Friday 24 June 2011

Birds galore on the way to Bourne End

We're upping sticks in a few minutes and out of the window I saw ...
 ... the great crested grebe family again ...
 ... reversing out of our mooring spot ...
 ... over there in the trees ...
 ... and we pass the young mallards that I've been feeding all week ...
 ... and the family grebe too ...
 ... and past this - the prettiest boat I've ever seen - the chap inside told us that he'd designed and built it himself and has only been out on it this week with a few jobs still to do on the inside ... lovely indeed ...
 ... and the river gets wider ...
 ... as we pass Spring Cottage on the Cliveden House Estate ...
 ... very nice too from the riverside ...
 ... and the boathouse with trip boat ...
 ... and the cottage opposite it ...
 ... ooh, we didn't see that when we were out walking ...
 ... hidden in the trees ...
 ... we soon arrive at Cookham Lock...
 ... where there's another house hidden in the trees!
 Cookham Lock is rather unusual having another set of gates making it also a stop lock ...
 ... under Cookham Lock Cut Bridge ...
 ... and past Hedsor Priory ...
 ... to Cookham with The Ferry pub there on the left ...
 ... and on towards National Trust Cock Marsh to the left of centre ahead where we made three unsuccessful attempts to moor ... and moved on ...
 ... passing a summerhouse and a glass ball with a door ...
 ... and a boat flying a Royal Air Force flag - perhaps an Air Commodore lives there ...
 ... two thatched properties ...
 ... of very different designs ...
 ... and a red kite in the sky ... we'd been watching a group of 4 of them earlier.
 Now moored on the EA visitor moorings at Bourne End where the locals feed the ducks, geese and swans ...
 ... this rampant swan was seeing off ...
 ... a rival - I'm telling you he nearly drowned the poor swan that he has hold of here next to Sancerre...
 ... here's another batch of lovely, cuddly, fluffy baby mallards ...
... and goslings growing up ...
... and all's well that ends well!

1 comment:

  1. Loely pics again. Looks like a great mooring you had there - gorgeous countryside, almost a surprise given the suburbanity of parts of the Thames! Just out of interest, I think the Priory you passed is BeeGee, Robin Gibbs' home. My daughter knows the family and often visits and from the pix I've previously seen it looks the same. In addition, I know it's Riverside, close to Maidenhead/Cookham. Have a lovely cruise. I do envy you the life!

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