miket
Well-Known Member
Just returned from enjoyable 3 weeks from Sonning to Woodbridge (R Deben, Suffolk) and back, via Suffolk and Essex rivers and harbours.
Really lucky with weather, both lack of rain and wind!
Cruised with one other boat from UTMYC, going tidal for the first time.
Our much loved Broom 38 behaved superbly, never missing a beat. Why has the pricing for these wonderful cruising boats fallen so much recently? We have been contemplating a change to something smaller and lower but have found little that comes even close for accommodation, comfort and storage.
A few locks were unmanned on the route down but all were manned on our return, which covered a weekend. Pleasant surprise.
One sadness was the explosion of derelict looking boats, I assume mainly being used by river gypsies. What an eyesore! Especially, but not uniquely, between Teddington and Windsor.
We were passing Shepperton on a Friday, so decided to see if we could get a mooring overnight on Mrs Lindsay's Lawn. Always a lovely spot but usually very popular. Hooray!! 2 bankside spaces at downstream end. 3 upstream boats were all old, tatty looking boats occupied by single males. Drinking started lunchtime. Another tatty boat arrived during the afternoon who was clearly known by the other 3. To be fair, there was no overt trouble, but we were sufficiently put off that we chose not to remain overnight and moved on to Chertsey. What a sad state of affairs.
I have to confess that the appeal to us of the upper Thames has been seriously challenged.
Really lucky with weather, both lack of rain and wind!
Cruised with one other boat from UTMYC, going tidal for the first time.
Our much loved Broom 38 behaved superbly, never missing a beat. Why has the pricing for these wonderful cruising boats fallen so much recently? We have been contemplating a change to something smaller and lower but have found little that comes even close for accommodation, comfort and storage.
A few locks were unmanned on the route down but all were manned on our return, which covered a weekend. Pleasant surprise.
One sadness was the explosion of derelict looking boats, I assume mainly being used by river gypsies. What an eyesore! Especially, but not uniquely, between Teddington and Windsor.
We were passing Shepperton on a Friday, so decided to see if we could get a mooring overnight on Mrs Lindsay's Lawn. Always a lovely spot but usually very popular. Hooray!! 2 bankside spaces at downstream end. 3 upstream boats were all old, tatty looking boats occupied by single males. Drinking started lunchtime. Another tatty boat arrived during the afternoon who was clearly known by the other 3. To be fair, there was no overt trouble, but we were sufficiently put off that we chose not to remain overnight and moved on to Chertsey. What a sad state of affairs.
I have to confess that the appeal to us of the upper Thames has been seriously challenged.
