Following in the steps of Jerome K Jerome

Having reached the Thames I made the short trip from the Teddington tidal lock to Kingston Upon Thames where the "Three men in a boat" began their intrepid journey to Oxford.  The town has a large vibrant shopping area centred around a market square which made a pleasant contrast to so many towns centres which seem to predominantly feature charity shops and pound shops.  The bridge looked particularly pretty at night with its blue lighting.  Passing an estate agents window was an eye opener with 2 up 2 down Victorian terraces fetching £1M. 

I the next few days either here or at Hampton Court only a couple of miles upstream.  Last weekend my eldest son Steve joined me as he wanted to try one of the local Parkruns.  Having done Bushy Park with me a couple of years ago he chose Kingston-upon-Thames.  He had planned to run the Leeds half marathon this weekend but decided to withdraw when a knee injury returned. Given the temperature I think he made the right decision.  It also gave me another chance to try my new camera and lens combo which continues to impress me.

Once back aboard, showered and changed we headed up river to find a nice pub to moor up at for the evening.  The hot weather had brought out the fair weather boaters and the river was busy as were the first couple of spots I had in mind.  We eventually found a space near Weybridge and enjoyed dinner at a pleasant riverside hostelry.  I enjoyed having Steve at the tiller allowing me to relax and just watch the world go by.  

After dropping Steve at Walton-on-Thames station on Sunday I made my way back to Shepperton and stopped overnight just above the lock.  I was a little nervous returning to this area as on my last visit 2 years ago my engine broke resulting in 7 weeks stuck in an expensive marina and very large dent in my wallet.  On Monday the river was much quieter and as you can see I had the large locks largely to myself as I cruised gently up to Windsor. 

I did encounter one lock between Runnymede and Windsor where I had to share with a large trip boat.  

As I approached Windsor the clouds grew darker and I found a mooring just as the rain arrived and avoided a soaking.  Due to its proximity to Heathrow its almost impossible to take a photo of Windsor without a plane in view.   

Return to father Thames

A couple of days cruising has seen me safely back on the Thames. Yesterday was quite a long haul as I covered the 18 miles and 10 locks from central London to Brentford.  I don't enjoy this stretch stretch of canal seems as it has more than its share of sunken rubbish, mainly plastic bags and bits of nylon string, which are prone to getting wrapped around the propeller which slows the boat and puts additional load on the engine.  The solution is to stick an arm down the weed hatch and cut the rubbish off. I have invested in a pair of James Herriot style gloves which are most welcome in the cold water.

Two or three hours completed the 12 lock free miles of the Paddington Arm and saw me rejoin the main Grand Union canal at Bulls Bridge.

Bulls Bridge - Through the bridge for Paddington.

The remaining run down to Brentford is only 6 miles but has 10 locks including the 7 lock Hanwell flight. The canal passes an old asylum which has small wooden doors in the wall to allow the fire brigade to put hoses through to take water from the canal.

Halfway down the Hanwell Flight with the asylum behind the wall.

With the Hanwell flight complete Brentford is only around a mile away with a further 2 locks as the canal passes through pleasant countryside.

The day ended at a handy mooring in the basin only yards from the gauging lock which separates the canal from the river Brent. Only a few hundred yards further is the Thames lock which provides access to the tidal Thames.

Brentford Basin 

This morning I passed through the Thames lock around 10:00 on a rising tide which helped carry me the 6 miles up river to the famous Teddington Lock. Home to Thames television and of course the site of the famous Monty Python fish slapping sketch.

In fact there are three locks at Teddington. On the left of the picture below is the largest. At 21 ft wide and 625ft long it could hold over 30 narrow boats the size of mine.  It is not normally used which is why the traffic light is red. To the right of this, behind the trees, is the standard lock which can still take 9 Mr Bunbury's.  There is also a final small skiff lock designed for rowing skiffs which is only a few feet wide.

Approach to Teddington Lock.

The aerial shot below (not mine) shows the comparative size of the three locks.  The upper most is clearly the 625ft monster. The standard lock is below the island with a white cruiser in it and the skiff lock, also known as the coffin lock, is the tiny one alongside that.

Teddington Lock aerial view