Moving every day

Yes, including a Sunday, all of September since leaving our friends behind. The Tesco mooring was not a place to stay long. Travelling about 3 to 4 hours maximum is as much as we like.

The busy Thames gets quite dynamic with boats moving up and down. Guiding our heavy boat into locks with other boats inside is done slowly and with care. Ann usually throws a loop over a bollard at the front or the lock keeper catches it. At the back I sometimes use a hook to get the rope round a bollard that I can see. If not, the lock keeper gets my rope as well. The other boaters seem to manage with their taller boats. Once secure the engine is stopped.

There is more traffic at weekends. We got to Beale Park only to find most spaces taken and had to drift on looking for a suitable edge. Got the front in with the back out, stuck the pins in and had lunch. Tried to get a TV signal with no success. BBC channels were not available here so we reluctantly decided to move on. Two more locks at Goring and Cleeve to pass through.

Between Goring and Cleeve hundreds of canoes were heading towards us and nowhere for us to stop. There was the promise of moorings with a £4 charge above Cleeve. As we came out of that lock we saw a busy scene. Sailing boats all over the place racing up and down and still nowhere to stop! Just had to keep moving slowly on the left away from the sailing course. Soft sandy edges made it impossible to moor despite the invitation.

Finally there was a hard edge just for us and we put the pins in. “Well at least the TV found BBC here!”

We got to Day’s lock near Dorchester after a few more locks and long stretches of nothing but wide river and trees. We have seen many Red Kites flying, those with feathers rather than strings! Clouds and dampness made us realize how lucky we have been during August. Next day the destination was Abingdon. With just us and another small cruiser for company in the locks.

How wonderful it has been to enjoy the Olympic events this year. It is all over now but with the expectation of more support and participation in sport. Murray did well in the USA. The locks at either end of Dorney Lake have had their control boxes painted gold. I had wondered about the proportion of medals won to the size of the teams. According to Boris Johnston we have done better than most.