BOATING ON THE THAMES

Never underestimate the River Thames on yellow boards - even when the stream is decreasing. Last week we were going upstream and getting ready to moor at Hambleden Lock.  As a boat was coming out of the lock - and had right of way - we couldn't cut across it to get to the moorings. So we stayed on the right and tried to 'hover' in the weir stream. But it's quite difficult to hover in a 27 tons barge and unfortunately we got pushed onto the small island by the current and into a very thick (15cms/6" diameter) branch which smashed through our window. We did everything we could to avoid this but the river kept pushing us back. Luckily we weren't hurt - just a few cuts. But we were shaken - and gutted.

There are five sounds that say 'the Thames' to me: 1. The whoop whoop whoop of the swans as they take flight. 2. The (endless) honking of the Canada geese, especially when you're trying to have a lie-in. 3. The growl of bow and stern thursters in the locks and when boats are mooring up. 4. The 'kerchoomf' sound of rowing blades driving through the water (again, usually at the crack of dawn when you're trying to have a lie-in) 5. The ting, ting, ting of mooring pins as they're being driven into the bank with a mallet. Which are your five?

There's always a surprise around the corner on the Thames. This time it was an amphibious boat club: 65 cars from across Europe.  They cause chaos and queues in the locks - but they put a smile on your face.

Although this blog is about boating on the Thames, I'm going to include a story I wrote about boating on the Burgundy Canal in my RichmondReview blog. You see... one of the reasons we bought the barge is because we're thinking of doing 'the French thing' in a few years time. So our holiday was a bit of a recce. I know that to compare is to despair, but I have to be honest and say that boating on the Burgundy Canal is pretty boring compared to boating on the Thames. And the 12 days we spent on the Canal between Tonnerre and Montbard in June were probably our worst holiday ever. The fact that it rained every day didn't help. And we had problems with our 'luxury' hire boat.  I say luxury in inverted commas because the boat smelt damp and musty, parts of it were downright dirty and brown duvet covers have never been synonymous with luxury to me (I was hoping for crisp, white cotton sheets and plump, lavender scented pillows). Back to the prob...