After upping sticks at Hampton Court just before 9 am, we proceed to Molesey Lock ...
... we take the left hand arch just behind those trees ...
... waiting for the lock to open (it's 5 minutes to 9) looking back at Hampton Bridge ...
... a row of ducky reflections!
Into and out of the lock we soon see the house boats ...
... amazing!...
... someone had delusions of grandeur but it's rather dilapidated now
Taggs Island and we keep to the right ...
... more glamourous houses ...
... and an even more glamourous house boat ...
... and another one of these - are they summer houses do you think?
Platt's Eyot - once supported a community of engineers and craftsmen, with boatbuilding being carried out from the 1850's. Electric launches were built here after 1889 when Thornycrofts took over and built 170 torpedo boats here between 1938-45; they left during the 1960's.
A bit like taking your car to the garage for repair I suppose.
Under Platts Eyot bridge ...
... we see a boat with a garden ...
... and yet more nice boats, gardens and houses - navigation to the left this time.
Sunbury Lock in the middle distance - but that boat look familiar ...
... it's Sue and No Problem ... we have a quick chat as we pass ...
... because the lock keeper has seen us coming and opened the gates in readiness ...
... the lock cottage is empty, the former keeper has resigned and left; the lock keeper on duty today was saying that it will probably be let out - nice spot I thought but he told me that open-air rock concerts had been held last summer just around the rear of the house and that they would probably continue and the noise as you can imagine is not subtle!
Coming up to Desborough Cut and we have to keep left, but it wasn't left under this bridge!
We're quite close to the Shepperton TV Studies here.
That's a lock in the middle distance there - is it the one we need I wonder?
... no, that's Shepperton Lock ...
... we need to keep to the left ...
... and nearly ended up in a marina - there's a sign over there in the trees ...
... the National Trust, don't go in for big blowsy signage and we nearly missed it!
cooo, that's a big weir!
... looks peaceful enough ...
... lots of green and the marsh irises are out in abundance just now ...
... that looks promising ...
... we need to pull over here and go and find the lock keeper re our licence to navigate the River Wey.
Thames Lock house and surroundings are very well kept ...
... we've paid for the licence and the keepers have opened the sluices - the water creates a fierce whirlpool on the corner! ...
... and in we go ... we asked the lock keeper where the closest place to moor-up for the night is and have been told to go through the fist lock and there's plenty of moorings there.
We pass some lovely traditional buildings ...
... and some very modern ones being built.
The lock keeper told us to be careful here - the navigation continues through the very uninspiring bridge just to the right of centre under here ...
... the very graceful arched bridge on the left is the original course of the river Wey.
We need to keep to the left of those metal posts and enter immediately into Town lock. It's just turned 1:30pm and we've not eaten yet so we hope to see some mooring soon. Great, just around the corner from the lock was a long pontoon with a 62' space just for us! But it was not to be, a chap came to tell us that it was private mooring, so off we set again. We tried two more possible mooring slots to find one was private and the other too shallow.
Coxes Mill - the current below the lock was so strong. It comes from the right of the mill building, down the weir and straight across the channel, hits the wall on the other side and bounces back again. It was difficult to keep the boat under control as the greater force was the water bouncing off the wall which was actually pushing me towards the weir away from the lock. George had gone ahead to open the locks and I have to admit that although I managed to get the bow into the lock ok the stern did touch the wall - fairly gently though!
We thought it odd that all the top lock gates were open until we read the information given to us at Thames Lock - that gates are left open as you leave the lock but that all sluices should be closed - so as the locks were all against us (a boat was going up in the same direction in front of us) they took much longer to set.
At the junction of the Basingstoke Canal going off on our right ...
... we continue straight ahead, there was a space in the line of boats there but as you will guess - it was private mooring!
It was late afternoon and I have to admit I was tired, hungry and irritable when George spotted a space just around this corner and we pulled in fitting perfectly into the slot. Great!
I remembered being on the River Severn on a hire boat over 30 years ago and being frustrated not to be able to find what I would call 'proper' mooring spaces, the River Wey looks as if it will be the same. Not sure how much I'm going to enjoy this trip.
Great pix. Looks like an interesting run.....didn't know the Wey was navigable - thought ir unpassable, silted and sequestered for Surrey housing, executive-style, of course!
ReplyDeleteIt is so frustrating when a mooring cant be found. There is a lot of growth from the towpath at the moment with not a lot of boats about.. they won't knock down the growth until June.
ReplyDeleteI think as long as you keep to the towpath side mooring is OK anywhere that is deep enough, just you might have to moor in the jungle side and trample a way to that towpath!
Sue xx
thanks for commenting Iain, watch this space!
ReplyDeleteHi Sue, thanks for the comments, we'll be ok - I'll get used to it! We've done a lot of walking on the towpath - it really is a pretty river.
ReplyDelete