We had a lovely evening with Andy. The food at The Bounty was ok, but of course the main thing was to catch up with Andy and hear about how busy he is with Captain Beaky and his other boat, Captain Wattknot. And he’d been dying to have a look at KV, so we could do that as well. He buzzed back over the river at about 10pm, and quite a bit later, after we were in bed, a boat arrived to moor behind us, with all sorts of thrusters being used. This morning we were up fairly early with Macc again and were ready to set off at about 8.15. The reach between Bourne End and Marlow is very pretty.
There are also many lovely houses along here, of all different ages and styles. Some are right on the river bank, often raised up because of the flooding in winter, while others are high on the hill and must have amazing views.
The last one is there just because it’s a bit weird, not because we like it! As well got to Marlow Lock it was just on 9am, opening time, so we wondered whether the lockie would be there yet or not. The self service sign was still showing but then water was released, the gates opened, and a huge work boat emerged. The lock keeper then waved us in.
Above the lock, Marlow is very pretty with a church and the suspension bridge.
There’s been a lot of talk about the moorings in Marlow. The ones on the park have been upgraded, and are charged per bay per hour during the day. A narrowboat like us would take up five bays, so it works out at about £35 an hour. Overnight is £20 no matter how many bays you occupy. Regardless, those moorings were full. There was space on the free moorings a bit further on, but it was too early to stop, even for us. A bit further on we passed Bisham Abbey, the National Sports Centre.
Temple Lock was on self service, and we shared with a big cruiser which had set off from Marlow. The footbridge above the lock has a bit of a long term issue.
The bridge was opened in 1989 with a 30 year lifespan, and closed in 2023. It seems the central span was removed in November last year, and inspections early this year found the remaining bits are also in a bad way. Apparently plans for replacement are being reviews — which probably means nothing will happen very quickly. The reach between Temple Lock and Hurley Lock is the second-shortest on the river, and a hire boat pulled out in front of us from some rather nice moorings. That line of boats also contained the Name Of The Day: Bryan Ferry.
All three boats fitted into Hurley Lock, which was also on self service. It’s only about 3ft deep, but the pull of the water entering was very strong. Above the lock we weaved round a number of islands, and then passed Medmenham Abbey.
We’d thought we might moor on the field moorings past there but every space was full, usually boats that appeared to have been there a while. There were only three camper vans in the camping field though. At Hambledon Lock we had to wait while a couple of boats came down, but there’s a lovely view across the weir stream to the mill.
The lock keeper at Hambledon was very keen to get us all a long way forward in the lock, in case more boats turned up. It all took so long that by the time we were where he wanted us all, a fourth boat had arrived. This lock is a side filler, so the water tries to send you all over the place.
As we rose in the lock, I spotted a familiar face. Cheryl, who was one of the News Orgs at work was walking by, so I gave her a shout and we had a brief chat. I assume she must live round here. After the lock we passed the pop-up bar and restaurant, and were then on the lookout for a mooring. We stopped pretty much as soon as we could, on the Remenham Farm moorings, where there’s a decent edge, nice views, and a wide towpath. They cost £15 a night.
After lunch we had a walk towards Henley and were glad we stopped when we did. The regatta course is still in place, so many of the moorings are inaccessible at the moment. We would have got one further on if we’d carried on, but we’re better off where we are. During the afternoon, other boats have joined us; and the river has been very busy with boats of all sizes, the biggest being the trip boat from Henley.
The latest podcast is out today. This one is about the Aylesbury Arm and the Aylesbury Canal Society. Click the link to listen.
9 miles, 4 locks. (33 miles, 13 locks)