdict? Laleham is a good place to stop, good mooring in a quiet location with a decent local shop and pub. Easy to walk or to get the bus to Staines (upon Thames).