Hi All,
Saturday 12th August - The glorious 12th - Or not as turned it out. Another
lazy start and the morning was spent with computery things and domestic
stuff. Late morning it started to rain, hard. We stayed put until the
weather cleared and at 2.30pm we left Pyrford Marina. Now, getting into the
mooring yesterday was a challenge, end on between two boats, getting out was
equally adventurous as the wind was gusting. Eventually after a great deal
of back and forth we turned the 180 degrees needed to exit the very narrow
gap back onto the river. Why do marinas always have such small gaps?. Almost
immediately Pyrford lock was in view and we passed the pub we were warned
against. Looked OK to me, with lots of happy customers enjoying whatever it
was they were enjoying. The lock was empty, with gates open. 3 boats waited
at the top and we were solo. The paddles are bottom gate type and at one
point the water rush was too strong and I could not hold LT on the stupid
little bollard and across the lock she went. Bang. I then slipped and over I
went. Bang, on my delicate little botty. This seemed to provide amusement to
the onlookers, in that stifled grin sort of way. Anyway, no harm done and we
were soon underway. There are lots of boats around today but still many tied
up so the going is slow. The canal/river gets wider in places and there are
some lovely views across the countryside. Fish jump in the air, quite high,
just for pleasure I assume?. At Newark Lock we catch up with Nb boat Jennie
Anne. It's the captains wife's birthday and they are out for the day for a
treat. Perhaps they only go out on birthdays?. It is still difficult to hold
LT on the centre rope but this time the boat stays on her side of the lock.
JA exits first and we follow. The going is slow, but what the heck, we are
in no hurry. In see a Fox playing the field. The water is so clear the fish
are easily visible. We pass some very large expensive properties and some
not so large. It is still cool and thankfully remains dry. Papercourt Lock
comes in sight and this time we get it right. Bow line, stern line and our
companions do the paddles, slowly. God knows how a single hander would get
on in these locks. There is then a long section, sometimes enclosed with
trees of all sorts of shapes and sizes. The good old British Oak, filled
with acorns, are well represented. Our final resting place today is Send,
just past Cart Bridge outside the New Inn. Very good mooring and a
reasonable TV picture. Tonight we eat in the pub. Tune in for the next
thrilling instalment to find out what happened...................
Regards
Andrew & Wendy from The Cut - River Wey
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