We've had another lovely week. The weather, has been glorious. We've meandered up and down the Upper Reaches of the Thames and really enjoyed it.

Friday, 27th Saturday, 28th Sunday, 29th, Monday, 30th August
We stayed in Lechlade for five nights. I can't remember the last time we stayed anywhere that long, and it was a real treat. Lechlade is only a village, really, with several lovely antique shops. I was very tempted by a little chest of drawers, but couldn't work out anywhere where we could put it on the boat, so my money stayed in my pocket. There's an excellent butchers/deli/greengrocers where I spent it instead!

Trev went for a walk to the end of the navigable Thames. He actually walked in to Wiltshire, but it's less than a mile from here! Claire and Peter came on Saturday evening, and we enjoyed hearing all of their adventures. They have been down the Kennet and Avon as far as Bristol Harbour. They're going to be around for a few days, like us, they're enjoying a rest. Also, it's Bank Holiday weekend, and it might not be easy to find moorings if we move.

We woke early on Sunday morning and there was a thick mist all over the meadow, we couldn't see the hedge on the opposite side. But the day had a feel that it was going to be HOT! And indeed it did turn out to be just that. The meadow where we're moored is a popular place for people to walk, and if we're outside the boat, people stop and talk to us. They're always interested in why we came to live on a boat, what we used to do, whether we have a house, how we like living on the boat, is it cheaper than living in a house, where we're going next! If we're inside, we can hear their remarks as they go by:

That's a long one
That's a pretty boat
I like the flowers on top
Oh look, they've got a kitchen
Look they've got a cooker
Dad, how do they get electricity?
Oh I couldn't live on a boat, I'd miss my garden
I suppose they sleep in bunks

Really, I think we could make quite a bit of money doing conducted tours!

On Monday, we went with Claire & Peter to a car boot sale in the village. It was quite big one, and there was just about everything for sale anyone could ever want. I only bought some runner beans, and a duvet cover, but Claire and Peter went home laden! Claire is the sort of person who can always see potential in things, and she buys all sorts and converts them into amazing things! Peter loves rummaging! Once when we went on their boat he asked me if I liked his new table. He'd made it out of wood he'd found in a skip!

Tuesday, 30th August
Well all good things come to an end, and Tuesday saw us leave Lechlade, for good as I thought at the time. First we went to get fuel. Trev loves a challenge, and last year when we were here, he decided to get fuel at the marina. The entrance is probably twelve feet wide, and there is nowhere to turn once you're in there. So we backed in, all the way round to the pump. And we repeated the performance this year, to the interest of local bystanders, who rarely see a 70 footer up here. I got off the boat and went to the office to ask if we could have diesel, and the man said they'd run out......... Then he laughed and said he was winding me up, having watched our exploits to get in!

So we filled up and set off back down the Thames, calling for Claire and Peter on the way. We shared the first two locks with them and then said goodbye. They were in a hurry to get back to their mooring at Stockton, as they business to do. We filled up with water at the lock and then turned round and went back up to Kelmscott to moor. We have friends coming at the weekend and we thought that they would enjoy seeing the upper end of the Thames. So we decided to potter around here until after they've been.

Kelmscott is the perfect Cotswolds hamlet. There are no shops or school, sadly, but it has a great pub and no main roads. As we sat in the garden enjoying a bar snack, the only sound was the clop of horses' hooves along the lane. Bliss! Kelmscott is famous as the home of William Morris. He lived in the Manor House, which was built in 1570.

Wednesday, 31st August
Oh dear! The last day of August. I don't want the summer to end. I don't mind at all spending the winter on the boat, in fact I enjoy it, but I don't enjoy the endless greyness of winter. My heart soars when I see the first snowdrop after Christmas and I eagerly look for signs of spring, and longer days.

We set off from Kelmscott under great difficulty. There was a herd of cows and calves and a bull, who were extremely interested in the boat. They all lined up in a solid wall and Trev couldn't get near the rear mooring peg to remove it! In the end, he put the gangplank on to the bank from the back of the boat and removed the peg. Then we were off.

We went downstream, as that is where the water point is situated. There isn't a water point at Lechlade. I think this might be a deliberate ploy, to stop people mooring up there for too long. We continued downstream as far as Rushey Lock where we winded, offloaded rubbish and moored in a favourite spot just above the lock. We're finding that at last we're getting to know the system and the spots where we enjoy mooring.

There was no one there today. Last time we only just managed to insinuate ourselves in to the last available niche. This is a good spot to do jobs on the boat, as there is plenty of space on the bank. Trev did some painting on the floor of the boat at the front, the part we call the cratch. Then we took everything off the roof of the boat and gave it a good wash. We used river water to rinse it, a thing we would never do with dirty old canal water! It was an opportune moment to choose, since, as soon as we'd finished, the heavens opened and we had a real thunder storm. We battened down the hatches, and kept dry.

Thursday, 1st September
Disappointingly, the roof didn't look much cleaner today than before we'd washed it! I think it probably needs a scrub rather than a wash with a mop. Heigh-ho, I'll wait for the next rainstorm before I do it again. We've emptied the plant pots of their summer plants, which have just about finished. Catharine and Mamdooh are coming to see us on Saturday and they're bringing some winter flowering pansies to plant. We also checked the winter fuel situation, which didn't take long as we have enough kindling to start a couple of fires and coal for one very little fire! So we shall have to start scavenging for wood as we go along, and buy some coal too.

Swans are such pretty creatures, but they do not have characters to match. They're vicious, with their own kind and with people. I even saw one trying to hold a duck under water. When they come to the side hatch of the boat, looking for food, they hiss and put their heads right inside the boat! We never feed them. When we ignore them, they knock on the side of the boat with their beaks! They also peck all round the boat just below the water line where the algae grows, and it often wakes us up in the morning.

I realise I haven't told you for some time how far we've travelled. Since we came on to the Thames on July 30th we've done one hundred and seventy-seven miles and sixty-seven locks, though of course we don't have to operate the locks ourselves on the Thames.

So, there I leave you for this week. When I write next week, I expect we shall be on the Oxford Canal, and will have said goodbye to the Thames for this year. We plan to come back next year, it's so lovely.