22nd July
Friends, Dave and Irina met us at Shepperton Lock for a trip back downstream to Hampton Court. Sadly it rained heavily on and off all day, so we all got drenched in turns. We managed to moor outside the palace but in the trees, because the main public moorings were full. We were so chilled that we lit the fire and poured some restorative red wine (gifted by D and I)to have with our lunch. This made us all very sleepy but we shook ourselves up to visit the Hampton Court gardens in the rain again, and have tea and scones in the cafe. Dave and Irina were enthusiastic boat guests though, very appreciative of their day out and it was great to have their lively company, despite the lack of sunshine.
By the time we had done all this, it was quite late as we headed back to drop Dave and Irina off at Shepperton where they had left their car, and with mist rising from the river we finally moored at 7.30 on Docket Eddy Lane where we flopped with exhaustion in front of the TV! There is something about bad weather that really takes it out of you in this outdoors pursuit. We had an excellent night's sleep before doing it all again and meeting friends, Jackie and Simon in Staines. Again it rained and was quite cold but we had a fun day cruising to Windsor, mooring and picnicking on board again, but in the bow this time as it was just warm enough. The river was incredibly busy here as always and the funfair was in full pelt. We were bashed about against the bank somewhat. The day went very quickly with the 4 of us finishing it in the only riverside pub in Windsor by which time it was about 8pm. We decided to have dinner there but were told they had stopped serving food! On a Sunday evening?! We attempted to find somewhere else but Jack and Simon needed to get a train back to London so time was running out. Windsor strikes me as a strange place - it is very touristy unsurprisingly. The riverfront is a strip of path with a park behind it and ice cream and fish and chips vendors, but few restaurants and the pubs further in towards the town are big screen sports types, so we failed to find a quick supper and had to say our farewells to our mates in a bit of a rush. Never mind, it had been another lively day with good friends.
Once again, back on board we collapsed amongst the debris of the day. I'm washing up tomorrow!
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Friends, Dave and Irina met us at Shepperton Lock for a trip back downstream to Hampton Court. Sadly it rained heavily on and off all day, so we all got drenched in turns. We managed to moor outside the palace but in the trees, because the main public moorings were full. We were so chilled that we lit the fire and poured some restorative red wine (gifted by D and I)to have with our lunch. This made us all very sleepy but we shook ourselves up to visit the Hampton Court gardens in the rain again, and have tea and scones in the cafe. Dave and Irina were enthusiastic boat guests though, very appreciative of their day out and it was great to have their lively company, despite the lack of sunshine.
By the time we had done all this, it was quite late as we headed back to drop Dave and Irina off at Shepperton where they had left their car, and with mist rising from the river we finally moored at 7.30 on Docket Eddy Lane where we flopped with exhaustion in front of the TV! There is something about bad weather that really takes it out of you in this outdoors pursuit. We had an excellent night's sleep before doing it all again and meeting friends, Jackie and Simon in Staines. Again it rained and was quite cold but we had a fun day cruising to Windsor, mooring and picnicking on board again, but in the bow this time as it was just warm enough. The river was incredibly busy here as always and the funfair was in full pelt. We were bashed about against the bank somewhat. The day went very quickly with the 4 of us finishing it in the only riverside pub in Windsor by which time it was about 8pm. We decided to have dinner there but were told they had stopped serving food! On a Sunday evening?! We attempted to find somewhere else but Jack and Simon needed to get a train back to London so time was running out. Windsor strikes me as a strange place - it is very touristy unsurprisingly. The riverfront is a strip of path with a park behind it and ice cream and fish and chips vendors, but few restaurants and the pubs further in towards the town are big screen sports types, so we failed to find a quick supper and had to say our farewells to our mates in a bit of a rush. Never mind, it had been another lively day with good friends.
Once again, back on board we collapsed amongst the debris of the day. I'm washing up tomorrow!
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
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