Wednesday 22 August 2012

A long and winding road ...

We left our mooring at 09:30 this morning - it promises another warm dry day but I understand that all is to change for the Bank Holiday Weekend - typical!
 After filling the water tank at Cart Bridge we were soon through Worsfold Flood Gates
... and the long and winding road starts about here ...
 ... and you can see for miles and miles!
 Moore 2 Life has taken the lead for a while and is waiting for Rock n Roll in Trigg’s Lock ..

.. with its attractive lock cottage dating from 1770 and which at one time had a blacksmith’s shop attached.
William Stevens became the lock keeper here in 1812 and it was one of his descendants who gave the navigation to the National Trust in 1964!




This plaque is on the cottage wall and it states Birmingham District but I’ve no idea why it’s there - perhaps just for decoration?






wild and wonderful





Send Church just to our left, this is the same church that we walked to yesterday from Send







A cosy group of dwellings
 The long and winding road continues past Sutton Place one of the most important early Tudor houses in England - it’s a pity that you can’t even catch a glimpse of it.  It was once owned by the late Paul Getty but now I understand that a Russian owns it.





Bowers Lock - a very tight left turn into here.








This lock was opened in 1653 - that’s 359 years ago - amazing!






The cows and the ...






... horses shelter from the midday sun   ...




... isn’t he/she sweet!




The National Trust look after their trees (even though they are crack willow!) and prop them up as they ‘crack'





... and in the meantime they have planted a sapling against each old trunk - mostly attached with string to provide support and shelter presumably until the young tree can stand on its own two feet (as it were).





Stoke Lock comes next ...


... as soon after, having gone under the lowest bridge on the navigation (Stoke Bridge) we come to The Rowbarge.

In May last year we walked from Send to this pub and had a very enjoyable drink or two!





A bomb!!




Hotel Boats Snipe and Taurus at Dapdune Wharf ...




... where the renovation of this old barge is being undertaken ...



... and the chocolate box cottages are quite splendid!




We’re into Guildford now - a lovely old mill building just before ... 




... Millmead Lock opened in 1764 and is the first lock on the Godalming Navigation.

 Views through the galley hatch once we’d moored ...
... on the water meadows by Quarry Hills Footbridge.
It’s been a lovely cruise today, the road was good and with the exception of one, all the locks were with us; we only had to wait a few minutes for that one as a boat descended, there was lots of lovely countryside and as I said at the top of this posting - the weather has been purrrfect!
A good day!

7 comments:

  1. The plaque is a firemark. More information on this company here: http://www.search.staffspasttrack.org.uk/engine/resource/default.asp?resource=14555

    Seems quite a long way out for Birmingham, though!

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  2. Carol

    Could the "Birmingham District" plaque be a fire insurance mark?

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  3. Hi Carole - great blog, wish I was out there with you ! Hope you find the Godalming Navigation as enjoyable as the Wey. If you stop around the St. Catherine's area and have time you can take the short walk over to Shalford Mill http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/shalford-mill/ (open Wednesdays & Sundays) where you will see another insurance plaque on the wall. The old staging inn the "Seahorse" is there alluding to the naval people who lived here in Nelson's time as a half way house between Portsmouth & London.
    Enjoy ! John Gibson, Navigations Manager, River Wey & Godalming Navigations

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    Replies
    1. Thanks John,
      Thanks for your kind comments about the blog!
      We did think about visiting Shalford Mill but couldn’t work out where to moor up conveniently. We’ll keep our eyes open for possibilities when we go that way on Sunday.

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  4. The tight winding sections of the Wey above and below Guildford are very pretty, look out for the rope rollers on some of the sharp bends.

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    Replies
    1. Hi Andy,
      Yes we did see the rope rollers as we came up river (photo though was a bit blurred!)

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