Another glorious day on the Wey.

Sorry about the break in communication again but rest assures all is well. Since our aborted trip on the Basingstoke Canal we have been very busy. We took the decision to give it a miss this year and do it another time as we have to be off the Wey on Tuesday and we could only get on the Basingstoke at a weekend - no wonder it is considered an unfriendly canal.

Deserted and unused Basingstoke Canal

 However, this did us a favour!

 We enjoyed a great day at the Brooklands Museum using our bikes to get there and we enjoyed a 'flight' on Concorde! Then we had a most interesting bike ride along the Basingstoke Canal. It is a deserted canal with loads of algae and a very sad feel about it. We were astonished at the money that has been ploughed into it and no boats using it! The towpath however, is wonderful! A great shame!!!

Sid and bike on the excellent Basingstoke Canal towpath

 Then,on Friday we had a lovely visit and boat trip with Jenny's sister Rosie and her husband Steve. The weather was not kind to us and we all got wet but had a most enjoyable time. We had a delicious lunch at the New Inn at Send before they returned home and we ventured a short way to moor in the most idyllic spot.

The Burrows and the Isons on a 'Grand Day Out'

Back to Guildford again where Richard and Kaye came to see us. It was so good to see them and we enjoyed a lovely lunch and a very pleasant afternoon in the sunshine.

The Battens and the Burrows at Depdune Wharf

We planned to have little trip today but Sid lost his dental  crown in the night (luckily he didn't swallow it) so we went to A and E to see if they could do a temporary repair. The bikes came in useful again to get us there but sadly the Royal Surrey could not do anything but Tesco could! We bought a crown repair kit and returned to the boat where Sid fixed it! Dentist next stop.

We had a lovely walk along the towpath this afternoon and found the Chapel on St Catherine's Hill and are now enjoying a pint in the Brittania.

The engineer will be here tomorrow with our repaired water heater and Sid will try and get his tooth sorted, then we are back on the Thames.

Thwarted!

Left Pyrford to get on the Basingstoke Canal but discovered that we could only get through the first lock, which was locked, on a Saturday or Sunday.  Having entered Lock No 1, Sid managed to reverse out of the lock and the 500 metres down to the junction.  We were not amused!

Decided to return to Pyrford and think over a pint or two!!!!!!

Sid reversing out of Lock No 1 through the algae!

Pyrford Again!

After a great few days in Godalming catching up with family and friends and a delicious Sunday lunch at the Inn on the Lake,thanks mum, we headed off towards the Basongstoke Canal. We are enjoying a much deserved beer in the Anchor after Jenny had done 10 locks today and her shorts were feeling a bit loose round the waist and she was worried she might be wasting away with all that hard work and exercise!

Bowers Lock

A lovely Day

Jenny's Mum enjoying an afternoon boating

Still in Godalming having spent a lovely day with Doreen and our little Emily.  Marge and Rosie joined us for lunch on board together with little Harry, one of Rosie's children that she minds.  Once again Emily delighted us all and we make no apologies for mentioning our gorgeous little granddaughter once again.

We fed the ducks and watched the horse drawn barge as it left the Wharf. It is always sad to wave her goodbye and now look forward to seeing her again soon.  It was good to spend some quality time with Doreen (Dave's Mum).

The Horse Drawn Barge Iona

Godalming

To our regular viewers we are very sorry for the break in communication.  Since arriving in the Guildford/Godalming area we have had lots of visitors and therefore not the opportunity to get to pubs for internet access.

We had a very good if somewhat emotional weekend in Guildford.  Adam joined us on Sunday for a Fathers Day lunch, which was lovely and we whiled away a very pleasant afternoon and evening in the beautiful sunshine.  The only disappointment was that along the Wey in Guildford there was not one Ice Cream van.  A missed business opportunity for someone.

Adam and Sid on Hunters Moon

Another beautiful day on Monday and we had a visit from Simon and Lucy.  We enjoyed a very pleasant  afternoon and evening.

Simon, Sid and Lucy

The mooring was so good at Dapdune Wharf that we decided to have another night there.  It is a little gem in the middle of Guildford and the historic wharf is well worth a visit.  We played 'tourists' whilst we were in Guildford and visited the castle, which was a revelation to us both and Sid had never seen Alice Through the Looking Glass in the castle grounds before.

Hunters Moon at Dapdune Wharf

We moved on to Godalming on Tuesday and arrived at the Wharf in glorious sunshine once again.  Although it is situated right next to Sainsbury's and a retail park it is a delightful mooring with lots of river interest.

A very pleasant evening with 'old' friends on Tuesday evening was followed on Wednesday by a visit from Jenny's mum.  We had a lovely little cruise along the river and passed the horse drawn canal boat along the way.  Marge really enjoyed her afternoon and fulfilled a lifelong ambition to cruise in a narrowboat.  The sun shone once again, which made it especially nice.

We have been 'tourists' in Godalming today and discovered a whole lot more about this charming little town than we knew before.

"Can I have a ride too, please!"

Guildford

Arrived just outside Guildford on Friday evening after, what turned out to be a long day for us. We managed to rendevous with Rosie and Jenny's mum at the New Inn in Send at lunchtime. The sun was shining but we were still being plagued by strong winds.

Jenny and her mum.

By the time we got on our way again we had shed our overcoats and had a beautiful afternoon boating along the Wey, which looked so different in the sunshine. The countryside is so picturesque and our spirits were lifted.

The previous day we had been visited by Janice, Dave and Emily. We went for a little jaunt as far as Newark Priory and although it was breezy and we did have a little shower there were also small glimpses of sunshine. Emily enjoyed herself, Dave helped with the locks and Janice took the helm. Needless to say the day ended in the Anchor before we said our farewells.

Janice at the helm!

Today (Saturday) we had a short trip to Dapdune Wharf in Guildford. It is a very pleasant and safe mooring where we intend to wait for the wind to subside and the heavy showers to clear away. We will have a good look around the Wharf and are hoping to connect up with Adam, but so far he is being very elusive!

Hunters Moon passing under the M25

The mysterious and peaceful  ruins of Newark Abbey

The Wey is not only very peaceful, despite it's proximity to the M25 and A3, but also so well kept. So far we can only congratulate the National Trust for he splendid way it manages this beautiful waterway.

Now we are in the Guildford and Godalming area we are hoping to have some visitors.  We will be cruising in the area for the next week or so.  If you fancy meeting up give us a ring and we will arrange a get together.

On Board Again

Well, here we are again, sitting in a pub, The Thames Court, catching up on e mails etc and updating our blog, AND sheltering from the rain and cool wind again.  Having left the boat in glorious sunshine and after enjoying a fabulous weekend it seems we are back to a normal English summer.  

We had a lovely day with Emily and Jenny's mum on Friday.  Emily is quite a little character now and although still not walking can achieve great speeds when crawling.  Her smile makes the world a brighter place and she is a delight to look after.

The sun shone on Phil and Nic on their wedding day and we enjoyed a beautiful day and danced the night away to an excellent band.

In fine spirits we returned to Hunters Moon and decided to stay at Penton Hook for one ore night as there were a few jobs that needed to be done and it would be easier to do them tied up in a marina than trying to do them on the bankside - oil change and a loo leak.

First photo taken with the new camera Steve has kindly given us 

'Serious Steve'

This morning we went to the office to get a parking permit and replace our gas, which all went well UNTIL Mr Jobsworth turned up. We had paid for a weeks parking and were just loading the gas into the motorhome to take round to the boat when a voice said, " You're not leaving that here are you?".  we explained that we had just bought a permit before heading off towards the River Wey.  We were told that motorhomes were not allowed on site.  This naturally sent us into a bit of a tizz.  What were we going to do? This was the first time we had had a problem leaving the motorhome at a marina since we left Cheshire so MDL Marinas now have a big black mark from us.

The marina staff suggested that we could park it in the approach road or in an area towards the park but on inspection both these were either restricted areas or double yellow lines so that was useless.

Not sure what to do we returned to the boat and had a think.  An SOS call to Steve  resulted in some very useful and helpful ideas.  We then spent the next couple of hours travelling around the area trying to find storage to no avail so in the end Steve was able to let us put it on his drive - temporarily.  Fortunately Rosie's caravan was having some work done to it and would not be back until Thursday so we had a couple of days to get our heads together.

Steve made one further suggestion of a possible storage site and after a phone call to them we had it fixed.  A bit of juggling about on Wednesday and we will have it stored safely for a month so a big thank you to Steve and Rosie. All's well that ends well!

New Owner Wanted!

Another Glorious Day

What a difference the sun makes!

We are once again enjoying a beer in a riverside pub, the Bells of Ouzeley in Old Windsor.  The sun is shining as it has been for the past few days and all is well with the world.

Just a short boat ride today but a lovely walk to see the Magna Carta and the J F Kennedy Memorial at Runneymede then enjoyed a delicious ice cream in the park.

Leaving boat at Penton Hook Marina tomorrow and collecting the motorhome.

AND  the weather is looking wonderful for Phil and Nic's wedding on Saturday - Hooray!

Sunshine and Warmth at last!

Leaving Oxfordshire was the right thing to do because the weather is much better in Berkshire.

Since Friday the sun has shone, the shorts are out and the river has taken on a whole new atmosphere.

Marlow was buzzing with activity when we arrived and it was great to see families making the most of the last few days of half term in the fresh air and enjoying the warm sunshine.

It was great to meet up with Jenny's sister and brother-in-law, Rosie and Steve who paid us a visit on Saturday.  We enjoyed a lovely relaxing afternoon and although the wind had a bit of a chill in it the sun shone again and the families were out in force in the park b which we were moored.  The water was very busy with all sorts of craft and there was a real holiday atmosphere.

We left Marlow on Sunday morning as a fun run was getting underway.  Once again the park was alive with activity as was the river as it glittered in the morning sunlight.

We enjoyed a beautiful if very busy trip downstream towards Windsor, stopping in Maidenhead for lunch.  As we passed the lovely mooring at Eton Dorney (the Olympic Rowing Course), which we found on our previous trip on the Thames we thought it would be good to stop early and enjoy the glorious afternoon on the bank.  It was just perfect and we watched the sun go down after a lovely barbeque, our first this year, and several glasses of wine and beer.

Monday morning we were up early and off the do some domestic duties i.e dispose of rubbish, take on water and empty the Elsan, then on to Windsor to do some shopping.  We intended to move further downstream since we are once again returning home later in the week but Windsor in the sunshine was too enticing so once again we decided to stay put and possibly have another barbeque this evening.

We may do Runneymede tomorrow night and then leave Hunters Moon at Penton Hook Marina for a few days as we collect the motorhome from Thames and Kennet Marina an
d return to Chi for the weekend.

Looking forward to babysitting on Friday and a wedding on Saturday.  Another busy time ahead of us!