Weybridge (River Thames) – Monday 30th May

There was no rush to get up this morning so I had a nice lie in with breakfast in bed :-)  I thought I would send FL a text to see what time they would be passing us so I could wave only to get a reply that they were behind us!  We went in for a cuppa and chat and returned to Mary H to get ready to go out to lunch.

  

We took the ferry across the river to the Shepperton side and were met by one of my old friends, Andy, who took us back to their house where Chris was making a lovely lunch – the smell of roasting chicken was lovely.  Chris and Andy live opposite where I used to live in Shepperton and their youngest daughter, Hazel, is the same age as Victoria.  We had a lovely catch-up afternoon but it was soon time to go back and catch the last ferry back to Weybridge.

The ferry is expensive at £3 each for a return ticket but the young ferryman told us that our ticket would give us £3 off in Nauticalia (they run the ferry).  We wanted a couple of things so went in and in fact got £4.50 off!  So the ferry only cost us £2.50!

  

We had arranged that when we got back we would go to the pub with FL and Klara so we toddled up to the Old Crown and had a couple of drinks.  This must be the final farewell!!

  

We got back to the boat to this lovely sunset.

I have to confess that the first two photos were taken a couple of years ago on a beautiful sunny day – it wasn’t like that today sadly :-(  But they are the same views as we have had this year.

Weybridge (River Thames) – Sunday 29th May

We were away just after 9am as we wanted to get a mooring at Weybridge for a family BBQ.  We didn’t say goodbye to FL and Klara as they were going to drop off some shopping as they passed later.  (Sue was getting an Ocado order).

The river between Pyrford and Weybridge isn’t the most spectacular, its quite urbanised and there are a lot of moored boats.  Under the M25 we saw the MSC Frodsham a replica of a Bridgewater Canal tug.  The original tugs, dating from the 1870s, were steam powered, and they were converted to diesel in the 1920s when they were owned by the Manchester Ship Canal Co.

  

Between Town Lock and Thames Lock there are some wonderful houses – not quite St. George’s Hill but the houses there don’t have a river at the bottom of their garden.  Here are a few photos.

  

The modern

The old – for sale

 

This one is for sale complete with boat house - £3,650,000

Just before Thames Lock is this lovely old mill which has been converted into flats – I would love the flat at the top with the long walkway/balcony.

 

Down through Thames Lock and out onto the Thames – bye bye lovely River Wey for another year.  There was just one space at Weybridge but it was just a bit too short for us as we overhung a slipway which we didn’t think was a particulary good idea.  I was going to ask the boat behind if he would mind moving up but he didn’t look the type to move!  He was already fed up with 60 foot of steel coming too near his motor cruiser!  But it was our lucky day as someone moved further on so we moored up there and have a much nicer view.

I got a message for Sue to say that the Ocado man was delayed in traffic and that it was too late for them to move.  Now the complicated bit!  One of my shopping items was a bottle of prosecco – a birthday present for my cousin’s wife.  Also Sue, Andy and Roly wanted to watch the England v Wales rugby match in Shepperton.  Sue phoned a friend who offered to pick them up and take them to Shepperton dropping off my shopping on their way!  It all worked – I got my shopping and they got to watch the rugby.  We said our final farewells though hopefully we will catch up with them in September.

My cousin, Simon, came to pick us up and take us to their house for his wife, Kate’s, birthday BBQ.  We had a lovely late afternoon/early evening with them and their family.  Simon has a house out in Crete and a lot of the food had a Greek influence – lovely :-)  Mind you poor Kate never stopped all afternoon!  Simon bought us back about 7.30ish.

4.86 miles

4 locks

Below Pyrford Lock (River Wey) – Saturday 28th May

We left just after 10am.  We were only going to The Anchor at Pyrford where we planned to have a farewell dinner tonight.  We all leave the Wey tomorrow.  We will stay in Shepperton/Weybridge for a couple of days but FL and Klara are going upstream.

At Newark Lock are the lovely ruins of Newark Priory which actually stands on an island.  It was built in 1312 by the Bishop of Winchester.  During Henry VIII's Dissolution of the Monasteries Newark Priory was dissolved. The prior himself was pensioned off, all valuables sent to the Tower of London and the land given to the Master of the King's Horse. It has been said that a cannon was employed from the top of Church Hill to bombard or demolish what were the then extensive buildings. The building, falling into ruin, was said to have been further destroyed by locals using the stones for road mending until Lord Onslow, the owner in the 1730s, decided to preserve what remained.

I took this photo to show how old the locks are on the Wey.  It was the second river in England to be turned from wholly unnavigable to navigable for its main town, as it was behind the River Lea; the River Wey Navigation opened in 1653 with 12 locks between Weybridge and Guildford. Construction of the Godalming Navigation, a further four locks, was completed in 1764 connecting a second market town.  It had been used by small boats since medieval times, and some improvements were made to the channel from 1618.

Through Walsham Lock which are the last of the original turf-sided locks opened in 1653 that were common along the full length of the Wey Navigation. I’ve borrowed these two photos from the web to show how it looked today and how it looks when the river is it flood.

We caught up with FL and Klara at Pyrford Lock so Sue helped us through.  We moored up just after the Anchor.

We spent a lovely, quiet afternoon.  Richard on the rear deck reading and me trying to take a nap.  Some people are so inconsiderate as they walk along the towpath – they just don’t give any thought to people who may be trying to catch a few zzzz’s!

The six of us went to the Anchor for our last dinner together.  The food was OK.  I had fish and chips which, in fact, were excellent.  I deliberately chose something that had some substance but didn’t need chewing!  I felt sad walking back knowing that I will have to say goodbye tomorrow.

2.13 miles

2 locks

Above Newark Lock (River Wey) – Friday 27th May

We pulled pins about 9.30am and headed downstream.  We dumped the dumpables at Dapdune Wharf – I opened the glass recycling bin and added Richard’s empty beer bottles to those of Klara and FL!!!  There were quite a lot in there!

At Stoke Lock there was a boat sort of across the open lock entrance.  We managed to squeeze past him and when I asked what he was doing he said he was filling with water and his hose wasn’t long enough to reach his permanent mooring.  I did comment that wouldn’t it be easier to buy a longer hose!!

Down through Bowers Lock where Bowers Mill House stands.  It’s not the original mill which had been constructed specifically by the Duke of Sutherland as a laundry to serve Sutton Place which he had then owned. The mill had made paper, flour then linseed but had closed by 1910, with the mill building demolished in 1947.

We pulled over for lunch as Richard likes to stop for lunch but this is the first time we have done it this trip.  Mind you we really did need to stop as I had made soup and it’s not that easy to eat that under way!  I should have made soup before as it went down very nicely.  I’ve been living on a piece of cheese and a banana for lunch.

Richard managed to ground on the nasty bend at Sutton Place – I didn’t say a thing!

As you approach Worsfold Gates there is a huge house on the left with all sorts of things in the garden.  I look at it every time we pass and wonder what it is and I’ve done some research but still can’t find anything!  It probably belongs to a Saudi prince!

 

The ‘lock’ at Worsfold is almost unique. As it is only closed at times of flood the paddles on the two sets of gates still use the original ‘peg and hole’ method whereas most of the others have been converted to the modern winch system.

  

Also at Worsfold is this lovely cottage.  It was originally the New Inn but is now a house and the pub by Pyrford Bridge is the New Inn.

We stopped at Cartbridge Wharf for water.  This was apparently mainly used for trade to Old Woking, although of course goods could be taken by cart over the bridge into the village.

The next lock is Papercourt Lock.  The lock cottage was rebuilt in 1922 on higher ground.  Apparently the lock-keeper at the time was made to make temporary accommodation for him and his family in a barge just below the bridge for a few months. The site had been pegged out by the builders and in the middle of the night, as the story goes, he tiptoed around the site moving the pegs about to make sure that when the cottage was built he would have a good view along the river in both directions to spot approaching vessels without having to leave his cottage.

  

We moored up above Newark Lock almost in the same place as we did before with FL and Klara.  The chairs were soon out along with the beers!

9.41 miles

5 locks

Guildford Rowing Club (River Wey) – Thursday 26th May

The alarm went off at 7am though I hadn't slept well as the tooth behind my bad tooth was hurting.  So was it another infection or referred pain?

Richard and Muffin walked me to the station and I got my train with heaps of it to spare. There was a line of taxis waiting at Havant and I was home in no time.  Flippin taxi cost £12.60 for 5 miles - the return train from Guildford to Havant was only £15.70!

I had already made the decision to have the tooth out which was just as well as my dentist said it couldn't be crowned as most of it was filling and only had one wall - crowns need as least two walls apparently.  The dentist, Val, warned me that a tooth like mine usually is a problem to extract and could involve some minor surgery - great!!  I sat back in the chair, had a couple of injections and waited.  Val said "can you feel this", "no" I said.  "OK so I'll try this".  "There you are its out". "Pardon".  "Your tooth is out; I'll show it to you in a minute".  Well you could have knocked me down with a feather - I hadn't felt a thing 😀.  The tooth had great long, healthy roots but not much else.

I drove home and felt fine, getting on with the mountain of paperwork that was on my desk.  Victoria came home from work and chatted to me and gradually my mouth unfroze.  No pain but the back tooth was still tender.

I chose to get back to the boat quite early or at least while I was feeling ok so Victoria took me back to the station.  I got on the train but when the guard came round and I showed him my ticket it was the receipt not the ticket!  I had got them both out of my bag in the car and thought to myself that I didn’t need the receipt so left it in the car, or so I thought!  Fortunately, I had the email confirmation on my phone and he was happy with that.

Richard and Muffin were waiting for me at the station – Muffin had filthy legs as he had been mud wallowing!  I gave him a paddle in the river and got most of it off.

As I walked along the river I found this statue of Alice in Wonderland.  Apparently Charles Lutwidge Dodgson, more famously known as Lewis Carroll, came to Guildford as a clergyman in 1868 to find a house for his six sisters.  He brought The Chestnuts, a house just next to the castle ruins. He was constantly in Guildford visiting and wrote the second Alice book, Through the Looking Glass, on one of these stays in 1871.  He lived the last year of his life in Guildford and died on 14 January 1898.  Alice in Wonderland was written in 1865.

When we got back FL and Klara were having drinks on the towpath so I joined them with a warm coke as I can’t have anything hot or cold for 24 hours.

Just one photo today – I did think about taking a photo of my tooth but decided against it!

I just want to add how cross I am with the dentist in Shepperton.  He removed the nerves from the tooth last Thursday and would have filled the roots on Monday if my dental insurance hadn’t said no.  Then what would have happened?  I would have gone to my dentist when we were next at home only for him to say that it couldn’t be crowned.  I could have had the tooth last Thursday and saved myself a week of pain.

Guildford Rowing Club (River Wey) – Wednesday 25th May

We left our mooring about 10am.  We had a quick chat with FL but there was no sign of life from Klara.

  

  

I took these photos at Triggs Lock where the lock cottage has an amazing climbing rose.  It needs a bit of TLC but thriving anyway.

  

At Stoke Lock there is always a smell of sewage and today I could see why as there is a sewage farm beside the river.  There is a live-aboard by the lock which is right beside it!

I just love the Wey.  It is so peaceful and tranquil with wonderful scenery especially at this time of year with all the blossom.

We moored up just above Millmead Lock and walked into Guildford to get some shopping.  It was then a quick whiz round the corner where we moored up beyond Guildford Rowing Club.

  

FL and Klara weren't far behind us and we all sat out on the towpath until the cold and drizzle became too much but not before we saw this hot air balloon going up.  I think I would have been pretty fed up if I had paid a lot of money to go up in drizzle and into cloud.

8.97 miles

5 locks

Above Newark Lock (River Wey) – Tuesday 24th May

We couldn’t decide what to do today as we have a day in hand before needing to be in Guildford for me to go home to the dentist on Thursday.

I got a message from FL asking it there was any space where we are moored which of course there was.  So FL and Klara duly arrived and moored up.

Someone has their ducks in a row!

As it was a lovely sunny morning we decided to try and run the washing machine on the solar panels.  The cycle finished but then the sun went in and Richard had to run the engine to re-charge the batteries!

 

Isn’t spring wonderful?

I spent the afternoon booking caravan sites in France for our forthcoming trip in June.  Some of the translations from French into English were hilarious.  “The Tourist Office "Epernay Champagne Country" offers trips to the card to make your visit to our bubbly region, an exceptional moment. ...”

Henley

That was about it for today!  Today’s photos are from earlier in our trip

Above Newark Lock (River Wey) – Monday 23rd May

We were woken at 7.30am by someone mowing!  The gardeners were hard at work at Thames Court, still it is our usual waking time so no harm done!

We had a bit of a panic this morning as Richard was showering.  The pump stopped working!  He finished quickly and then bailed out the shower tray with the dustpan.  I got in and did the same though it always seems to take me longer than him.  I put the pump on again and it seemed to be pumping out some water so I left it on.  When the level went down I could see a piece of plastic in the drain hole!  No wonder the water wouldn’t go away!

  

We were away from our mooring just after 9am, down through Shepperton Lock and turned right to go to the River Wey.  We watered up and then started on our way down the Wey (!).

 

I just love the Wey.  It is so beautiful – lush and green.  Rivers are very different to canals.  At one stage there was a lovely smell of rhododendrons as the flowers came right down to the water.

We hardly saw any boats but of course we met one in a bridge hole and on a bend – there was a screeching of brakes from both boats!

We caught up with Festina Lente and Klara at Pyrford and, guess what, we adjourned to the pub!  We sat outside and I had the sun on my back and it was quite hot. 

We had planned to stop overnight on the meadow above Newark Lock so we left the others and moved on.  We shared Pyrford Lock with another boat.  The skipper said that he was enjoying the locks on the Wey and as long as you tied up properly they were easy.  He tied the stern rope up, the centre rope to a forward bollard and then the bow rope to the same bollard – Richard held Mary H on the centre rope!!!!  I would say that if we are in a Wey lock on our own we do use stern and bow ropes but it’s not really necessary when you share.

  

You might just be able to see some of the cygnets tucked under Mum's wings

At Newark Lock there was a young squirrel by one of the bollards.  Muffin went to investigate and I think he could have caught it by its tail if I hadn’t shouted at him to leave it.  It was really sweet.

There was one other boat on the meadow but a long way from us, so a lovely, peaceful place.

7.24 miles

7 locks

Shepperton, Thames Court (River Thames) – Sunday 22nd May

No news just booze today!!!  Well not really but we have been socialising all day.

Friends, Shirley and Barry, picked us up and took us to the Old Crown in Weybridge.  It is by the river and we have walked passed it before when we have been moored on the Weybridge side.  The others had an excellent roast while I had vegetable lasagne (I’m still on the mushy food!)  It was so nice to catch up with Shirley and Barry as we haven’t seen them for about 4 years as they always seem to be away when we are in Shepperton.

  

We got back to the boat about 3pm, caught our breath before Richard’s step-daughters, husbands and children arrived.  We couldn’t have them all on the boat so we went over to Thames Court (again) and sat outside while the children played.  I said last summer that there were 4½ of them well there are now 5 – Jules (Julius) was born last September.  It was lovely to see them all but you need eyes in the back of your head with 4 of them running around!

Richard and I collapsed into heaps in the evening but it has been a wonderful day and there was a lovely sunset.

A quick tooth update!  It’s not been too bad today but it still hurts to close my teeth together – so I will be sticking to the mushy food for a while.

Shepperton, Thames Court (River Thames) – Saturday 21st May

I need to start today’s blog with an apology to the original house across the river from us which yesterday I said wasn’t very nice.  I had got it muddled up with another one.  This is what it used to look like.

  

Taken in October 2010

Waterways was originally marketed at £2.3m in February 2013 and reduced to £2 million in the May.  It was sold in the November but I can’t seem to find out how much it went for.  Whoever bought it must have a lot of money to demolish a house worth that much and build a new one!   

 

This swan was trying to get in through the window!

Today was Richard’s birthday :-)  Victoria came up with some cards and things that I had forgotten to bring with us.  We then met up with friends, Barbara and Phil and had a nice lunch in Thames Court.  We discovered that we can take Muffin inside the pub!  It was then back to the boat for tea and birthday cake.

  

Victoria and I then drove into Walton to do some shopping before she left to go home.

I had a really bad night with my tooth and was worried that something was wrong.  The dentist had told me to ring him if I was concerned so I did but he said that it was bound to hurt for a while after what he had done to me!!  I had mushy food for lunch but Thames Court didn’t have any pasta on the menu which surprised me.   It is a lot better this evening so hopefully I will get a better night’s sleep tonight.

Shepperton, Thames Court (River Thames) – Friday 20th May

I woke up about 1am with toothache but I took a couple of paracetamols and it went.  We then woke up about 8am which is quite late for us.

The toothache is now just a very slight nag but I’m keeping myself well drugged up.  I feel so much better though – it’s great.

We moved back through the lock to Thames Court and Richard made good use of the decent mooring to polish one side of Mary H.  She does look nice now.

I thought I had better ring my dental insurance people to see where I stand.  They will pay for yesterday’s treatment but not for Monday’s so I have to go home on Thursday now to have the rest of the treatment.

  

Opposite us they are building a Hauf-Haus.  I seem to remember that there was a rather ugly place there before so hopefully this will look much better and very modern.

This houseboat came past us, I guess on its way to a new mooring.  I love the way the owners are sitting out on top!

  

Early afternoon we were joined again by Festina Lente and Klara who had stayed over in Windsor last night.  It didn’t take long before we adjourned to Thames Court for a drink or three.  No alcohol for me :-(

My toothache came back in the evening – I do hope it gets easier again.

0.78 miles

1 lock

Shepperton, Manor Park (River Thames) – Thursday 19th May

I woke up with no toothache but it didn’t take long for it to start up again.  Fortunately, it hasn’t been keeping me awake at night.

As we left Windsor I took the obligatory photos of Windsor Castle and also saw this little house opposite with a floating garden extension complete with hammock!

  

We went through Romney Lock but when we got to Old Windsor Lock it was on self-service.  The lock was full but there were two boats waiting to come up so they decided to empty the lock even though they could see we had arrived and could easily go through.  I said wouldn’t it make more sense to let us through as the lock was full – oh yes, we didn’t think about that was the reply!!

 

Bell Weir Lock Cottage

The locks kept on coming and my toothache got worse.  Thankfully Shepperton Lock was our last and we really wanted to get onto Manor Park as the dentist is only a short walk from here – there were just two places left and we only need one :-)

I fiddled around just waiting for my appointment time.  I was in the dentist 10 minutes early and they were ready for me.  Into the chair and, to cut a long story short, I had the nerves taken out of the tooth, antibiotic stuffed down the hole and then a temporary filling put in.  That took almost an hour.  I’ve now got penicillin to take and I’ve got to go back for another hour’s session on Monday :-(  I will then need to get the tooth crowned at some stage.  I’m £142.50 down so far!

Back to the boat with a very frozen mouth but no pain – wonderful :-)  I tried a coolish cup of tea which went down a treat.  I hadn’t eaten or really drunk anything since I gave up on my porridge this morning.  As the mouth started to thaw there was still no pain.  I had a banana sandwich for dinner with the crusts cut off – it was heaven!

15.33 miles

6 locks