2013 East Coast and Thames Cruise

[Greg2]

Part 1

I have been meaning to post the story of our 2013 summer cruise to the Thames but haven’t managed to find the time before now and of course, I was not sure that I could compete with henryf and his epic tale on his long weekend in the West Country ☺

I did promise lisilou that I would report on the cruise as she fancies making the trip to the Thames so hopefully this will give her a taste as well providing some light reading and a few piccies for other folk.

I am posting this all in one go and am not sure how it works with limits on photos etc so bear with me if it gets a bit disjointed.

Our boat, Libre, is a 1992 Broom 41 fitted with twin Perkins M300Ti diesel engines, which give around 25 knots at WOT on a good day and a cruise speed of between 16-18 knots. She was a Norfolk Yacht Agency stock boat and we eventually bought her having first been aboard when they exhibited her at the 2012 London Boat Show. To be fair we were smitten the first time we went aboard but it took a while before we took the plunge and made an offer. It was a good move and we bagged ourselves a great boat, which had been thoroughly prepped for the show and was in tip top condition

Although built primarily as an offshore cruiser with a full planing hull the 41 has the inherent benefits of the aft cabin design that suit both both coastal and inland cruising. These include plenty of comfortable accommodation, easy access around the boat with wide decks and she also has a small skeg keel, which helps with low speed handling. In fact with twin shafts, the keel and a bowthruster she is a dream to handle at close quarters and being based on the Broads the prospect of the Thames river traffic and locks weren’t too much of a concern for us. The only thing we were a little unsure about was the water depth on parts of the non-tidal section of the Thames as we draw 1.3m, which is a little more than some other boats.

We did some research on various websites and of course sought the advice of forumites on the Thames Forum, where we received a friendly and helpful welcome. Boatone was particularly helpful and we kind of knew each other having spoken on the phone many years ago when we both owned Princess 32’s. We initially got chatting on YBW in the halcyon days before the Lounge, when the Mobo Forum was a far busier place but that is another story. We subsequently met him and his good lady for a cuppa and a chat in Windsor and it was nice to put a face to the name.

The intention was to cruise in company with some good friends who have a Sealine 328 Sovereign sports cruiser called Sensation. We have cruised extensively with them in the past in our last boat, a Fairline Targa 35, but this would be the first cruise since buying the Broom. The difference in the two boats would mean that sea passages were likely to be undertaken independently, which would be a change as we were used to cruising in company.

Being relatively seasoned boaters based in the North Sea we rarely have a single plan and always let the weather dictate our ultimate destination because it tends to avoid disappointment! Our friends had previously adopted the strategy of taking their boat to their holiday destination in advance by taking a week’s holiday a few weeks before their main holiday. This worked well for them previously when they went to Holland so with this in mind the plan was for them to get to wherever they could to leave their boat in readiness for the main holiday. We would then look for a weather window to get Libre to the same location. The first choice was the Thames but other options included Holland or even taking the radical step of turning left out of Gt. Yarmouth, which is marked ‘there be dragons’ on local charts ☺

As it turned out they were able to get to the non-tidal Thames in one long but enjoyable passage and they left their boat at Penton Hook. We decided to aim for London and made provisional arrangements to berth in the marina at Galleons Reach.

Day 1
The forecast for the weekend before our holiday looked good so on the Friday I enlisted the help of a couple of mates for a boys day out to get Libre from our base on the Broads down to the Royal Norfolk and Suffolk Yacht Club (RNSYC) in Lowestoft.

The day was perfect with blue skies, sunshine and very little wind and with mid-afternoon bridge lifts booked in Gt. Yarmouth I spent the early part of the morning finishing off one or two jobs whilst I awaited my crew.

We left Brundall late morning and enjoyed a leisurely cruise downriver in ideal conditions, with the benefit of good company. We made Breydon Water in good time and transited the Breydon and Haven bridges with ease before an idyllic potter down the coast in flat calm conditions. It was so nice that we dropped off the plane shortly after leaving Gt. Yarmouth and enjoyed a slow passage down to Lowestoft.

Breydon Bridge

Haven Bridge

Leaving Gt. Yarmouth

Having berthed at RNSYC we enjoyed a cold beer in the sunshine and were joined by SWMBO before the lads departed. We then enjoyed an excellent meal in the club that evening before getting a reasonably early night in preparation for getting underway first thing the next morning.

Day 2

Saturday dawned with overcast skies, slightly restricted visibility and a bit of a chill to the air but crucially, low winds and calm seas ☺

Being an optimist and not being a fan of boating in a tent we dropped the canopy and slipped our moorings at around 0800hrs. We left the harbour and followed the shipping channel heading south. The plan was to take what I describe as the offshore route, which took us several miles off Orfordness, across the end of the shipping channel into the Orwell (Harwich/Felixstowe) and on into the Thames Estuary via Barrow Deep.

The sea was about as flat as it can get and whilst it was a little chilly to start we enjoyed the passage and as we got further south the cloud disappeared and we had sunshine for much of the day.

The obligatory wake shot…

Calm seas…

Along the way we encountered an eclectic mix of vessels….

We had experienced an apparent overheating problem with the port engine during an East Coast cruise earlier in the year and I discovered that the problem did not appear to have been rectified. I noticed that if we sat at 2100rpm the temps were both rock steady at 80 degrees but adding an extra 100-150 RPM, which gets to the cruising sweet spot, sent the port engine temperature on an upward trajectory. It took a while but when it hit 90 degrees I backed off because I was concerned that it would keep going up and overheat again. It wasn’t a big deal as we were able to maintain 16 knots and with the tide with us we are making about 18 or 19 knots SOG. I know that this would be slow for many mobo types but having done the sports cruiser thing we are very happy with the type of boating that the Broom provides. The temp stayed good all the way down the coast although I must admit that I did keep a weather eye on it and I had plans to bail out into the Orwell, the Blackwater or the Crouch if necessary.

As we got round into the Thames we encountered a race between Thames barges who were struggling with little or no wind…

Once into the river we dropped off the plane far sooner than we needed to, partly because it was a lovely day and partly because we were on track to make the beginning of the tidal window to lock in to Galleons Point even at displacement speeds.

We finally made our destination by 1500hrs and were able to get into Galleons Reach via the lock…

We spent the rest of the day tidying the boat, pottering around in the dinghy and enjoyed drinks and a meal on-board.

The location of the marina is a little ‘industrial’, being surrounded by a mix of business premises, dockland flats and the City Airport. Many boats are live-aboards and it is fair to say that we stood out a bit. I was a little concerned about leaving the boat for a week and was not greatly reassured when the marina office closed and the entire front of the building was covered by steel roller shutters! However, everyone that we encountered was very friendly and many stopped to chat and compliment us on the Broom. None could believe that she was twenty years old, which isn’t surprising as SWMBO thought that she was a new boat when I first showed her aboard at the Boat show.

Day 3

We left to travel home the following morning, catching a Docklands Light Railway train from the nearby station and returning home by rail. This was all very easy and convenient given that the DLR station is only about ten minutes walk from the marina. There had obviously been a ‘Rave’ in the area overnight because there were several grubby young people covered in luminous paint on the DLR but they were all very pleasant and had obviously had a good night.

Despite being moored directly outside the marina office, the fencing and locked gates that surrounded the marina and the assurances of the marina staff I was a little concerned about security and had some trepidation when we left the boat. It turned out that I needn’t have worried though because the boat was perfectly safe. In fact, with the greatest tidal access of all the London marinas, very easy and convenient transport links and realistic pricing I think that Galleons Reach is a good option for a stopover in London, particular if leaving the boat for a period of time. We certainly wouldn’t have any hesitation about using it again.

 

[Greg2]

Part 2


Day 4

The following Friday saw us catching a train to return to London to re-join the boat. It was very hot and the train was very busy but we were in the holiday mood. A cold beer at Kings Cross confirmed the holiday feeling and we made it to the boat unbowed by what had been a long, hot and uncomfortable journey. A quick hose down of the boat to remove a weeks worth of London grime followed by couple of drinks and a meal guaranteed a good nights sleep.

Day 5

The next morning we were up and about reasonably early to get the canopy down and prepare the boat for a longish day transiting central London and heading upriver to Teddington Lock and the non-tidal section of the Thames. The City Airport had been quiet when we left the boat the preceding weekend but a steady succession of aircraft taking off made us appreciate what being directly on the flight path in close proximity to the airport meant….

The good tidal access at Galleons Reach saw us locking out at around 0900hrs in anticipation of enjoying the sights of central London from the river. We have previously visited London by boat and stayed at St Katherine’s Dock so we knew what to expect but that didn’t dampen our excitement. There is something about going through the nation’s capital city on your own boat.

One of the unusual things about being on the tidal Thames is that you are often the only private leisure boat on the river. In fact, we only encountered one other in central London but there was a fair bit of commercial traffic to contend with. It is worth saying that the commercial operators don’t take any prisoners and seem to expect you to keep out of their way period! We took some pictures of the sights, most of which need no introduction or comment….

As you would expect the Thames in central London is a busy place and it is necessary to have your wits about you and to treat the passage with as much attention to detail as you would a sea passage. Our plan was to ride the flood tide upriver and we needed to be sure that we could get under every bridge. We dropped the mast at an early stage and we ticked off each bridge as we passed under it to ensure that we knew exactly where were and to keep track of the state of the tide by observing the projected and actual clearances. Of particular relevance for us was the point at which we could put the mast back up having cleared the lowest bridge. We encountered some bridges with on-going work that meant that the span for small boat navigation had changed, which was a little confusing at times. One thing to watch for is a bundle of straw hanging under a bridge, which is the daytime mark for reduced air draught!!

 

[Greg2]

Part 3
Once past Battersea Power Station we were into unchartered waters for us, but it was interesting to see the river change as we moved away from central London. There are a number of rowing clubs above Wandsworth Bridge and we passed a steel boat going downriver…

Perhaps one of the strangest things we saw was this…

It is located at the rear of the Hammersmith Stand at Craven Cottage, the home of Fulham FC and was put there by Mr Al Fayed when he was owner of the club. Apparently Jackson was a guest at a Fulham v Wigan match in 1999 and Mr Al Fayed was a friend. It seems that not all of the Fulham fans shared Mr Al Fayeds fondness for Mr Jackson and the statue is due to be re-located to accommodate development of the ground.

There were several interesting sights, including the Harrods Furniture Depository, which I guess did what it says on the tin at some point in the past…or maybe it still does?

I don’t know why but we were surprised with how pleasant the Thames is between London and Teddington. Maybe we expected more of an urban sprawl but it wasn’t like that and we enjoyed the ever changing scenery as we went upstream. Interestingly, there is little in the way of moorings, even at places like Richmond, so it is a case of pushing on.

One or two general shots as we went upriver…

…before reaching the end of tidal navigation at Teddington Lock, where we first encountered a very different kind of boat….

I won’t get into the debate about narrow boats on the Thames but interestingly, some motor boaters and narrow boaters appear to have a level of animosity towards each other similar to that between some motor boaters and raggies on the coast. Personally I love all forms of boating and don’t tend to attach much importance to what flavour of boat someone has but I do have a view on manners and consideration and certain types of boat not rafting can be annoying…. ☺

Having transited the lock we berthed on the moorings just upstream so that we could complete the registration process and buy a temporary licence.

The lock keepers were very friendly and helpful and the process was pain free (apart from the cost). I had though that they might want to inspect the heads to ensure that we didn’t discharge anything overboard but they were quite laid back about it. We have a holding tank for the aft heads only so I had expected them to seal off the fwd heads but they didn’t.

Having reached the non-tidal Thames we continued on past Hampton Court….

…. through Walton-upon Thames and ultimately to Shepperton Lock where we met our friends at the Thames Court pub. To be fair the scenery above Teddington Lock in the vicinity of Kingston, Surbiton and Molesey isn’t always the best and there are some fairly messy looking live aboard boats, which have taken up permanent residence in what would otherwise have been public moorings. That said it is not all bad and there are some very nice riverside residences.

We had an interesting encounter with the rowing community somewhere around Molesey, where a section of the river on one side of an island was closed off to accommodate a regatta. Unfortunately, the closed section included a mooring spot that our friends had told us was minutes from a supermarket and we had planned to do a bit of a re-supply. I nosed into the edge of the closed section to have a quick look to see if the mooring was accessible and as I did so I was mindful that a race was starting in the distance and was heading towards us. I knew that I wasn’t going to impede the race and to be fair I guess the rowers didn’t, but the tone of the bellowed objections via a loudspeaker from some distance away was quite unnecessary. It did, however, fit with the apparent arrogance we had observed from race officials in their small catamarans and their complete disregard for the speed limit. Again, I wont be drawn further into the sometimes acrimonious relationship that appears to exist between some rowers and mobos on the Thames but this incident combined with being shouted at for no apparent reason when passing a skiff later in the trip gave an interesting insight. I believe in live and let live and most rowers appeared quite okay and appreciative when we dropped to one engine when passing them.

We enjoyed a very pleasant overnight stay at Shepperton and had a mooch around the Nauticalia shop on Sunday morning before we headed further upstream. I wouldn’t particularly recommend the Thames Court…expensive with average food and very busy, which resulted in poor standards of cleanliness around the tables outside. Still, it didn’t spoil our first night with our friends so maybe not that bad ☺

Day 6

The next morning dawned fine and sunny and we set off upstream in company with Sensation for the first time during this holiday. We found that lock keepers take a lunch break and whilst it is possible to operate the lock yourself, it provided the opportunity to stop for lunch ourselves and to enjoy the sunshine.

We decided to have a longish day on the river and made our way up to Windsor, where we were lucky to find moorings on the island after passing through the town. Along the way we enjoyed some of the sights….

Day 7

The following morning we had visitors…

Boatone and his wife arrived in their lovely Hardy and came aboard for a coffee and a chat. Having been a Thames boater for many years Tony was very helpful and gave us plenty of tips on where to visit and, importantly for me, where we might encounter shallower water.

We decided to spend the day and another night in Windsor and went for a mooch around the town. As we walked through the park adjacent to the river we encountered another unexpected sight…

It’s not every day that you see a Hurricane on a stick!

We were a little short on cash but fortunately our bank has a cashpoint machine in the town ☺

 

[Greg2]

Part 4

Day 8

The next day we pushed on further upstream with no real destination in mind. Being a lover of fresh air I insisted that we had the canopy down and when it started to rain I left it down, thinking that the rain would pass quickly. Unfortunately this didn’t happen and what followed can only be described as biblical!! We were absolutely drenched and SWMBO had some erudite words of advice that she generously shared with me at regular intervals for the rest of the day.

We passed some very pleasant spots along the way……

….and went thorough the famous Boulter’s Lock in Maidenhead….

….along Clivedon Reach…..

….under a very low bridge after one of the locks…

….before spotting a mooring space outside The Bounty PH at Bourne End.

What an unusual place this proved to be but we enjoyed some good basic pub grub and a few beers sitting beside the river before a very pleasant evening stroll in the surrounding countryside. It was one of those all too rare perfect summer evenings…

Whilst at the Bounty we chatted with a local couple who told us that there were some good eateries in Marlow. As a consequence, the next day we opted for a shortish hop up to the town

Day 9

The weir just after the lock at Marlow…

Upon arrival there wasn’t much in the way of moorings but there was one spot on the end but overlapping some kind of outfall. We tried to get in but it was too shallow so we held station in the river as we waited for Sensation to get through the lock. When they arrived they took advantage of their shallower draught and ability to raise the outdrives and managed to get alongside. We then rafted to them and were secure for the night.

Following the recommendation from the night before we booked a table at the Chequers PH, which is a steakhouse with a South African influence. We all opted to choose our cut of steak from the butcher’s bar and the meal was excellent, if a tad expensive. Thankfully our two offspring weren’t due to join us until the next day so I think we got the timing right ☺

Day 10

The following day our plan was to find a mooring in Henley to facilitate the arrival of our son and daughter, who were travelling by train to hook up with us to celebrate my birthday at the weekend (one with a 0 in it)! Another pleasant poodle upriver…

...before arriving at a post regatta Henley, with all the pontoons, stands and marques still in evidence but minus the crowds and rowing boats.

We did see the odd rowing boat, including these three lads on a week’s holiday…

We enjoyed a very pleasant stay overnight in Henley and our plan to pick up the kids worked well as they arrived by train at the station, which was about a ten minute walk from the boat. We decided to eat on-board instead of going out and Waitrose in the town centre provided some good quality and easy to cook food of the pre-prepared variety.

 

[Greg2]

Part 5

Day 11

The following day we headed further upriver with the intention of finding a spot for an overnight mooring and barbecue on some islands that our friends recalled that ‘Griff Rhys Jones et al of Three Men in a Boat fame visiting during their sojourn up the Thames. Unfortunately, either their memory was inaccurate or the islands had been blighted by a sudden upsurge in impenetrable undergrowth because finding a suitable spot to moor proved impossible.

The trip was very pleasant as we passed through locks and avoided the odd swimmer.

We eventually arrived at Sonning, which was to the furthest upriver that Libre would go. We moored just below the bridge with the spoof letterbox that was widely reported in the boating media and enjoyed a barbecue on the bankside outside Uri Geller’s home.

Day 12

The following day, being my birthday, saw a trip further upstream aboard Sensation. We went through Reading and as far as Pangbourne Meadows, where we moored for a lunchtime stop. A short but pleasant walk took us to the Ferryboat in Whitchurch where we enjoyed a very pleasant lunch sitting in the sun in the rear courtyard.

After that it was back down to Sonning for a wash and brush up before champagne aboard Libre followed by a truly superb meal at the Bull in Sonning. Interestingly Boatone didn’t recommend it but I think things must have changed since he was last there as we though it was great. On the way back down to Sonning we encountered some lads whose hire boat had broken down. They declined our offers of a tow, preferring instead to use a couple of swimmers tow it to the bank!

I also had a bit of a play with the mega zoom capability on our new camera…

Day 13

The next day we started to head back downstream and headed fro Harleyford, where we planned to meet up with a couple of boats from the Sealine Forum for beer, barbecue and a natter. Along the way we passed a house that featured on Grand Designs…

Now we think it looked great but I remember the neighbours not being too keen, as it didn’t fit with the style of their houses. All a matter of personal taste I guess but I know which I would opt for ☺

The trip down took us through Henley and on to Marlow before we finally arrived at Harleyford. Another forumite, Apollo, came over to say hello as we went through one of the locks.

We had pre-booked moorings at Harleyford and Mark was very helpful and clearly wanted our brief stay to be a pleasant one. We met up with another boat from the Sealine Forum and the crew of a second boat from the same Forum arrived by car. We enjoyed a very convivial evening with barbecues, our newly purchased Cobb (brilliant bit of kit) and one or two glasses of sherry ☺

Day 14

The following day (Monday) saw us meandering our way back downstream to Bray, where we moored adjacent to the fuel berth on the river outside the marina. The water was a bit shallow here and we touched bottom with the prop but managed to get alongside. The only other times we hit the bottom was entering and exiting Boulters lock at the downstream end and on both occasion it was a momentary clunk, presumably as the props hit something. We haven’t had Libre lifted since the trip but we didn’t suffer any vibration at sea so hopefully any damage is fairly minor in nature.

Another low bridge….

Day 15

Tuesday dawned wet and miserable and we headed downstream to Windsor where the prodigal son left us to get a train to go partying somewhere with his mates. The bridges meant that the mast had to be down, which meant that the canopy also had to be down, which wasn’t great with the rain coming down like stair rods! We managed a jury rig with the front part of the canopy though so that we could stay dry between bridges.

Having dropped the lad off we continued downstream, calling in at Penton Hook marina for a pump out and to top off the fuel tanks in preparation for the tidal Thames and the sea passage up the coast. Along the way we encountered a fairly unpleasant chap masquerading as a lock keeper. I say masquerading because every other lock keeper we encountered was the epitome of friendliness and added to the enjoyment of the trip. Anyway, this guy was a bit full of self-importance and he completely over-reacted when I had the temerity to move our bow line from one bollard to another after he had opened the sluice gates. The line had no weight on it and it needed to be moved to give better control of the bow as the water eddied around the lock. Granted, whilst it was a swift and perfectly safe operation, it might not have fitted with his view of safe operation of the lock but the aggression and shouting that followed were off the scale. He even built himself up for another go as we left the lock but by this time SWMBO was having none of it and it is fair to say that he met his match! ☺

We laughed about it afterwards but at the time it was an unpleasant and unnecessary exchange. The irony was that he had completely ignored our requests to put the line on the right bollard in the first place.

As we continued downstream we passed David Gilmour’s houseboat, Astoria, which is moored near to Hampton Court.

We had hoped to moor for the night at Hampton Court but there were no moorings left by the time we got there so we continued a short distance downstream until we spotted a mooring stage adjacent to the Albany PH at Thames Ditton. We managed to get alongside and upon enquiring in the pub discovered that it is an EA provided free mooring. Result!

A drink at the pub followed by a meal on board ad a superb sunset made for an enjoyable last night on the non-tidal Thames.

 

[Greg2]

Part 6

Day 16

The next day we slipped our moorings at 0800hrs with the plan being to hit Richmond on free flow and Hammersmith Bridge with enough water below and air above us and to make the high tide in the River Blackwater to get over the cill into Tollesbury marina. It worked like a dream and we enjoyed the sights along the way…

Being a bit sad we watched the plotter as we crossed the meridian, which was quiet a way after Greenwich due to the twists and turns of the river

As we got beyond the barrier Sensation lifted her skirts and disappeared into the distance as we continued at displacement speeds.

We knew that there wouldn’t be enough water to get into Tollesbury much before 1800hrs so it made sense to enjoy a leisurely potter downriver until we reached the QE II bridge, where the log records us doing 18 knots.

As we went out into the estuary and turned northwards we encountered a range of vessels and of curse, the ubiquitous wind farms…

The passage up the coast was very pleasant with the sun shining and the water almost appearing blue in colour as opposed to the usual muddy brown of the East Coast. When we arrived in the Blackwater we had enough water to get into the creeks leading up to Tollesbury and picked up a mooring buoy at 1716hrs to wait for sufficient water to get into the marina.

Day 17

Tollesbury is one of our favourite spots on the East Coast so we decided to spend a couple of nights there, enjoying a meal in the Cruising Club on the first night and a barbecue on the second night with meat bought from the wonderful ‘old world’ butcher in the village. The marina is unusual inasmuch as the club has a swimming pool, so a mooch around the village followed by a dip and a bit of sitting in the sun wasn’t too bad a way to spend the day.

 

[Greg2]

Part 7

Day 18

On the Friday we slipped our moorings at Tollesbury for the passage back up the coast to Lowestoft. The seas were calm but there were thunderstorms and some heavy rain, which arrived just as we moored on the fuel pontoon in Bradwell marina before heading up the coast.

Day 19

Following a nigh at the RNSYC in Lowestoft we headed back into the Broads, mooring at Somerleyton for the final night of the holiday meal in the Kings Head. As we passed through Lowestoft and Mutford lock there were one or two things to keep us interested…

Day 20

Sunday morning saw the passage back upriver to our home berth and the end of what was one of the best boating holidays we have had. Unusually, everything went exactly according to plan, all the sea passages were very pleasant with no sign of rough weather and we visited a new cruising ground for the first time.

Of course a major factor was being in the company of great friends and meeting some new ones along the way

Overall, I can thoroughly recommend the non-tidal Thames as a destination for a summer cruise and I think that we will do it again at some point.

 

[blueglass]

What a great read! About the best cruise report I have read here for years!!!!

 

[oldgit]

Excellent post.
Every boater needs to do the Thames at some point A real journey through history and a bit of a challenge regards tides and weather..

 

[lisilou]

Fantastic post Greg! Really enjoyed that and yeh...it's definitely re-kindled my desire to do the trip. Thanks for posting that...much appreciated.
L

 

[paul salliss]

All very interesting, we are heading up the thames later this month, could I PM you please

Best regards

 

[pks1702]

Great post and images and useful to those considering a Thames trip.

A lot of work involved in this sort of post but very much appreciated.

 

[Greg2]

Thanks for the positive comments guys, it is appreciated
It did take a bit if putting together so it is nice to know that it was worth the effort and that people have enjoyed reading it.

Paul,
Feel free to PM. Cheers

 

[scubaman]

Fantastic post with beautiful pics, thanks for taking the time to put it all together.

Brought back a lot of memories from when we made the trip downstream from Penton Hook in 2007.

 

[oldgit]

...and so much more satisfying than going round in circles in the tired of boating retirement home of the Med.

 

[Murv]

What a wonderful, inspiring read, thank you

 

[CharlieAlpha]

Thanks Greg, lovely presentation, reminds me of that pleasant afternoon were I meet you and Sensation at Marlow. Roll on another hot summer

 

[Greg2]

Thanks Greg, lovely presentation, reminds me of that pleasant afternoon were I meet you and Sensation at Marlow. Roll on another hot summer

Cheers Chris. It was Avery pleasant afternoon

 

[Ian h]

Great read and pictures, Thanks for taking time to write the trip up

 

[andy59]

Thanks for posting Greg , great photos and write up , definitely whetted the appetite for a thames trip one day .