Lunch Engagement

It was a 9.00am departure this morning with a short cruise up to Staines-upon-Thames where we had a luncheon engagement with a long standing family friend of Jan’s. The question was whether we would be able to moor outside The Swan Hotel where we had booked a table. When I phoned they would take a booking for the lunch, but not for the mooring.

The Swan Hotel

We reached the moorings at 9.30am and found them vacant.  There was time for morning tea before our friend, Hilda arrived.  She has lived nearby for most of her adult life and was a good friend of Jan’s grandparents.  We chatted aboard Waiouru for an hour before heading to the hotel for a leisurely lunch. 

During our lunch a launch arrived decked with white ribbons.  The ladies then noticed a bride was waiting at the mooring.  Boats were shuffled around to allow the bride to board the launch before being whisked away.

The unanswered question was…. Is she heading to the wedding or escaping from the groom?

After our enjoyable lunch we wandered back down the steps to the boat where Hilda had her photo taken beside Waiouru.

Whilst we prepared Waiouru for cruising Hilda headed back to the Staines bus station stopping to take a photo of us from the town bridge.

On the opposite bank is a statue of the Swan Master.  The statue actually depicts The Queen’s Marker of Swans.  Every year the Royal Swan Upping occurs.  The Royal Swan Uppers wear the scarlet uniform of the Queen and traditionally use row boats to check the condition of all the swans and cygnets on the Thames.  The swans all belong to the Queen provided the Upping occurs that year.  In 2012 the weather was so bad the Upping was cancelled.  The consequence of this was the swans fell into common ownership until the 2013 Upping.  You could have taken a swan for the pot that year and not broken the law!

The river started to get busy at Runnymede.  Whether this is normal or a consequence of the 800th anniversary of the signing of Magna Carta wasn’t determined.  However at one point it did look as if we might be involved in a “near miss”.  The Lucy Fisher came into sight and appeared to believe she owned all the river.

We squeezed further to the right leaving the large tupperware boats behind to manage their own problems.

It wasn’t until she passed that we realised propulsion was via a large stern paddle wheel.

All the locks today were manned but despite this Jan thought transiting them was just as physical because she needed to securely hold the bow line against the side flow of incoming water.  I guess that means pressing the lock control buttons is easier!

Whilst waiting below Romney Lock Jan could hear the sound of a band playing.  Being somewhat deaf, I couldn’t hear much.  She could hear a bugle and then a brass band before finally hearing bagpipes.

On entering the lock she asked the lock keeper where the music was coming from and was told “Eton College band is practicing!”  Neither of us had realised Eton College was to our immediate right.  Nothing to see as a line of trees obscured the view.  Eton was established by Henry VI in 1440.  It’s a boys independent boarding school.  It’s a public school, which in England means it’s a private school (ie, not a state school).  Fees are around £35,000 per annum.

We cruised on before mooring for the night just beyond Windsor.

Old Father Thames

We keep rolling along….. upstream of course!  The lock keeper at Shepperton Lock was rather dour, or perhaps it was a result of me interrupting his chat with a young lady?  Suffice to say the lock quickly filled and we headed further west.

There are some nice homes on both banks.  I managed to point one out to Jan that I thought might be within our price range…….. if we stretched ourselves!

Nothing that a little TIC won’t fix!

No sign of the lock keeper at Chertsey Lock and then we noticed the “SELF SERVICE” sign to one side.  Jan wandered up to the control box and let her fingers do the talking.  It’s interesting to note the locks fill and empty far slower when on self service.  Obviously a built in safety feature.  We had almost filled the lock when a couple of large tupperware boats appeared behind us.  Then I noticed at the opposite end there were a narrowboat and two tupperware’s waiting to come down.   It was also interesting to note most narrowboat crew members wearing life jackets whilst the tupperware crews don’t.  Either the latter can swim or they are full of air!

The tupperware boats hadn’t caught up with us by the time we reached Penton Hook Lock where were waved straight in by the lock keeper.  A fast fill and then we were on our way.  The plan was to moor somewhere around Staines-upon-Thames and wait for a lunch appointment on Monday.  However just after engaging the hyperdrive, and about to make the jump to light speed, I noticed a green narrowboat moored on the bank above the lock.  The boat was against a concrete edge but wasn’t on the lock landing bollards.  My guess was there were rings hidden in the long grass.  Waiouru was dropped back into neutral and then reverse.  Once you get 23 tonnes of steel boat moving it does take some distance to get it to stop! We reversed back (I should have done a circle) to find there were rings and the mooring is rather nice.  It’s not marked on any of our maps.

Mid afternoon a tupperware came in to moor behind us.  But not right behind us.  He left enough of a gap thus preventing any other boat from fitting in.  I foiled his operation by cunningly flushing our toilet.  Waiouru emitted a powerful blast of air from the toilet breather vent at the stern. This caught him in mid breath whilst attempting to tie the bow line.  The crew promptly threw their lines back on board and motored off to find a more pleasant location.  I must remember this trick!

A wander around the local area led me to a river front church.  There was nothing special about the church but the gateway looked interesting.

It was the carved words in the timber lintel that I found interesting.

Hand or machine cut?  I suspect machine routered!

Part of this afternoon has been spent cleaning up the data on the backup hard drive.  It was interesting to read some of the original thoughts about the boat specifications and equipment.  All the research was done on the internet and the boat started to get longer and we attempted to cram more into it.  At one point I’d decided a whipper-snipper (strimmer) would be required to cut back any long vegetation.  Considerable research went into finding a model where the pole could be sseparated into two sections to store it in the engine bay.  It would have fitted except the calorifer went into the space instead.  Our plan had the calorifier inside the cabin, but I’m now happier it’s in the engine compartment where a leak will not be so catastrophic.  And to date we haven’t needed the whipper-snipper!

A Wey we go!

Our one week license for the Wey was due to expire so it was time to move after two quiet nights beside The Anchor pub.  It was a moderately early start to the day because we knew from our journey up the Wey that today’s section was going to be shallow.

These moorings outside The Anchor are good…. If you can find a vacant space.  We slowly cruised down the Wey reaching Parvis Bridge where there is a boatyard on the southern side.

On the northern side is Byfleet Boat Club and hire base.

Woodham Junction is only a short distance and the Basingstoke Canal branches off here.  After looking at the map we realised it’s actually longer than the Wey.  However a couple of the local boaters told us that since its management was taken over by Basingstoke and Hampshire Council’s little dredging has been done and consequentially it’s very shallow.  Apparently it is very picturesque and rural once you pass Woking.
The cottage at New Haw Lock looks lovely.  But the downstream gates are very heavy.  Probably because the road bridge is so close to the lock that the gate beams now have a dogleg in them.

Another photo of Coxes Mill as we wait for Coxes Lock to empty.  It’s the deepest unmanned lock on the Wey Navigation.

The lock keeper worked us down Thames Lock which is the last (or first) on the Navigation.  Apparently the lock keeper has to work the lock because this is the only lock where the National Trust has retained the original paddle mechanism.  The safety latch on the gear mechanism is a small steel wedge on a chain that has to be inserted into the teeth.  After we had dropped down through the lock we stopped to fill the water tank before exiting onto the Thames via the stop gate.

The stop gate has to be closed and a full lock of water let out of Thames Lock to raise the water level sufficiently for boats to clear the lock cill.
Dinner tonight was wild boar & apple sausages with roast root vegetables, courgettes covered with Australian gravy.  

Two steps to the pub and three golf courses

It’s been more than a few days since I managed to fit in a reasonable walk.  That was rectified today with a moderate length walk around Pyrford.  The route took me east through the middle of what appeared to be a very upmarket golf course.  After checking the internet I discovered it is reputedly one of the top 100 courses in the world (The Wisley Golf Club).  It’s a private, members only, club and I expect the fees are well beyond me.  Not that I’m old enough to play!

It didn’t take much effort to realise the course was well maintained.  I observed at least 10 grounds maintenance staff and it’s the only public footpath I’ve walked where the path was wide with a smooth sealed surface.  My guess is the owners probably resent the fact a public footpath runs through the middle of it!

After crossing the River Wey (not the navigation) I passed through Wisley Village to reach Wisley Common.  Most of this was woodland with a few open areas.  The M25 orbital motorway prevented me from going any further east so I changed direction heading south until I was stopped by the A3 motorway which links London and Portsmouth.  I now needed to turn west reaching the Royal Horticultural Society Gardens (RHS) at Wisley.  Entry isn’t free, but the public footpath cuts through the gardens.  Got to love these public footpaths!  The footpath has a high chain mesh fence on either side and the RHS has gone to some effort to obscure the view from the footpath.  Not that this worried me.

From there is was back into woodland and some of it was rather marshy underfoot.  This probably shouldn’t be surprising because the entire area is likely to be regularly flooded.

The ground changed to water meadows just prior to reaching the River Wey.

The footpath reached the Wey Navigation at the weir adjacent to Walsham Gates.  It was interesting to note the volume of water passing over the weir.  No doubt that flow was assisting us yesterday on the river sections of the navigation.

Walsham Gates is actually one of the original turf sided locks but are now only used as flood gates.  A pretty setting.

The former lock keepers cottage is now a family home.  Access must be difficult as there is not a road.  It’s either by water or over the narrow footbridge.  I took this photo from the middle of the footbridge and then walked back to the weir so I could continue north.  I wanted to reach Newark Lock and get a better look at Newark Priory.  It’s another of those wealthy church properties Henry VIII dissolved and collected all the loot.

It’s situated on a private island which meant all my photos were taken from a distance.  

I was able to circumnavigate the ruins eventually arriving at St Nicolas Church on the northern side of the island.  The church was built in 1140AD and is a good example of the Norman style.  It’s less than 400 metres from Newark Priory.  Obviously not rich enough to attract the interest of Henry!

From here the footpath took me southwest, eventually reaching Traditions Golf Course.  This course didn’t look to be in the top 100 but certainly had more golfers.  The footpath once again took me through the middle of the course.

Looking back.  Fortunately only one golfer attempted to embed a small white ball in my tubby body during the crossing.

A short length of woodland path led me to a footbridge over the Wey Navigation.  By now I was north of our mooring.  Walking south I passed the third golf course reaching our mooring outside The Anchor.

Can’t get much closer to the pub

Not a very long walk, about 17km.  Rehydration was required after a shower and change of clothes.  I should have ordered a pint rather than the half. We decided to have dinner in The Anchor and can report the food was good.

Ditch Crawling along the Wey

This morning we reversed back onto the services block at the end of the navigation where the water tank was topped up and the rubbish disposed.  Whilst this was being done Jan went to the adjacent Sainsbury’s for some essential supplies.

Just under an hour later we were on our way north.  The first lock was Catteshall and from a distance it looked like we might have a problem.  A working boat was moored immediately in front of it with six National Trust employees wandering around.  As we got closer they opened the top gates and waved us into the lock.  We’d previously seen coping stones in a barge at the end of the navigation and I thought they must be going to reset them. Timber formwork and be fixed to the top of the lock.

Then I realised the opposite side now had a new concrete cap.

I did wonder why CRT would reset coping stones in order to preserve the original condition of the lock whilst the National Trust didn’t seem to observe the same historical requirements?

We cruised on passing the entrance to the Wey & Arun Canal which may get restored at some future date.  The only part currently in water appears to be this short piece at the junction which is being used for moorings.

Shortly thereafter we faced our major concern.  After all the recent rain would there be sufficient room under the very low Broadford Bridge.  Two days ago we squeezed under with a couple of spare inches.  The river had risen slightly but we decided to give it a try.

The free space was so small that the sat dome hit the warning bar on the other side of the bridge as we exited.  Why don’t they have warning bars on both sides of the bridge?

The water between Godalming and Guildford is deep and we made quick progress.  In less than an hour we were on the southern outskirts of Guildford and could see the houses on Quarry Hill.

Quarry Hill is also referred to as Castle Hill in some sources .The name Guildford reputedly comes from gold ford which was based on the colour of the sand where the River Wey passed below Quarry Hill.  I assume there was also a ford in the same location.

Jan noticed a couple of old dead trees had been subjected to some significant sculpturing on the northern side of the town.

We both need to visit a different Specsavers.  The warning signs on the navigation are so small that our old eyes can’t read the writing until it’s too late.  In order to read the sign I had to take Waiouru close to the bank.  The sign instructions were to stay in the middle otherwise you will run aground….. we did!

After passing through Bowers Lock we caught up with a very very slow moving hire boat.  The steerer couldn’t see over the top of his boat and was zig zagging down the navigation in idle.  I was actually able to follow in neutral as Waiouru was pulled along by the suction from his wake.

We eventually reached the next lock (Triggs) which we shared.  The hire crew had started out two days ago covering the same ground we’d taken 2.5 hours to do.  They had unsuccessfully attempted to wind (turn) twice and were hoping to find another winding hole as they only had three days left. 

The cruising plan went out the window on arrival at Newark Lock.  There was a boat in the lock but it only took a glance at the top gates to realise we had a “Huston we have a problem” situation!

The top left gate had dropped out of the bottom pivot point and couldn’t be closed.  The crew of the small “springer” canal boat hadn’t done it because the top gates were open when they arrived.  We’d actually crossed with a fast moving hire boat on the way to the lock.  Our guess is the crew probably rammed the gate to make a quicker exit.  Every dark cloud has a silver lining.  We didn’t think the National Trust would be able to fix the gate before tomorrow so the lock landing would make an excellent overnight mooring.  Note:  good moorings in the Wey are difficult to find!

However within an hour the National Trust Lengthsman Lengthswoman had arrived with a 5ft sash cramp and a car bottle jack.  Within 30 minutes she had jacked up the gate beam and popped the gate back into the pivot point. We were impressed!  But it meant we had to relinquish our lock landing mooring.  Oh well…… we cruised on to The Anchor pub where we were pleased to find two vacant mooring spots. 

It’s an easy one day cruise back to the Thames from here and as our license expires on Friday we will probably have a rest day tomorrow.

Godalming and a blog reader meeting

Ian and Karen (nb Whispers) joined us for coffee this morning prior to them heading back towards the Thames.  They needed to leave in the morning as the forecast for the afternoon was rain.

Whilst we were all inside Waiouru discussing toilets (as boaters do) Horse boat Iona passed. The crew needed to disconnect the towrope in order for the Iona to pass all the erected boat TV aerials.

The steerer obviously recognised either our flag or boat name because he told Jan he had lived in Whenapai, NZ some years ago.

Later in the morning we wandered up into the town.  Jan particularly wanted to visit the butcher on the High Street after reading some good online reviews.  We eventually exited the shop minus £40 but in possession of two pieces of steak, four chicken breasts, three pies and 24 sausages.  The latter being a mixture of wild boar & apple, venison & ?  and Godalming sausages.  We had the steak for dinner and it was delicious!

Wikipedia states Godalming owes much of its historical existence to the fact it is midway between Portsmouth and London.  There has been a settlement here since saxon times.  The town is recorded in the Doomsday Book.  I was amused to read “In 1726 a Godalming maidservant called Mary Toft hoaxed the town into believing that she had given birth to rabbits. The foremost doctors of the day came to witness the freak event and for a brief time the story caused a national sensation. Eventually Toft was found out after a porter was caught smuggling a dead rabbit into her chamber, she confessed to inserting at least 16 rabbits into herself and faking their birth.”

Godalming was the first town in the world to have a public electrical distribution system.  This only lasted three years when the town reverted to gas lighting after flooding and high maintenance costs resulted in Seimens withdrawing from the project.

The town is known for its many Tudor style buildings.  It also contains the “Pepperpot”, the 19th century town hall.

The Pepperpot is an octagonal building in the market square on the High Street. It was built in 1814 replacing the original town hall.  The lower part of the Pepperpot is still used as a market place.

We can’t leave the High Street without looking at another of those interesting Tudor style buildings.

Mid afternoon and local blog reader Kevin called in to have a chat.  He is thinking of becoming a residential boater and had a number of interesting questions for which he sought answers.  Later in the day I went for a final walk around the local area.

There was an interesting looking building on Bridge Road.  It was the roofed turret that caught my eye.

A closer look revealed the building is the Godalming British School, founded in 1812.  It was originally called the Godalming Non-Conformist School but changed it’s name in 1814.

Walking further NW I noticed yet another building which appeared to also incorporate a type of turret.  However this building had more of a religious look about it.

As I passed  I noticed grave headstones at the rear of the property leading me to believe my assumption might be correct.  Shortly thereafter I turned NE eventually returning to Waiouru.  It wasn’t until I was later looking at the map that I realised if I’d only walked sightly further I might have seen Charterhouse School, one of the great historic schools of England and it is one of the original nine English public schools which include Eton and Harrow.