Adventure holiday over

Well it is sad, but our holiday cruise up the Thames River is now over! We were lucky to have such absolutely  stunning weather for the last few days. The cruise down from Henley was really nice. Apart from a eight manned rowing boat trying to place them selves directly under our bow with little warning, all was pretty relaxed and very enjoyable. We then had a pleasant two night stay at the Islands in Cliveden Reach which we both love. Kate's parents joined us for a trip to the gardens and stayed for dinner and a fire. Today we cruised the last leg back to Staines and again the weather was stunning. Bare footed with only shirt and shorts on all day I believe this was the warmest day so far for me.  We are about to have fish pie with Kate's parents tonight. Tomorrow we are going to a car boot sale before we pack the car and head back to Devon and the real world.

Sunset over the River Thames at Henley

I think I could easily retire early and spend the rest of my life cruising the inland waterways of Europe on a gorgeous Dutch Barge.

Breakfast at the Islands

A Heron and the closest I have ever been to one. This one was focused on the carp at the Cliveden house water gardens

Me in my favourite helming position

Friends of ours own this wonderful big barge
 

The most relaxing holiday ever

we woke up on the 9th day of our holiday feeling good. We cast off and started to turn around on our rope under engine power. The turn went well and we were off heading down stream when we realised the end of the rope was around the prop. We are not sure how this happened as we thought we had pulled it all in, we even took her out of gear whilst the line was close to the prop. Well I was very keen to chuck out the mud weight to slow us down, but Kate said to first try going astern a little to try and throw the line off. It worked and was no hassle at all in the end. A good nice and easy learning experience.

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The weather finally seamed to improve today and we were able to enjoy some sunshine without a cold breeze associated with it. Nothing went wrong and every close manoeuvre was slow and smooth. We especially liked Shiplake Lock and it is probably our favourite lock.

Shiplake Lock layby

Shiplake Lock our favourite

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I think this is my most relaxing holiday ever and Kate and I will both miss this little boat so much when she is sold.

Starting to cruise down stream

Well we had a lazy Sunday morning as you should, then cruised down river to the lovely Abingdon town. We had planned to stay in Abingdon for two nights because we like the moorings there and we really like the town. I managed to get a bit more work done and Kate checked out all the shops. The weather was windy and rainy on Monday so it was a good decision to stay.

Today we left Abingdon  mid morning and started our cruise down river. I am sorry but I do not have many photos again today. I really enjoyed just chugging along down the river. To speed things up a little at the self service locks, Kate worked the locks as I helmed Aukje in and out of the them. She is such a lovely barge to handle once you get the hang of her.

We are now moored up alongside a green grassing field close to Pangbourne which is a very little village. We are planning to moor in Henley tomorrow.

We made it to Oxford

Well, yesterday was a big day. It started off with a morning in the lovely Abingdon town, wandering around. We found a little market beside a very old town square building. 

We started cruising upstream before lunch and planned on stopping in Oxford for the night. Once again the scenery was absolutely stunning. I did not take many photos today, I just tried to enjoy it all. 

We were making good progress and heading into Oxford centre when a bridge appeared in front of us. We slowed down straight away as it looked like it would be a tight squeeze to get through. We instantly doubted our position as we thought there would not be any low, narrow bridge arches until after the next lock. It turns out that Folly Bridge is one of the lowest bridges on the non-tidal Thames and has a turn just before it. Well, it was a little tricky getting through and we ended up having only one foot clearance. Going really slowly under the bridge we then came to a sharp turn with a split in the river. The flow was divided and we turned upstream without any problems. 

The river then became much narrower and windier. We were a little worried that there might be something coming downstream and it wouldn't be able to stop. I also hit a big overhanging branch with the mast around one bend. We thought that maybe we should not be coming up this far. We soon arrived at Osney Lock just before Osney Bridge which is the lowest on the river. We did not want to go any further than this bridge as one lock keeper warned us that it gets very shallow and it would be difficult for us to turn around. Kate scouted out ahead of the lock as I got some local knowledge from a very friendly charter boat skipper. We did not like the mooring and decided to go downstream and tackle Folly Bridge today so as not to worry about having to navigate it tomorrow.

This is folly Bridge viewed from upstream. I took this photo on the way upstream.

We turned around and headed back the way we had come. As we approached the bridge I knew what had to be done. I had to do three difficult manurers in quick succession: a sharp left hand turn, followed by lining up for the small centre arch, then a sharp right hand turn.

I misjudged the first turn and could not line up for the bridge in time. I abandoned the attempt and put her into reverse. The Second attempt worked  much better. I struggled a little to get her lined up and then we discovered that a big trip boat was moored just behind the bridge making our sharp turn after the bridge much more difficult. We got through the bridge and I put the tiller hard over and into the turn we went, hoping that there were no boats coming upstream. As we came around the corner and swung wide there was a bunch of canoes just waiting there. As we came around the corner clear of the canoes, the mast went through another massive unavoidable overhanging branch. Loads of people enjoyed this bridge navigation, especially those at the very busy pub just downstream.

I am working on a traditional decorative piece called a Click. It goes on the tiller above the rudder.
 

We continued downstream a couple of locks and found a quiet mooring under a huge oak tree and next to a lovely old pub.