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Showing posts from May, 2010

Eating Along the River Thames: Richmond's Riverside Restaurant Reviews

I sometimes wonder whether I should change the name of this blog to 'Eating along the River Thames', because we do a lot of it. But there's a good reason for this. I see our weekends on the boat as a chance to get away from it all and relax. For me that means not having to cook, clean and wash up (in a tiny sink). So I take porridge & fruit for breakfast - and I make the porridge in advance by mixing it with apple juice and yogurt. Not only is it delicious, but it also eliminates the need to cook. And I take some cold cuts for lunch - although if we're going on long walk we often stop off at a country pub for a bite to eat instead. And in the evening we head to the nearest cafe or restaurant for dinner. Needless to say, as we've been spending quite a lot of time on the river since we got our boat last September, we've been to quite a few: La Bodega , the Sweet Olive , The Angel on the Bridge , Cafe Buendia and the Royal China in Henley; T

A Family Affair

My sister, her husband and their 9 year old son came on board for the day on Sunday - and it was fantastic. They met us in Henley and we headed down the river to Hurley where we moored up, lit a BBQ and had bacon and sausage rolls for lunch. (We bought one of those £2.99 trays of coal and I have to say it was fantastic: small, easy to use and - most important of all when you have a small boat with no storage space - disposable!) Delicious food in an idyllic setting: boats coming and going through the lock, people milling around, glorious sunshine and lots of ducklings & goslings to feed. After a quick ice-cream from the local shop we went for a short walk through the village and along the river and then headed back to Henley for tea & biscuits and another walk: this time up to Marsh Lock and along the riverbank above it. Sunshine, good food, fresh air and brisk walks. A most perfect day.

A Man, a woman, a boat ... and a camcorder

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I bought a Canon camcorder for work ( findaTVexpert.com ) and decided I'd test it out on the river. For some reason I can't seem to upload it onto my blog so here's the YouTube link . It's my first attempt at filming and editing so it's very basic and the music's really cheesy (didn't have many options!). But it's a start. And the dog in the picture? She was on one of the barges we passed on the river. Adorable isn't she?

Gorgeous Goring on Thames

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Last weekend we made it up to Pangbourne and this weekend we put in the extra hour and went to Goring on Thames . We left Wargrave just before 3pm and moored up at 7.20pm. Four and a half hours is a long treck but I'd rather be in a boat on the river than in a car on the M4. Especially on a Bank Holiday Friday! Goring is really beautiful and we're looking forward to going on long walks in the surrounding countryside next time around. The only problem - apparently - is that it can be quite difficult to get a mooring because a) there aren't that many and b) it's a very popular spot. But it's worth if if you do. We had dinner at The Miller of Mansfield which is a restaurant, bar and hotel. The bar is very 'country pub' and the restaurant is very 'sleek boutique'. Great food and a very friendly service. My only complaint is that there wasn't enough lighting where we were sitting. I had to hold the menu over the tealight to be able