THE TERRIFIC THAMES TAKE 2

Henley on Thames

So, we are back on the Thames and heading for London, we have a weeks license and will make the most of it, visiting places we didn’t visit on our last cruise in 2015.

Our first port of call was Henley on Thames, its a very boaty place famous for its regatta.

I love the locks on the Thames because they are huge, and usually have look keepers on to operate them for you. My job in these locks is to hold the bow of the boat steady, using our bow line round a bollard. If there is no lock keeper then everything is done with the push of a button.

It is also the home of the big yogurt pots, or as we call them the Gin Palaces. Small motor boats are very popular, as are the beautiful wooden Edwardian launchers. It’s a right mixture you could say.

As we came into moor at Henley a huge trip boat called the New Orleans passed by, and I could hear the commentary, looked up see of all people Brian Blessed doing the honours. The boat is owned and run by Hobbs of Henley, and for £50 per person you can cruise with this British icon of stage, screen and TV for 90mins.

https://www.hobbsofhenley.com/overboard-with-brian-blessed

The Thames is run by the Environment Agency, and unlike CRT run waters were you can moor for free, you tend to have to pay for mooring on the Thames, and at Henley it cost us £12 for the night.

But it was worth it. We took a walk into the town which is very pretty with plenty of shops, restaurants and pubs. Of course we had to try a couple of the pubs. The Argyll first, a quaint pub with a lovely outside area at the back. No dark ales, but the Captain found a ruby ale which wasn’t bad. Then the Three Tuns, a tiny quirky place, no darks but a drinkable bitter this time. Lastly The Catherine Wheel, the local Wetherspoons, a huge place with the usual Wetherspoon offerings.

A damp start next day as we headed to Marlow, a trip of 8 miles and 4 big locks, all manned. The houses that line the river are huge and impressive, and its very much a case of ‘who lives in a house like this’.

At Marlow we managed to just fit in the last spot, although we had been offered the chance to brest up with NB Comfortably Numb if there wasn’t room, many thanks to its Captain and crew.

We walked over the bridge and into Marlow and decided to give a couple of the pubs a try, well you know us. Firstly Two Brewers, not a lot of choice for the Captain so just a half in there, then The Crafty Tap, expensive but at least a stout for the Captain. Finally The Brewery Tap, a proper sports bar full of people watching Man United v Arsenal, so very lively, but the beer choice again not great for the Captain, he is a fussy bugger at times.

Next day after I struggled with one of the few locks I have had to do myself on the river, we found a great wild mooring spot for the night. But we had some bad news about our stove, the company who the Captain had contacted to have it refurbished, came back with a quote for around £600, which is cheaper than a new one, however when the Captain contacted them to organise pick up and drop off, he was told that it would take at least 3 weeks, that’s no good to us while we are on the move, so back to the drawing board. We need to get something sorted before the cold weather sets in.

The rain has plagued us most of the week, the next day was an early start as very heavy storms were forecast just after lunch. We cruised through Windsor and Eton, past the magnificent Windsor Castle and Eton College. We also passed Bray Studios were such films as The Rocky Horror and Alien were made.

https://www.braystudios.com/

We made it to Staines just as the rain started and found excellent free moorings next to a real ale pub, bonus.

Of course we had to try the pub, The Last Hop owned by the Thames Side Brewery, it is a lovely airy place with a great selection of beer and a music venue at weekends

http://lasthop.co.uk/

There is also a Lidl with in walking distance of the moorings. Unfortunately didn’t look round the town due to…. Yes the rain.

The rain has been the bane of our life this week. We got to Hampton Court just before it started and had intended to visit this historical place, but the rain (there's that word again) and the cost put us off. But we found great moorings which were free for 24hrs.

The final leg of our journey was a short hop to Teddington, but this time to rain caught us out and we moored in a downpour.

We were booked to go out onto the tidal Thames the following afternoon, so after drying out we headed for the pub, The Tide End Cottage. We had been here 4yrs ago and had enjoyed a good meal so we decided to try it again. However it wasn’t the best experience for me, although the Captains fish and chips were amazing. I ordered a pulled lamb hot pot, but when it came out it was just a dish of gravy with potatoes on the top, I found 2 pieces of meat but they were mostly gristle. So I complained and asked for the rump steak instead. This took a good 15mins to come, by which time the Captain had finished his meal. It was just a disaster for me. They charged me for the hotpot which was a couple of quid cheaper, but that was it. Such a shame, I had really been looking forward to the meal.

It was while in the pub we heard the sad news of the passing of our Queen, Elizabeth II. In a way I think we had been expecting it, but it didn’t make the news any less poignant.

Our trip on the tidal Thames was uneventful. We were joined by 2 other narrowboats for the journey. However disaster struck when we got to Brentford and joined the Grand Union canal for our journey into London. The lock keeper informed us that the Hanwell flight of locks were closed due to an issue with a paddle on one of the locks. So now we are stuck at Brentford, not knowing when this will be repaired and the locks reopened. It has been a year for hold ups.

On a lighter note, we have seen some lovely birds on our journey on the Thames, including the beautiful but noisy Ring Necked Parakeets, the colourful Jay and one of my favourite water birds the Great Crested Grebe. As well as kingfishers, herons, coots, Egyptian geese and the ever present swans and mallards.

Great Crested Grebe