Yet another sunny morning, and Macc really enjoyed being back at the Guildford water meadows, with great opportunities for running about. We were ready to go at 8.30 so set off in the hope of getting our boating done before it got too hot again. At Millmead Lock a boat was coming up — Cazza, who we shared the Stoke Bruerne Locks with at the end of May, and then saw again in Berkhamsted and London. Adrian went to help the chap who’s a single hander; however they were so busy chatting that they didn’t notice that his centre line had got very tight as the boat rose in the lock. It proved quite a job to get it undone from the bollard. Once we were down, we passed the sights of central Guildford.
We made a brief stop at the moorings by the A3 bridge so Adrian could pop to Pets at Home to get Macc some more kibble. There had been a bag at the branch in Godalming of a flavour he hasn’t had before, but by the time we went back to get it, it had gone. The Guildford branch also had just one bag (it’s got the old branding on it) and put it behind the till for him to collect. We then passed all the back gardens and took the sharp left under Stoke Bridge; the weir stream goes past the Surrey Ad building, which will be familiar to anyone who drives up and down the A3.
Stoke Lock wasn’t far away, and looked really pretty as we approached — even more so as the gates were open ready. There’s a slipway here, and on the land is one of the huge Wey barges that used to ply this river. I’m not sure there would be depth or width for them these days.
Bowers Lock is also quite pretty, with the old mill alongside. A lady was sat on the bench there, and said she’d been determined to wait to see a boat through the lock before she headed off.
There’s a very sharp turn out of the lock, with the lock landing opposite. There’s another very sharp corner a bit further on after a bridge. Fortunately we didn’t meet anything in difficult situations; in fact we didn’t meet anything at all. We were heading for the same mooring by Wareham’s Bridge that we used on the way south. The whole length was free, so we took the southern end as before as it’s a bit more shady. The water meadow alongside has cows on it time.
Once we were safely past the cows, Macc could go off the lead and tear about like a mad thing. He definitely seems to remember being here before.
He also had a little adventure down by the river, having gone down for a drink on a sort of muddy beach. I’d walked round to the other side, and rather than just going back up the slope and round, he did a mountain goat impression along a sort of muddy cliff, then decided he didn’t like it and turned back. Then he tried to scramble up a steep bit that was probably 18 inches or 2ft high, and much to his surprise and mine actually managed it!
6 miles, 3 locks. (65 miles, 35 locks)