Farewell to The Wey

Wednesday 6^th September 2017

Godalming

A domestic morning which included a trip to Sainsburys which was close enough to allow us to wheel the trolley right up to the boat.  We were expecting a friend to visit in the afternoon, but due to family circumstances she was unable to make it.  We were sorry we missed you, Carole, and hope things sort themselves out soon.

On 19th August I ordered some train tickets for two journeys making the most of cheap fares for advanced booking.  It seemed prudent to pay to have them sent home by second class mail, however by 2nd September they had not arrived.  A call to Trainline had resulted in an email with a code enabling me to get the tickets from a station, so off we went after lunch to walk to Godalming Station.  All the correct buttons were pushed and codes entered, however only two tickets were printed out for my journey from Bromsgrove to Euston and return for 17th October.  There was no sign of the Leamington Spa to Birmingham International on 8th October.  My error had been to not read all the email they had sent as I would then have noticed the code only covered the one journey.  I sat at the station and called again and to give them their due within about 5 minutes I had a second code and was able to get the second set of tickets.  

Thursday 7^th September 2017

Godalming to Dapdune Wharf, Guildford

5.25 miles, 4 locks

Back to more visitors - this time another ex-colleague of mine and her fiancée.  

Sharon did a good job of keeping Chris company.

Whilst Justin got stuck in to give me a very welcome hand.

They very kindly brought lunch with them along with this rather special box of chocolates

We stopped on Shalford Meadow and moored to have lunch - the weather was dry, but not warm enough to eat out, so we enjoyed a relaxing hour or so inside eating and chatting. Just one more lock before Sharon and Justin were going to 'jump ship' to catch the train back to Godalming.  It is a honeypot lock for Gongoozlers and a welcome helping hand from this very keen young man.  His Grandma told me he is 'two and a bit' - well that 'bit' is very important when you are two  He has done it before and certainly knew what he had to do.

A wave goodbye to our helpers

and all too soon it was time to say farewell - they snapped us, about to

snap them

and they were on their way with much lighter bags than they had arrived with

Thank you both for lunch, chocolates and your company.

Friday 8^th September 2017

Dapdune Wharf to Pyrford

9.75miles, 6 locks

The day dawned dry and fairly bright.  The first job of the day was a walk around the grounds at Dapdune for Monty and I.  He was proudly carrying his new toy we bought in Godalming - he seems quite happy with it round his neck.

This is one very grand insect hotel

Evidence of shelter building maybe?

and plenty of space to play with a quoit

When we were at Dapdune two years ago this area was a well tended vegetable garden complete with scarecrows.

Monty carried the quoit back to the boat in a more regular fashion

Then we were off and it was not long before we passed this wonderful old mill building housing the Surrey Advertiser

and that is the end of the photos for the day!  We knew rain was due and they weren't wrong - it was a full waterproofs day.  We just hunkered down and kept on going as we were meeting our Brother in Law at Pyrford where he was going was to join us for dinner on board.  A pleasant evening and it was great to spend some more time with you Mike and thank you for acting as 'delivery boy' again and for the bottle of wine.

Saturday 9^th September 2017

Pyrford to The Pelican Inn, Addlestone

3.5 miles, 2 locks

We joined the River Wey on Friday of last week and experienced a very busy day on the Saturday with many boats on the move, but since then we have probably only seen 6 boats on the move in the entire week - so much so, I was going to call this post 'Where have all the boats gone?'.  The answer seems to be that they only come out on Saturdays as once again it was fairly busy.  Not just narrow boats - we came across a young lad wading along the river - we have no idea why.

There were also some rather Kamikaze rowers who did not seem to have a great deal of directional control, but they did manage to get over to the bank and hang on for dear life as we passed.

This boat was moored under a very large road bridge - he was painting his roof.

 One of the good things about going down hill is you can fill the lock with both paddles open when there is no boat in there - it really was a case of very gently does it going uphill.

 Cox's lock is most certainly the prettiest on the Wey

Our mooring for the night was outside The Pelican Inn in Addlestone - far from the best mooring on the River, but we were meeting friends for dinner in the pub which is under new management.  We cannot fault the staff - the service was excellent and they were very welcoming and polite.  The food - well we have had better, but we have also had far worse.  The pub was quite busy, but not overly noisy and we had a quiet and safe night.

Our friends, Mo and Tim, we have known for many years and I did take some photos, however, I had failed to put the chip back into the camera, so they are installed in the internal memory and I am blowed if I can get them out!  If anyone can explain to me in words of  half a syllable how to do this (Panasonic Lumix TX70) I would be very grateful.  We have downloaded the instruction book and tried all sorts to no avail.  So for the moment Mo and Tim you remain incognito!  It was wonderful to see you and thank you so much for the bottle of wine.

Finally a picture for our daughter - this is as close to Mrs Moore that we can get!

Sunday 10^th September 2017

Addlestone to Kingston upon Thames

9 miles, 5 locks

And so our journey along the Wey and back again came to an end.  

All too soon we were back at Thames Lock and would soon be back on the Thames.  The lock keeper told me that someone once described The Thames as the M25 and The Wey as a country lane - something I would not argue with. 

 Approaching Thames Lock

Waiting for the large gate of the Pound Lock to be opened to expel us back onto the Thames.

If you have not been to the Wey we would both recommend it. Some of the locks are not the easiest in the world and it was certainly a lot easier last time when we were travelling with nb Cleddau, but it is worth the effort.  These gates at Haw lock are a bit of a challenge, but the wall helps as you can plant your feet on it and push!

For the most part it really is like a country lane

The one big problem they have is Himalayan Balsam which is rife

So here we were on a rather grey and windy day back on the much larger Thames.  Turn right at Weybridge

past the ferry which does still run from one side of the river to the

other.

Soon after we joined the Thames this large craft pulled out in front of us - it is solar powered and very, very slow.  Whether they chose that pace or whether it cannot go any faster we have no idea.  It certainly looked very new and rather luxurious inside.

There were plenty of these enjoying the windy conditions zig zagging to and fro.

We had just two locks to go through on the Thames - Sunbury

and Moseley where we stopped for water - well we did when the very small hire cruiser moved - they arrived a couple of minutes ahead of us and moored right on the water point so the ladies could go to the loo and then asked if they were allowed to moor whilst they all went to get a cup of coffee!!  It was all rather quiet, so we did suggest they ask the lock keeper who did allow them to as long as they moved right up to the lock gates.  We moved forward but oh how awkward this water point is - the hose is so short we could only manage with the bow tight to the side and the stern jutting out.  Once we had filled and emptied as required we were on our way

passing Hampton Court - one day we will stop here, but there is not time this year

and on to Kingston where we were able to moor on the Richmond side - free for 24 hours, quieter than the other side and also better for Monty.

We were expecting visitors to arrive mid afternoon who were going to stay to have dinner with us, but unfortunately Ron was not too well, so Cathy came on her own, but only stayed until around 5pm. Time enough to walk with Monty and I back towards Hampton Court, before a couple of cuppas and a lot more chat.  I am afraid I forgot to take a photo, so another incognito visitor.  We were sorry to miss you Ron and hope you are fully better soon.  Thank you Cathy for your company and the wine - our stocks have done well this trip!

Our tally of visitors since 1st September is 20 with one who visited us three times - that is what I call a result even though a few were missing.  We have had a fabulous 10 days and will have to do it all again one day.  Mind you I think it is starvation rations for the next couple of weeks!

For those that check our stats (top left) you will see that the miles have finally overtaken our total locks since our first cruise on 1 July 2014.  Mind I suspect it will swing back again before we get home in mid October.

We are hoping to go down the tidal Thames at 7am on Tuesday, but at present the Thames Barrier is shut, so there are no movements until it opens again, so it is a case of 'watch this space'!

ps - the news just now included an item about the Barrier - it was a planned raising, so all will be back to normal tomorrow, so we should be good to go on Tuesday.