Marlow’s rowers were out in force yesterday evening and again early this morning. It was a bit grey to start but brightened up as the day went on. We left our mooring, turning round to face downstream again, and the church clock stuck the quarter hour for 8.45 as we passed.
Marlow Lock was on self service. This is an awkward one, as the main part of the lock landing isn’t connected to the land. The bit you can get to the lock from leaves you almost at right angles to the lock entrance.
The lock was already full, but when these locks are on self service it doesn’t actually save you any time because you can’t open the gates until the sluices have been through their raising procedure, which is all based on time. Consequently we were there for a while while they did their thing. Below the lock you enter Bourne End Reach, which as well as having houses on the river bank also has some way up on the hill.
I’d let Andy know we were heading his way, so he suggested we moor at The Bounty for a few minutes as he had his black Lab puppy, Max, with him. We didn’t get to meet Max on the way up, so now was a good opportunity. As you can imagine, having two puppies together made getting a decent photo impossible.
Andy headed back over the river in Captain Beaky while we carried on to Cookham, under the road bridge.
Cookham Lock is currently only open during lock keeper hours, because one of the sluices is damaged. It’s letting a huge amount of water through the lock — and there’s a closure next week to fix it. Adrian asked the lockie if someone had hit it, but apparently not; it just broke.
Clive den Reach is next, and is totally different from the one before with the river running between tree-lined hills. Going downstream, you only see Cliveden House if you look behind you at the right moment.
On the approach to Boulters Lock there’s a cottage which has had this guy sitting outside for years. There’s also a blue plaque saying that Richard Dimbleby used to live there.
Boulters Lock had a boat just coming out, and there was a lock keeper on duty. Maidenhead Bridge has many arches, but at least the one to use is well marked.
We’d shared the last couple of locks with a hire boat, but when we got to Bray the lock keeper signalled that we wouldn’t fit. There was already a big trip boat in there. We waited while those boats went down and another came up. Below the lock we passed a couple more trip boats, from Windsor. One of them seemed to have a fairly upmarket lunch party going on.
There was space on the Environment Agency moorings at the end of Dorney Lake, so we turned around into the flow and slotted into it. The boat immediately in front of us has since left.
After lunch we took Macc for a walk and found St Mary’s Church, which is no longer in use but is looked after by the Friends of Friendless Churches. Parts of it date from the 12 century, and it’s known for galletting — the decorative use of slivers of flint in the pointing.
Just behind the church there’s a big field with footpaths across it, so Macc could have a run off the lead. There’s also a rambler’s car park, which explains the number of people using the Thames Path here.
Apparently you used to be able to walk along Dorney Lake, the rowing lake which is owned by Eton, and which was used for the 2012 Olympics. But it’s all fenced off now, and you can’t even really see it. The best I managed was through the gate next to a boat house at the end of the moorings.
10 miles, 4 locks, free mooring. (64 miles, 24 locks, £15)