For the first time in ages we woke up to cloudy skies. The forecast said we might also get some showers, although that didn’t happen. The rainfall radar suggested there was some a bit further north, but it missed us. We hadn’t slept particularly well as the wedding across the river went on until after midnight. The band earlier in the evening had been quite good, but then the DJ seemed to play some of the same things! We planned only a short trip today and wanted to give other people time to leave the moorings further into Henley, so it was nearly 10.30 when we set off. It was very windy, and in a direction that pushed us onto the bank so it took a couple of attempts to get out into the river. It also seemed like quite a long way to go just to get over to the right hand side, but before long we were taking the channel past Temple Island.
The Regatta course is still in the river, dividing it into lanes. There are horizontal bars between the posts, and one of them was hosting five cormorants.
There’s still quite of lot of the Regatta infrastructure that hasn’t been removed yet, with marquees and grandstands. But once past that it’s Henley proper, with it’s boat houses, the church tower, and the bridge.
We went past the island and found plenty of space at Marsh Meadow. We chose a relatively straight piece with piling and rings to tie to, and within minutes we had a big white cruiser mooring behind us and a Dutch barge coming in ahead.
The moorings are still £15 a night, but this time it’s the Town Council rather than a farmer. Marsh Meadow is a nice space, with a park-like area along the towpath and long grass with paths mown through it beyond. I took Macc for a walk and he was able to have a run around.
We walked down to Marsh Lock, past a lovely house called The Old House, and over a long bridge to the lock side.
The bridge has quite big gaps between the boards, and Macc’s feet kept slipping down. I carried him on the way back. The bridge from the lock back to the land upstream is closed (and appears to have been so for some time); there’s a map with the diversion route, which is a really long way round.
Macc has been quite reluctant recently to eat his kibble, although he quite likes it when we soak it. So Adrian made a quick visit to the nearby Tesco to get his some wet food which we’ll mix with it. It also means he’ll get some variety. When he was back I went for a walk down the riverfront to have a look at town. Later, we all went for an ice cream at Mill Meadow, which is a bit like a seaside resort. There was a brass band playing on the bandstand and people were having picnics and playing games. The hire boat businesses were also doing a roaring trade.
The river has been extremely busy again. The big trip boats we’d seen at the other moorings come this way first and then turn around. We’d been talking about how the New Orleans must have to lower its chimneys to get under Henley Bridge, and a few minutes later it came past, turned, and lowered them.
And not only did it not rain this morning, this afternoon has been sunny and warm again. Good for the solar, but not good for river flows and water levels.
2 miles, 0 locks. (35 miles, 13 locks)