BOATING ON THE THAMES

I know most barges don't have steering chairs - it's just not the barge-y thing to do (you're supposed to be made of sterner stuff). But we spent five years cruising along the Thames in one when we had our little Dutch river boat - see above - and found it very relaxing. Especially on the five hour trips from Wargrave to Goring.  So we decided to buy an adjustable barstool on ebay and managed to get the one in the photo for 0.99p plus £9.99 postage and packaging. I couldn't believe it. It's brand new! But because there's a tiny cut in the faux leather no-one else wanted it. We tested it recently and I have to admit that it has completely transformed my barging experience. When I'm standing at the helm I get restless and fidget a lot. But when I'm sitting down I can - quite literally - sit back and take it all in. What's more, it's multi-functional. Because when lowered, our boaty barstool fits under the dinette table in the wheelhouse or out ...

I've spent the last few months looking for one of these: a self hammering mooring stake.  Because when we're mooring along the bank and Mr J wants me to secure the bow rope as quickly as possible, the stake and mallet option sometimes takes too long. Plus it's hard work. So when some friends showed me their self hammering stakes, I decided to get one. But first I had to find them.  My friends couldn't remember where they'd got theirs from and our local chandleries had never heard of them. So it was over to google. After hours searching the internet and cross referencing different key words, I came across a few forums that mentioned automatic mooring stakes. The good news was that the descriptions matched what I had in mind. The bad news was that apparently they didn't exist any more. Undeterred I kept looking and discovered that Viking Marine  in Goole used to stock them. So I picked up the phone and spoke to a lovely lady called Sue. There was more good news ...

On Saturday morning we covered the remaining 7.5 miles to Shillingford and moored up by the Shillingford Bridge Hotel . (It costs £10 to moor overnight and that includes electricity and the use of the hotel's facilities, which I think is good value.) The afternoon was spent walking up the river to Days Lock, enjoying lunch in the sunshine at the Fleur de Lys pub in Dorchester, walking back along the river to Shillingford and relaxing on the boat in the evening. There's a word for days like this: idyllic!

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.

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?

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...

Although it was raining on Friday night, we decided we'd spend the weekend on the boat regardless. And I'm glad we did because Saturday was absolutely glorious. We didn't go very far - just down the river to Henley - but we had a lovely time. Moored up past the bridge on the right, had lunch, read the papers in the sunshine (I even got the sun block out!), went for a walk around town and then had dinner at The Little Angel (not to be confused with The Angel just beside the bridge), which was superb: great food, great atmosphere and great service. The perfect end to a great day. And this morning we were treated to a display of fit & disciplined athletes: rowers on the river and runners (the Henley Half Marathon) on the towpath. So all in all a superb weekend.

As the boat (name still tbc) is going to have a fairly major role in all my boating stories, I thought I'd introduce you to her. She's a Dutch made, Antaris 720 Family. Just over 8 metres long, with enough room to sleep 6 people (but you'd have to know them VERY well because there aren't any cabins). There isn't a shower or any hot water on board either but, like camping, you can make do with wet wipes. That obviously works for short, overnight stays. If you're planning to spend a week aboard, you'd have to use the showers (and hairdryers!) at the riverside Marinas. So pretty basic, but lovely nevertheless!

Our first lock was a bit stressful but we made it through without damaging our boat - or any of the other boats - and moored up just below Sonning Lock at around 5pm. The sun was setting, the man on the boat moored opposite us was fly fishing and, to top it all, a multi-coloured hot air balloon was gliding through the blue sky above us. It was idyllic. Dinner was at the riverside pub/hotel (must remember the names of these places) and after a glass of wine aboard we crashed out in our v-shaped bed. I was expecting to fall asleep to the sound of lapping waves (or the river equivalent) but instead I fell asleep to the sound of loud rock music: Queen, Kings of Leon, Dire Straits, etc. You see, there was a wedding at the aforementioned pub/hotel and they'd hired a live band. This morning - feeling rather scruffy (no shower on board) - we headed back to Wargrave passing swans, ducks, cows and rowers along the way. And it was so warm that I pulled out a sleeveless t-shirt an...