Brentford to Walton on Thames

Sat 13th April

Dawn at Brentford

Not so sunny today. We donned our life jackets for the tidal voyage and set off at 0820. We had tentatively agreed to travel with another boat and had set a time of 0815, but they were nowhere in sight, so we left anyway. James cleared some things off the prop – part of what might have been a red sari, plus an assortment of plastic bags.

Colourful Prop rubbish

We found that the gauging locks were manned by a volunteer, which was helpful as it saved closing the gates again and waiting to pick up crew.

Gauging Locks at Brentford

Leaving the Gauging Lock

We had planned to leave at 0900, but we were slightly earlier. The Thames Lock was manned, and water levels were almost the same, so went straight in. There were two boats waiting on the other side. They had come from Limehouse.

Leaving Thames Lock Brentford

The cruise from here to Teddington was fairly routine, apart from the fact the tide was against us. James must have miscalculated the tide times. Thankfully we have a powerful 50hp engine.  There were lots of interesting sights on the way, including some we didn’t photograph, as we have travelled in this direction on this section ten times before. Places like Richmond waterfront, Ham House, the Star and Garter home etc. There are plenty of photos we did take. Here is a selection:

Syon House

Syon Park Pavilion

Old Isleworth

Richmond Lock

Twickenham Bridge and Richmond Railway Bridge

The heronry at Richmond

At Teddington, the lock was against us, so James went to find the lock keeper, who turned the lock round and opened the gates for us. As we left the lock, trip boat Yarmouth Belle was coming towards us. This has paddle wheels on each side, but the boat appears to be driven by a propeller at the stern, and the paddle wheels just turn with the flow.

Waiting for Teddington Lock

Teddington Lock

Meeting Yarmouth Belle

The voyage to Walton was again routine. We had a lock keeper at Molesey Lock, where we also used the water hose, and disposed of rubbish and emptied two cassettes. Before we got to Sunbury Lock, we saw a guy on a small electric surfboard, which must have a technical name, but we have never seen one before. Here are a few more pics of our journey:

Kingston Bridge

New Southern Belle (This has a real paddle)

Oxford College Barge at Thames Ditton

Hampton Court Palace

Molesey Lock

Garrick’s Shakespeare Temple

Hampton

Majestic tree at Lower Sunbury

Electric surfboard

We spotted some wildlife today as well: baby coots (no photos), baby Egyptian Geese, Great Crested Grebes, Cormorants, Herons, Tufted Ducks.

Egyptian Geese family

Great Crested Grebe

Tufted Ducks

Sunbury lock was self-service, so Hazel took on the role of Lock Keeper. We tried to moor by the Weir Hotel, but the mooring was very low down, and all the rings had been broken off. We tried another official mooring further down, but it was occupied by one large boat. In the end we tied to trees near the Xcel Leisure Centre where we plan to visit a church in the morning.  There was a rain shower a few minutes after we had arrived. Half an hour later, the boat we were meant to travel with went past.

Hazel operating the lock at Sunbury Lock

Moored near Walton Leisure Centre

5 locks, 14 miles. Dep 0820, arr 1315

Sun 14th April

We visited Refresh Church this morning and had a warm welcome. There were a few people we knew: Dave Jupp, Anne Hallson, and Phil Moore. We gave out three Canal Ministries leaflets as well as a BCF one. The worship was well led by two guys, one with guitar and the other on bass.  Ann Clifford was speaking, using the story of Stephen giving his defence to the Pharisees as an example to follow of putting our heads above the parapet. We need to speak out when the opportunity presents itself, and sometimes we have just a moment to decide whether to speak up or shut up. We need to be prepared.

Refresh Church

Ann Clifford speaking

Ann has written a book called “A Time to Live” about preparing for the end of life. We bought two copies. It was good to catch up with her, as we used to be in the same home group many years ago.

We went to the Weir Hotel for lunch and had a pleasant meal.

The Weir Hotel

No boating today

Next week: Shopping in Walton before moving onto the Wey, visiting our Weybridge house and the tenants, and catching up with friends.