The Sumpners Afloat

12th to 18th August – continuing our journey along the Thames.

As yesterday was a scorcher and today looked to be even hotter, we made an early start. It was no hardship – such a beautiful morning. We didn’t go far., really, just along to Dorney Lake, where the 2012 Olympics Rowing events were held. We went through Boveney Lock (where the sanitary facilities which we need are hors de combat. Annoying!) and moored by the boat house

The temperature on the boat was 23C by 09:00. It finally reached about 32C at its zenith and we were glad that we were not cruising in that heat. Paul finally finished work about 6:15pm and we immediately threw of off our clothes and donned or swimming togs. I can’t tell you how refreshing it was! An absolute delight. We took the boys in with us to cool them off but they didn’t stay for a swim. Straight out , wet and running around like mad things after, being flaked out , tongues lolling, on the (relative) cool of the deck. I think they actually appreciated the cooling effect of the water. We sure did!

We showered after our swim and cooked dinner – an easy one of Ham and Mozzarella Tortelloni and sauce – before settling down for the evening. It was reckoned to be a good night for the Aurora and also for seeing the Perseids at their height. We were flagging by 10:30 after out early start, but popped out to scan the skies – just in case. We saw a total of 5 (and a large number pf planes) – and then shuffled off to bed.

Tuesday was another early start. And actually – dare I say it – a bit nippy. It felt a bit like Autumn knocking at the door. Noooo! I refuse to put a coat on. We passed through Bray, and the Bray Film Studios – home of Hammer Horror, and with an interesting connection to Alexander Hamilton and the Schuyler sister, Angelica, which you can read about here. There was an amazing display of flowers at Bray Lock – mainly Dahlias’ a favourite of mine. But the yellow Angel’s Trumpets (Brugansia) made the most wonderful addition to the picture.

We cruised on to Maidenhead, under the famous Brunel railway bridge with it’s “sounding arch”.Of course I could not resist a quick sing! And it was at this spot that we very nearly had a close encounter with a rowing pair. They were bearing down on us at the stren, blithely unaware of our presence. I had to yell three times with increasing volume before they finally took evasive action. They looked quite shocked to see us. No apology – almost as if it was our fault!

We passed through Maidenhead lock and were almost immediately rewarded with the beautiful bosky stretch that is Cliveden Reach, Cliveden soon appeared through the trees – always a thrill to see. We found a spot on one of the aits and moored for the day. It’s £10 per night but worth every penny to have your own private island. It’s one of our all-time favourite boating spots and it’s lovely to be back.

It ‘s very much cooler today as we are partially shaded – although not great for solar – sometimes a compromise is necessary. The boys seem much happier and so are we. It is so tranquil at this spot – it would be truly idyllic if it weren’t for the noise from planes.

When Paul finished work, we went to give the boys some exercise on the island. As it is fairly small, Paul went one end of the island and I went the other, both armed with treats. They ran from one to the other of us, bribed by treats and had a great run up and down.They love this game and it’s also fun for us too. While we were on the island, we made our daily call to Uncle D by FaceTime, so that he could see here we were.

After dinner, we settled down to watch some TV when I saw someone run past the window of the boat – this was odd as we knew there was definitely no other boat on the island. Paul looked out and saw another person as well – both canoeists who had come ashore to pee – on OUR island! How very dare they! Paul gave them short shrift and they scuttled off.

We checked the weather before bed as we had removed all the windows. There was just a very slight risk of rain so we thought we’d leave them out. BIG mistake – we both had to jump out of bed and scuttle around putting windows in as it started raining quite heavily! We’d have made a funny sight, galumphing around in our bare skin, I can tell you!

We had another early start and made our way down to the end of Cliveden Reach (so wish we could have stayed longer) towards Cookham Lock. We saw a young heron fishing for his breakfast – successfully – and a beautiful Kingfisher. We were accompanied in the lock by a couple of swarthy chaps who looked as of they were salvaging a broken down and quite dilapidated boat. They had a tug which was pulling the bigger, beleaguered boat along. We pulled over to the services while they carried on. As they approached the bridge over the lock cutting, I was pretty sure that they were not going to make it under the bridge with the towed boat. Well they did – but minus a couple of air vents! Probably a trifle in the grand scheme of things – there is much to do to restore that boat to its former glory. I really wanted to take a pic, but it seemed a bit rude.

As we came up Cookham Reach, we could see a lot of activity in a field by the sailing club. Cameras, etc. Looked like they were doing some filming? And then I saw someone who looked remarkably like Alison Hammond – and as she seems to be on everything at the moment, it very well could have been!

Cookham Reach is another lovely stretch – more open than Cliveden reach, which is heavily wooded. We were aiming for one of our top Thames mooring spots – Spade Oak (£8 per night) where we are meeting friends later today and taking on our next set of guests tomorrow. As I drew closer (Paul was hard at work by this point) I could see what looked like and Old Nick shaped space , right where I wanted it. Whoop! I very swiftly made it mine and tied up for the day, relieved that our plans had actually worked out.

This spot has some good memories for us from our 2021 cruise. We spent a fair while in the area, meeting people here, dropping people off and so on. Paul also had his first (and last) go at paddleboarding here. He was a natural but found it a bit boring.

This afternoon we had a visit from old friends, John and Linda Raddon, from Marlow. We chatted the afternoon away while poor old Paul slaved over a hot laptop. As it was Linda’s birthday on Friday, we agreed that they would come again on Friday morning for a short cruise back to Marlowe or thereabouts.

As food had dwindled to almost nothing in the fridge (although if I had really wanted to I probably could have found something!) we decided to have a takeaway that evening – 2 delicious Chicken and Prawn Pad Thais from the Giggling Squid in Marlow really hit the spot. Delicious and still plenty hot enough – not always the case with food delivery services. Our groceries for the forthcoming weekend also arrived and all we had to do was get through Thursday before we could have a long weekend with our buddies Paul & Sue Rogers. And the weather looked amazing!

Thursday passed, filled with cooking and cleaning and stripping beds etc, etc. in preparation. And then we were ready. Their journey up to us seemed endless, but they eventually turned up, having been driven by their son Dominic (what a good boy!). There was much excitement form the dogs – all four of them! Lulu is an old hand but it was Gracie the Dachshund’s first visit and she looked a bit overwhelmed by it all. She’ll be fine.

After a couple of hours catching up, we all retired to bed – I warned our guests about the Marlow Donkey. The first train comes through before 6 am and they keep running until after midnight. And that train is very noisy as it passes this spot! It is perfectly quiet outside these hours, though.

I think Lulu and Gracie were a tad over-excited and they had us up pretty early, but it was a beautiful morning so we were making the most of the day, really? John and Linda were catching the 10am from Marlow to Bourne End and then walking to us. We stood at the level crossing to wave at them, but they didn’t see us! They were too busy filming the boat from the train window!

The arrived very shortly from the station and we set off. It seemed like such a short hop to Marlowe that we suggested they should stay on until Temple Lock. We arrived at Temple and it still seemed too short so, they decided to stay until Hurley Lock, where Linda very kindly treated us all to an ice cream.

And then – in for a penny, in for a pound – they decided that it would be pretty easy to grab a bus from the road by Hambleden Lock. We finally parted late afternoon and we made our way on down, past the site of Download South, which was gearing up for a weekend of music, before stopping at a nice spot on the outskirts of Henley.

We had sundowners followed by dinner on deck as it was a such a nice evening. We watched the endless procession of craft going up and down and then played a few games until the light faded. So many flying insects at this time of year ,so we prefer not to put lights on as it attracts them. I think we were all pretty tired, though, and we all went off to bed just after 9:30pm!

I think we had worn the dogs out as we didn’t wake up until gone 8:15. It had been a very quiet spot, once the party boats had docked and I think everyone had slept very well.

We set off, through stunningly pretty (and very expensive!) Henley and then though the the first lock of the day (Marsh) followed by a boatful of clueless hirers in a very swish boat, that I reckon will be slightly less sparkly when returned. We watched them smash it into the Lock pontoon and then, as they entered the lock, they said to the lock-keeper something along the lines of “sorry we are new to this” – his reply? “I’d never have guessed” – or similar!

The lock keeper warned us that the next lock (Shiplake) had been playing up that day, but we got through unscathed. The elsan facilities were cordoned off, making it the 3rd in a row that we had been unable to use. The EA are having a bit of a laugh, facilities wise and I still haven’t had a reply to last week’s complaint email. I shall be chasing that next week!

It was such a lovely day that we continued cruising until quite late and ended up mooring in a nice spot just below Sonning Lock. We were regaled by a very loud, though distant, David Bowie tribute act. Research showed that it was Moonage – The Best of Bowie. Not too bad – from a distance! But it did go on a bit. I think I drifted off to a Mott the Hoople track. I’ll leave you to guess which!

It was a comparatively chilly night, but we still slept with everything that could be open open. Another good night – silent once “Bowie’s” tonsils had stopped reverberating! And the days are whipping by! Paul Rogers is an ace window-tinter, and he has come armed with all his gear to do Old Nick’s windows. He polished off the 4 portholes today. How exciting! Pictures to follow.

We came up through Sonning Lock with a plan to call in at the handy Tescos in Reading. We passed the entrance to the Kennet & Avon canal – very unprepossessing and dilapidated looking and not signposted. It’ll be a while before we are tempted to try it again after our previous visit!

A quick flick round Tesco – beer, bread, Bonios – essentially things beginning with B – except Salted Caramel Vodka…..! and we were off again. Past the site of the forthcoming Reading Festival – which is huge – they even build a temporary bridge each year! I really can’t think of anything I’d rather do less!

We stopped at Caversham Boat Services for a quick top up of diesel (only 50L) and – finally – a place to empty the loo. They charge £1 for the privilege, so well worth it! We had lunch “on the go” and pressed on through Mapledurham Lock – which is absolutely HUGE! – and found a delightful quiet spot just below the lock, surrounded by beautiful countryside. Heaven!

Paul R has completed 3 of the large windows today – it’s starting to look amazing and I love the light – it takes the glare out of the sun and actually cools the boat ,so we are going to be very glad of that for the remainder of the summer.

And so another week draws to a close. We have a couple more days with Sue and Paul and Lulu and Grace, then we’ll be back to just the two of us (4 of us?) for a while. The dogs have got on pretty well – a couple of little clashes over food and beds – but otherwise they’ve rubbed along together pretty well. And I’ve lost count of the number of times we have holidayed with Sue & Paul and we always get on very well. Much laughter and silliness!

P.S. – bonus points for anyone who can work out the link between this post’s Song Lyric Title and what we have been up to this week. Drop me a message if you get it!

Period	Miles	Locks
12th to 18th August	32	13
Cumulative	294	241