Cruising
Teddington to Brentford
After a pretty poor night’s sleep we were ready to leave Kingston and make our way to Teddington for the final part of our journey on the Thames. The regatta was already underway when we pulled our pins out and then gingerly passed along Kingston Riverside. It took us less than an hour to reach the lock mooring at Teddington where we tied up and began our wait for the high tide at 16:10. We had lunch on board and then walked back into Teddington’s main street where we had wandered the day before. Killing time was akin to waiting for a flight at the end of a foreign holiday. It’s fair to say that we were both a little bit unsure as to what our trip on the tidal section of the river would be like so we were reassured after talking to the crew on a boat also making the trip and who had done so a number of times before.
At 3.30pm we made our way into Teddington lock and were joined by three more narrowboats and three widebeam boats. The tide had raised the river level considerably and as a result our drop was only about two feet. The gates opened, the engines started and we were off! Non boaters won’t realise that it is impossible to know the speed at which a narrowboat is travelling. Normally on a canal, Caxton’s engine is run at about 1500rpm when conditions permit and that seems to propel us at a reasonable speed. On the Thames we have been running at 1500 to 1700 rpm and we still have made little wash in the deeper, wider water. We decided that we should travel at a speed consistent with the other boats that were travelling with us and this turned out to be between 1900 and 2000 rpm. With the flow of the river and the receding tide we still don’t know what our speed was but we made rapid progress and one hour later we reached the turn at Brentford. This turn involves going hard to port through about 120 degrees but with the warning that the corner can’t be cut otherwise there is the risk of grounding and there will always be the pull of the tide to drag the boat off course. We made the turn without incident but in the few moments when we were at right angles to the river flow and just before we became sheltered by the lock entrance, it was a strange sensation to watch Caxton moving forwards and still be pushed sidewards downstream.
A few moments later and we were in the right hand Thames lock which seemed very short after a month using the long locks of the Thames. We passed through very quickly, assisted by the lock keeper and then found ourselves back on what seemed like familiar waters. This was still a river, The Brent, but resembled a canal with its narrow, windy nature. We crawled past a number of houseboats and then reached Brentford gauging locks where again we were helped through by CaRT lock keepers. Shortly after we found a space on the visitor moorings in Brentford dock where we tied up for the night.
Gloriana
A few weeks ago we were lucky enough to see the Queen’s rowing barge, Gloriana which was being taken to Henley for the regatta. We saw her again but tied up as we walked from Kingston to Hampton Court and guessed that she might be making an appearance at the Kingston Regatta. We were right and as a result were able to get a number of photographs and some video of her being propelled by rowers.
Flags flying well.
Gloriana’s cabin.
The Royal crest.
View of the stern.
Crewed Up.
Serious stuff.
Kingston on Thames
On the third day of our stay at Hampton Court we decided to visit Kingston on Thames. The previous two days had been very hot and sunny but despite the fact that this one was heading the same way, we decided to walk to our destination. Kingston turned out to be a revelation, a wonderful riverside town with a vibrant waterfront, a town centre market and a fabulous range of shops. After exploring for a couple of hours we had lunch and did a bit of clothes shopping before walking back to our mooring at Hampton Court. One of the reasons for our visit had been to check out possible moorings in Kingston and to find out more about the regatta which was scheduled for the following day (Saturday). The regatta didn’t look to be anywhere near as big an event as Henley had been but nevertheless we left Kingston with the idea that we would probably struggle to find a mooring the following day.
It was 7.45 when we got up on Saturday and within a few minutes, Caxton was turning around mid stream and heading back to Molesey lock. Locks on the Thames are of course little effort so this trip up and back presented no problem to us but would allow us to refill the water tank and to empty all of our cassettes. After winding above the lock we dropped back down and passed by the mooring that we had been occupying for the previous three days.
This stretch of water is another one which is very busy with trip boats but at this time of the morning we were untroubled by such craft. It didn’t take long until we were on the approach to Kingston and we could see that there would be plenty of space to moor as long as we could manage to hammer our pins into the small space between the concrete edge and the pavement. At the second attempt we managed to find a suitable spot and with a bit of brute force using the sledgehammer, we were sorted. The mooring arrangements here are with the local council and are for 24 hours only but free of charge.
After wandering into town and doing a bit of food shopping, we returned to the boat, had some lunch and then walked to Teddington lock. We wanted to make sure that we knew what to do the following day when we dropped down on to the tidal Thames for our journey to Brentford.
One of the few niggles that we have had about mooring on the Thames is the quality of the mooring places. GRP cruisers are adorned with huge fenders and sit higher in the water than narrowboats and it seems that most moorings are designed for them. Our mooring at Kingston was no exception and it was impossible to protect our boat from the concrete edge. We were pleased to discover that there is a chandlery at Teddington and despite the fact that we had very little time left on the river, we wanted to buy a big fender to improve our mooring both for that night and for in the future.
The Boat shop is a fabulous establishment, a proper boater’s shop. On the canal system we are used to and probably take for granted, the ability to find such places without trouble. On the Thames it is a different story so finding this place seemed like finding an oasis in a desert! We got what we wanted and more. The proprietor is a smashing bloke and a font of knowledge as far as boating, the river and the local area is concerned. More importantly, the prices there are very reasonable, especially for this part of the country. The shop is just over the bridge from the lock and is well worth a visit, they also have an ebay shop (click here) so online shopping is also possible.
We walked back to our mooring along the north bank of the river via Thames Ditton with a slight diversion through Kingston town centre where the annual Youth Arts Festival was in full swing. By the time we had returned, the activities of the regatta had long since ended and the trip boats were all tucked up safely for the night but we positioned our newly purchased fat fender anyway in anticipation of it all kicking off again in the morning.
At 2am Sue was awakened by voices outside, I wasn’t aware until I heard her open the hatch and ask the young people sitting on a nearby bench to either be quiet or move on. They expressed surprise that anyone actually occupied the boats but it still took the threat of a call to the police to make them go away. Unbeknown to us, the occupants of a nearby widebeam, wb Flub, had also been awoken but by the sound of someone on their roof! They did call the police but no officers showed up at all. Fortunately there was no damage to the boat or indeed injury to the crew.
So our experience of Kingston was a bit mixed, the town itself is a great place to visit but it would be better if the police had a bit of a presence along the riverfront after dark.
Hampton Court
Hampton Court Palace had always been on our list of places to visit but we hadn’t realised that the flower show was going to be staged there in the week that we would arrive. Hampton Court flower show is on a similar scale to the Chelsea flower show and attracts thousands of visitors on a daily basis for the week that it is staged. We had pretty much written off any prospect of mooring near the palace by the time we had left Molesey lock after listening to the wise words of the lock keeper but as we passed under the bridge that links East Molesey with the northern bank of the Thames we could see that there might possibly be space on the palace moorings. Sure enough, there was more than enough space for us so we quickly got alongside and tied up. Although run by Historic Royal Palaces, the arrangements are the same as most EA moorings – first day free and then two days at £5 per day (£10 for boats of 60 feet or more). We quickly decided to stay the full three days and figured that £20 wasn’t out of line with what we had been paying in other places. The warden greeted us as we moored and said that he would collect the fee the following day, he didn’t return in all of the time that we were there so our three days were free, gratis and for nothing.
Our first day saw us exploring East Molesey, a lovely little town with many small shops lining two or three main thoroughfares. Most businesses seemed to have displays outside them and we soon discovered that there was a local competition during the flower show for the best “garden”.
On day two we visited Hampton Court Palace and it was excellent! We were advised on entry that there would be a re-enactment taking place and that it would begin in just a few minutes time. This show involved a group of actors telling the story of Henry VIII and Ann Boleyn in the period of time when Henry was desperate for Ann to bear him a son and while he was in the process of being excommunicated by the catholic church. We are very familiar with this period in English history but even for us it was very informative as well as being entertaining.
After we had followed the acting troupe around the palace and their show was over, we explored the buildings and grounds. Despite the fact that the flower show was in full swing, the grounds are so large that visitors to the palace are not disadvantaged by its presence. In addition to visiting all of the formal gardens, no trip to Hampton Court would be complete without going into the maze so of course we did that too. The pictures that follow give some idea of what there is to see at Hampton Court but in all honesty it would be impossible to try and do the place justice with a few snaps.
Walton on Thames
After our two days spent in Laleham we decided to move a bit further downstream, so we were up and about reasonably early again. We did think that we might get tied up somewhere around Shepperton or Walton on Thames but unfortunately we couldn’t find anywhere suitable to moor. We drifted on and just as we were thinking that Sunbury on Thames might be the place, we spied a 24 hour mooring near the Weir. The Weir being a small hotel situated opposite, funnily enough, a weir. We soon got Caxton secured to the bank and walked back the mile and a bit back into Walton on Thames. Walton was alright, a modern town centre with all of the usual shops. Nothing fantastic but alright. After a short trip around Sainsbury’s, we walked back along the Thames path and returned to our mooring. The pub garden was quite busy but the advantage of being directly outside meant being able to buy a drink and then enjoy it on the front deck sitting on a comfortable seat!
Laleham & Staines
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).
Runnymede
After leaving Windsor, we made our way to Runnymede. The river skirts around the Royal estate at Windsor, passes by Old Windsor and then gets to Runnymede. In the two days that we spent at Runnymede, we did so on an ideal mooring – ideal from the point of view that it was exactly the right length and at the right height for us to step on to the bank – we visited all the memorials there and also went to the royal estate farm shop. The latter was a bit of a disappointment really. We had expected that it would be selling produce from the crown estate but in reality it was selling nothing that couldn’t be bought in any independent fruiterers. We didn’t buy much but one of our purchases was supposedly a dozen free range eggs. As eggs go they were no better than a basic supermarket offering, pale yolks and a bland taste.
The real attraction of Runnymede is that it has a number of memorials. One dedicated to President John F Kennedy which stands in an acre of land which has been gifted to the American people. There is the memorial to the 20,000 airmen and women who died during WW2 and whose bodies were never recovered for one reason or another. Of course Runnymede is most famous for being the place where the Magna Carta was signed and there is a memorial there to commemorate that event. The memorial was actually paid for by the American Bar Association because the Magna Carta is the foundation of the American Constitution and as such it means more to the American people than it probably does to the citizens of the United Kingdom. Interestingly enough, despite the fact that many nations have constitutions which are based on the principles laid down in the Magna Carta more than 800 years ago, the UK has no written constitution!
Here are the pictures.
Fifty steps, representing the fifty states of the US lead up to the JFK memorial.
JFK Memorial.
An example of the lists of missing airmen from WW2.
US memorial to the signing of the Magna Carta in 1215.
The Jurors, modern art representing the principles at the heart of the Magna Carta.
The Jurors
The City of London away in the distance.
Windsor Castle from the top of the memorial.
Dopplegänger
A doppelgänger is a look-alike or double of a living person, sometimes portrayed as a paranormal phenomenon, and is usually seen as a harbinger of bad luck. In other traditions and stories, they recognize one’s ‘double-goer’ as an evil twin. Doppelgänger is a German word. In modern times, the term twin stranger is occasionally used.
The word “doppelgänger” is often used in a more general sense to describe any person who physically or behaviorally resembles another person.
I once knew somebody who claimed to have met his doppelgänger by chance in a pub. I asked him how he felt about it and he said that it was exciting, it fact he had been beside himself all evening!
Caxton has a doppelgänger and it arrived in Windsor a few hours after we did. “Eclipse No.2” is a Hudson boat by the look of it and although the shells are different, the paint schemes are so similar it’s uncanny.
Caxton looking resplendent after a bit of a makeover.
The doppelgänger!
Windsor & Eton
Not only had the heavy rain persisted all afternoon and evening, it was forecast to continue until mid afternoon the following day. With that in mind, we figured that we would be staying put another day and perhaps venturing out in the late afternoon. When we awoke the next morning, the rain had passed over and the forecast had been modified to reflect this so we got up and moved on.
It was a dull day and a little cool as a result but we were only intending to travel for a couple of hours, hopefully getting a mooring in or around Windsor. Everything went to plan and we found some space on an island near the railway bridge which carries the line into the central station. It is only a short walk from there to what is probably classed as the main commercial area of Windsor and when we got there it was absolutely heaving with tourists. We had been going to visit the castle but decided that we would leave it until the following morning when it would hopefully be a bit quieter. The road that wraps around the town side of the castle is full of pubs, restaurants and shops selling tat to the foreign tourists. The railway station must have been a grand affair when it was originally built but today most of the concourse has been converted into an area with more restaurants and shops although in fairness, it’s all a bit more upmarket than the main street and it looks pretty good.
Later in the day we walked over the bridge, into Eton and along the main street toward the famous school. It was tea time and consequently the street was becoming busy with the boys emerging from their classrooms. All wore uniform of course, some in blazers and the rest in tail coats. Having done our little bit of sightseeing we returned to the boat and had dinner.
Our mooring was against a bank which was a little higher than the gunwales of Caxton so the fenders had been carefully placed to make use of some wooden uprights below. The ropes were tight so we hoped that we could withstand a bit of movement as other boats passed by. This turned out to be a forlorn hope! Boats on the Thames never slow past moored boats and that’s fine because the water is wider and deeper than that of the canals. Trip boats seem to be exempt from the 5mph speed limit and with the amount of water that they move, it wasn’t long before the fenders had been pulled out of position and we were being banged against the wooden side. When I mentioned the speed to the mooring warden, he acknowledged that there was a problem and he blamed it on the fact that the trip companies were employing young people to captain their boats. Eventually the trip boats stopped running for the day and we were able to settle down for the evening, the peace only being interrupted by the aircraft taking off from Heathrow, luckily there are only two of them every minute! The trains were noisy but there are only two of them every hour so not too bad. Just to complete the noisy and bumpy picture, the parkland island mooring is the overnight resting place for geese and Canada geese, well until 4.30am when they wake up and make a racket that sounds like a pack of dogs barking. They only quieten down when they jump into the water and that makes waves so the boat starts banging again.
On our second morning we got up and made our way to the castle for opening time at 9.30. We were a little taken aback when we saw that there were hundreds of other visitors all with the same idea of beating the crowds.
Tourists milling around outside the castle walls.
Well we stood in line, paid our money and spent the next couple of hours touring the castle and I’m happy to report that it was well worth the visit. The standard of workmanship throughout is excellent and the quality of the items on display is the highest to be found. It’s all very well organised but they have to be to cope with the vast number of visitors who attend each day. We took pictures of the outside of the buildings but there is no photography allowed in the state rooms or St George’s chapel.
After our visit we did a bit of supermarket shopping before returning to our mooring where we sat out another afternoon on the noisy, bumpy mooring.
Cookham & Maidenhead
All good things must come to an end and for us that meant us ending our stay in Marlow on Tuesday morning. We untied just before ten and pushed the bow out into the stream before executing a U-turn and continuing our journey downstream. A few minutes later and we reached Marlow lock where there was already a large cruiser descending. Three more cruisers were waiting to come up and by the time we were ready to go in, we had been joined by two more narrowboats. Once clear of the lock, we led the procession until we reached Cookham a little over an hour later. We were surprised to find rings on the bank when we tied up between two wide beam boats.
A few minutes later and Sue spotted this vessel passing, no photos because as it passed us, a cruiser stopped to ask about the mooring fees and completely blocked the view.
We of course wanted to explore the village but I also wanted to buy a new power supply for our mobile broadband router which had failed earlier in the morning. It’s a bit frustrating really because I have two or three at home that would have done the job but no spares on board. After checking train times we walked to Cookham and then on through to the station and caught a train to Maidenhead where there is a branch of Maplin.
Cookham is very picturesque and there seems to be an abundance of pubs but on this occasion, we did no research and passed them all by. Maidenhead was less inspiring, nothing really bad but after spending time in places like Abingdon and Marlow, the bar has been set pretty high! Anyway, our mission was successful and Maplin provided us with the necessary bit of kit. We did take time to wander around the town centre but other than a clock tower near the railway station, there wasn’t much to hold our interest. On returning to the station, we could see that the platforms were full of schoolchildren making their way home. We shared the carriage with about a dozen of them and what a racket they made! We were so glad when the eight minute journey back to Cookham was over and we got back to some peace and quiet. There were a few raindrops in the air as we walked back and we knew that rain had been forecast so we didn’t dally in the village except for a few minutes in the church. Our timing was good because we had only been back on board a few minutes when the light drizzle became heavier and heavier.