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.