Essendee Narrow Boat: River Thames

Spot the little moorhen chick in the foreground

Up early this morning, I paid a visit to the local shop for milk, then we left our mooring had a pump out, got rid of our rubbish and filled up with water before we go through the last lock of the Oxford Canal and then on to the River Thames, we turn right away from the direction of London as we want to pay a visit to the beginning of the navigable part of the Thames Lechlade.

This part of the Thames run parallel with the Oxford and its not long before we at our first lock which has personnel operating them, here we also buy a Liscence as the THAMES is not covered in our annual canal and waterways Liscence, we leave a very helpful and nice lady lock keeper with our new 31 day Liscence and a £170.00 lighter wallet.

We carry on pass the remains of Godstow nunnery which was founded in the 12Th C the river Is a lot wider than what we been use to for a while and also a bit of a flow against us. We then go through another manned lock but then stay in it and come back out of it, the reason because we decided to moor up, the lock keeper said this was his first reversing boat to come out of his lock.

We moor up because on the river moorings are far and few, and we didn't want to be moored on a mud bank for the night, after we moor we take a walk into the nearby village of Eynsham another pretty village we have a look around and stay out of the four pubs which this village has and then back to the boat.

Back at the boat it hive of activity as the local fire brigade was training in the river their rescues procedures, so we had an afternoons entertainment. A hire boat moored by us and speaking to the couple on it and they were from Pontypridd and the man worked in St Fagan Museum which is close to Cardiff where we live, it's a small world, they depart to enjoy the rest of their holidays and then a small little sail boat turned up with two gentlemen of senior years which are rowing and sailing down the Thames to Reading, they then proceeded to make a sort of tent in their boat where they were going to sleep for the night..I'm sorry I like my comfort to much now.