Boating on the Thames in Autumn has been a wonderful experience. The river has been consistently beautiful and interesting from Brentford to Oxford. At Oxford we left the Thames and entered the Oxford Canal via a lock. Suddenly everything’s much narrower.
On the Thames
Spooky moorings at Mapledurham
At Mapledurham the river’s edge was shallow so, after a couple of attempts to moor more conventionally, we tied our narrowboat to a couple of trees. I sat outside on the rear deck for a few hours, with a pot of coffee, a wool blanker and my laptop, to get some work done. Thought how rare it’s been for us to be out in countryside like this, so quiet and dark at night.
Temple Island near Henley-on-Thames
The first time I drove past Temple Island, several years ago on the way to Henley, it was early morning and so foggy I could barely see the banks of the river. The thick bank of fog ended abrupty at the island, a quite dramatic sight. This time, headed towwards Henley, the island and its ornamental folly could be clearly seen.
Moored on the Thames at Marlow
Very attractive moorings just west of Marlow town, and a great excuse to figure out how to take panoramic photos on my new camera. My parents and brother’s family had joined us for an afternoon’s drive from Marlow through the next lock and back again.
Moored outside Hampton Court
How’s this for a pretty fine spot for our first night on the Thames, moored outside the gates of Hampton Court? In the evening we were mobbed by hungry birds: it’s the coots I feel sorry for.
Nicholson Waterways Guides
The Nicholson Waterways Guides are invaluable to boaters. They show canal routes, which side the towpath is on, locks, winding holes, boatyards, marinas and more
More boats that make me smile
This is L’Escargot, a boat I’ve passed several times in Uxbridge and on the Thames: This tiny narrowboat was near Black Jack’s Lock: An imposing houseboat, Queen of the Thames, in the rain: A boat that looks like a Mondrian:
Single-handed boating and lock operation on the canals
Single-handed boating brings with it particular difficulties. Tips for solo boating and lock operation on a narrowboat.
Goodbye River Thames
My summer boating on the Thames is over and it’s back to the relative quiet of the canals.
Nice place, couldn’t leave
I moored near Hampton Court Palace for a few days, on the other side of the Thames in East Molesey. It’s a charming, old-fashioned place with small cafes and antique shops. When I went to leave I found I couldn’t. The water level must have dropped slightly and Bristol Fashion was stuck on the bottom […]
More repairs
Bristol Fashion is at Tim Barfield’s marina again, opposite Tagg’s Island, being repaired. Lately I’ve had a lot of water in the bilge and I asked the boatyard to find out where it was coming from. It turns out that a pressure valve is broken. That probably explains why water pumps mysteriously turn themselves on […]
Bristol fashion behind Bristol
Thanks to Simon Robinson (on a boat called Bristol) for sending me this photo of Bristol Fashion. At the time I was driving round looking for somewhere to moor in crowded Windsor. I’d just got stuck in the shallows on the opposite bank and had to ask another boater to give me a push off […]