Send to Godalming

Wed 9th Aug  Send

Rain followed by drizzle followed by down pour then a storm then a shower and then it was raining again.  One boat came down stream and went past first thing, and we saw no other boats all day.

Raining in Send

James went for a walk with a brolly as he needed the exercise. We met Dave and Caryl Ingoldby in the New Inn later and had a pleasant evening with them.

The New Inn

No boating today

Thu 10th Aug  Send to Guildford Meadows

Sunshine in Send

There was bright sunshine this morning and blue skies.  A boat went past fairly early, going in the general direction of Guildford, but we weren’t ready to set off and share locks with them.

When we departed a little later there were strong flows on the river after all that rain yesterday.  Coming through Worsfold Flood Gates we needed a lot of power to get us round to the left to go up river, as the current was trying to sweep us down to the right.

The Bantam tug at Worsfold

National Trust workshops

The gate paddle gear at Worsfold

Typical Wey Valley water meadows.

Strong flows

At Triggs Lock two boats appeared at the top of the lock to come down and the lock was in their favour.  They used the ladders to get back on their boats as we were on the lock bollards below.

Triggs Lock

We met a small cruiser between the two sharp bends by Sutton Place, thankfully not exactly at one of the bends. They must have been moored on the river section, as Bowers Lock was against us.

The drive to Sutton Place

Sutton Place meadows

Bowers Lock was made more difficult than usual by the strong flows but Hazel managed to avoid hitting the wall.

The sharp turn into Bowers Lock

Bowers Lock

At Stoke Lock, once again the lock was set against us.  While waiting for the lock to empty, a lady and a small dog came across the footbridge at the tail of the lock.  As James was talking to her there was a loud splosh sound, and we realised that her dog had fallen in. It reappeared downstream of the bridge, and had to swim strongly against the water from the lock, which was causing a circular flow in the lock cut.  He managed to get himself out on the other side, and crossed the bridge again.

Stoke Lock, the lady and the wet dog.

Egyptian Geese at Stoke

Stoke Mill

We paused at Dapdune Wharf where we found Huffler.  We used the facilities before setting off for a more convenient place to moor for shopping. The navigation is a river section here, and goes right through the centre of Guildford.

Dapdune Wharf with Huffler

Guildford warehouses

Onslow Bridge, Guildford

 Wharf Crane

We stopped near the Alice in Wonderland statue, and went to do some shopping.  We also had a pleasant meal at Thai Khun, which is set out inside like a Thailand street market.

Moored for shopping in Guildford

Thai Khun

Then we were off once more to find a quieter mooring on Guildford Meadows. We passed through Millmead Lock, sharing with another boat.  It was sad to see Guildford Boathouse looking very overgrown and derelict. Just a few years ago this was a thriving business.

Millmead Lock

Guildford Boathouse

Quarry Hills Footbridge

We moved along as far as we could on the meadows, so that we were as far from the road as possible.  Hugo seemed pleased with the location.

Guildford meadows

4 locks, 7 miles

Fri 11^th Aug  Guildford to Godalming

Morning dew on Guildford Meadows

It was a beautiful morning as we travelled south to Godalming.  We have made this journey seven times before, but the last time was five years ago, in 2012. There are some lovely views on this section. 

The name Guildford comes from “Golden Ford” after a place on the Pilgrims Way where the trail used to cross the river. There was golden yellow sand there where the pilgrims used to ford the river. There is now a footbridge. Soon after this, the river makes a hairpin turn, and there is a vertical roller provided for the horse ropes, to enable the boats to be pulled round, particularly when travelling upstream.

Golden Ford

The rope roller on the hairpin

St Catherine’s Lock comes next, where we used to have crayfish weekends with Byfleet Boat Club.  Hazel took a turn to operate the windlass and push the gates.

Tansy

St Catherine’s Lock

Dewy spider’s web

Hazel on lock duty

From the lock there is a footpath going on the non towpath side, and crossing over the curiously named Riff Raff Weir, and finally going up the hill to Shalford.  After the weir, the navigation is a river section again, passing under Broadmead Bridge, which is very low at the best of times. When the river is in flood it can be impassable.  Today we had to duck down or kneel.

Riff Raff Weir

Broadmead Bridge

Soon after this the Wey and Arun goes off to the left, on the way to Arundel and Littlehampton. The first half mile is used as moorings and the rest is under restoration.

Wey and Arun Junction

At Unstead Lock there was a waterfall over the top gates. We could have taken our time and not bothered using the paddles.

Unstead Lock weiring

Unstead Lock

 Dead tree

 Unstead Weir

On the approach to Farncombe there are some lovely hills to the South East, and some more water meadows before arriving at Farncombe Boat House and Catteshall Lock, the most southerly lock on the connected system.

Hills near Farncombe

Farncombe Boat House

 Catteshall Lock

At Godalming, by the wharf, there is a sharp turn to the right where we turned before reversing up the final short section to the end of the navigation at Town Bridge. This is right by Godalming Methodist Church.  In hindsight it would have been easier to go forwards up stream, and reverse back down, but we managed OK.  We were exploring the mooring possibilities.

End of navigation

We returned to the wharf and moored up. Hazel went to Sainsbury’s to buy some cold meats and salad as we were expecting guests.  Vicki and Ernon joined us for lunch at very short notice (we had only got hold of their phone number this morning) and it was good to catch up with them. Later Sue Graves joined us as well.

Vicki and Ernon

Sue

The mooring at the Wharf was not very good for Hugo, being right by the road into Sainsbury’s, so we returned to a mooring by the Methodist Church. To do this we had to wait for a gap in the kayaking activities that were happening enthusiastically along this section.

Wall to wall kayaks

3 locks, 4 miles

Next: Starting the journey back. Millmead Baptist Church on Sunday, plus visits from family.