WE REACH THE END OF THE NAVIGABLE THAMES

Sept 1st--7th

Wednesday 1st September
A glorious day, the weather is just outstanding today.
We went through Rushey lock, and met Jen and Bill on Sweet William.

Click here to see pictures of some of our friends--a rogues' gallery!

We moored up and had a cup of coffee with them.
It was good to meet old friends again, we don't know when we shall see them again.
They're on their way up the Oxford Canal and then down the Grand Union
to Gayton Junction and thence through Northampton and back home
to their winter moorings on the Great Ouse in The Fens.
We have been thinking we might "do" The Fens next year, so we might see them there.



A FROG AT RUSHEY LOCK

After goodbyes all round, we continued round some very tight bends to Radcot Lock.
One bend was so sharp Trev had to take two goes at it.
We had been told, with a certain amount of glee, we thought,
by people with shorter boats than ours that we would "have some fun on the bends"
as we went further up the river!
But they weren't really so bad.
The one with the sandbank was fairly exciting, as we went on to it
and the boat tipped at an alarming angle, bottles slid off the work surface
and drawers and cupboards opened.

We moored up at Kelmscott as we wanted to visit Kelmscott Manor,
the home of William Morris for the last twenty-five years of his life.
It was an absolute delight.
The house was very plain and unpretentious, with lovely simple furniture
and so many original fabrics, wall hangings and tapestries.



KELMSCOTT MANOR

There was a very peaceful feeling to it all and I found it very therapeutic.
I left feeling a calm inside me.
I certainly hadn't arrived that way.
I was still cross with myself for having dropped a towel in the river
as I was hanging out the washing, and it had floated away and sunk
before I had had time to rescue it.
I was particularly disgruntled as it was one of a set which friends in The States had given us.

We stayed at the Kelmscott mooring for the night.

Thursday, 2nd September
We went as far as Buscot Lock today, not a great distance,
but Cherry and I wanted to visit a National Trust property
called Buscot Park.
First we walked up to The Trout at Lechlade
to see if it met with our approval for a meal tonight.
Regrettably it didn't.
We didn't like all the negative notices outside before we even got in.
"no mobile phones" "men must be respectably dressed"
(what about the women?) "please return all glasses to the counter", etc.

So we went back to the boat, had lunch and then Cherry and I set off
on what turned out to be a wild goose chase.
We walked through Buscot village, looking for Buscot Park
and were told that the house was "just along the road on the left".
We walked about a mile along a very busy road with no pavement,
but saw no sign of the house, and so decided to return to the boat.

We continued in the boat to Lechlade.
The river meandered extravagantly here,
some times we were almost back where we started from.
The land is very flat and we could see boats quite close to us,
but they took ages to reach us by the time they'd negotiated the bends.

We went through the very last lock on the Thames, St. John's Lock at Lechlade.
There is a statue of Father Thames there.



FATHER THAMES

Apparently it used to be at the source of the Thames at Kemble in Gloucestershire
but was moved down to Lechlade. I suppose it's safer there.
One thing we have noticed on the Thames, particularly on the upper reaches,
is the lack of vandalism and graffiti.
Although we're in a rural area, I think another contributory factor
is the fact that the locks are all manned.

The lock keeper at Lechlade was very pleased with himself.
He'd just had an interview for, and got, the job
as permanent lock keeper at St. John's Lock.
It's in a lovely spot, and there is a big house to go with it.
All the way along the Thames, we have admired the position of the lock keepers' houses.
They're usually right by the lock and are attractive and usually out in the country.
All that time, all those years, Trev and I were working away at stressful jobs
and we never knew that there were such a job as lock keeping
in idyllic surroundings with a house to boot!
Would we have done it if we'd known?
Probably not, one wasn't exactly encouraged at school to consider it as an occupation!
Certainly my parents would have had nervous breakdowns
if I'd said I wanted to be a lock keeper! I caused them enough problems as it was!

We moored just below the bridge in Lechlade,
beside a lovely meadow.
In the evening we walked in to Lechlade and ate at a pub.

Friday, 3rd September
We walked in to Lechlade and shopped.
It's an attractive Cotswold town, with some delightful buildings,
but so spoilt by the traffic which pours through.
I suppose it wouldn't be easy to build a bypass,
there would have to be a new bridge over the river.

Then we went right down to the VERY END of the navigable Thames!
It's about half a mile below the bridge at a place called Inglesham.
It's a pretty sylvan setting and there is room to wind a 70' boat.
Fortunately!


THE END OF THE NAVIGABLE THAMES

The junction with the now abandoned Thames and Severn canal is here too,
and we could see where it set off on its journey through the Cotswolds
to join the Gloucester & Sharpness Canal.
Plans are in hand to restore the canal, but it will take a lot of time and money
and I don't expect it will be done in our lifetime.
It will eventually form a new cruising ring, The Cotswold Ring.

However, we felt elated to know that we had cruised the Thames in its entirety
from Limehouse to Lechlade. All 146.5 miles of it.
I don't know how many locks there were, but the joy was that they were all operated
for us by unfailingly cheerful lockies, who always had a joke,
or a weather forecast or a bit of news to share.
And all of the gardens were most attractive.
There was a bit of friendly rivalry between them all.
One of the lockies told us that there used to be a competition for the best lockside garden,
but it got a bit nasty, so now it's just a case of personal pride.

So that is another goal under our belts!
Cherry was with us when we set off from Limehouse and with us when we got to Lechlade.
(Fortunately she went home in between, or it would have been a long holiday!)

We turned round and moored up again in the same place by the meadow.
Tomorrow, Cherry's daughter Hannah and boyfriend are coming for a cruise,
and then they will take Cherry home.

Saturday, 4th September
We took Hannah, Alan and Cherry for a cruise today.
We went to The Plough at Kelmscott for lunch.
What a delightful pub, a real country pub, unspoilt by music,
fruit machines "banquettes", etc.
We ate in the garden, enjoying the wonderful weather we've had all week.
Then we turned round and went back to Lechlade
dropped Hannah, Alan and Cherry off and they went home by car.
We stayed on the mooring in Lechlade.

Sunday, 5th September
The weather today has been outstanding.So warm with wonderful blue skies.
We reluctantly left Lechlade around noon, and started back down the Thames.
And guess what.........we ran in to a fishing competition!
It reminded us of the fishing competition we met on the Shroppie last year
when there were about two hundred fishermen over some miles of canal
and they all had to move their rods for us.
Well, this was just the same.
Only it wasn't quite so bad, as the river bends and twists,
so they weren't all in a line staring at us!
But there were several hundred of them,
and they all had to draw their rods in as we passed.
And the length of the rods--they were more like telegraph poles!

A boater asked us where we were going to next and we said, "Llangollen"!
For we are! We're now on our way to Llangollen for the winter.
It's quite a long way by boat!
Why Llangollen?
Well, several reasons really. It's pretty and it's different.
To get on to the Llangollen, you have to go through a set of locks
called Hurlston Locks.
These locks are to be closed this year, on November 1st, for repair.
So, once we're through, we shan't be able to get back
on to the main canal system until the locks reopen on March 10th.
Which means that it should be nice and quiet.
We're really looking forward to a different location for the winter.

Have a look at the journey we have planned to Llangollen--click here.

Click here to read about the journey we have planned to Llangollen.

Monday, 6th September
Now we're on our way back down the Thames.
We shall rejoin the canal system at Oxford and go up to Banbury.
I'm away for a couple of weeks now, so my next update
will probably be on Tuesday, 21st September.

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