Contrasts

The last couple of days have been very relaxing and a real contrast in scenery. First thing Wednesday, we were up with the lark (well almost) and headed off for a walk to the top of Coopers Hill at Runnymede. We wanted to see the Air Forces Memorial which you can see protruding from the top of Coopers Hill, so armed with a bit of a map, we headed off up through the woods and a muddy track vaguely resembling a footpath, which Jasper thoroughly enjoyed and we didn't, to eventually find ourselves on the lane which leads to said monument. 

Unfortunately, although the gates were open, we were a bit early for them as they didn't open for another hour at 9am, so we trudged off to find the next on our list, the memorial to JFK which was close by. We surprised the gardener being so early, but had a walk round. The acre of land in which the memorial sits was given to the USA in memory of JFK after his assassination in 1963. The steps which lead to and from the memorial are called the 'steps of individuality' and are made of 60,000 individually laid Portugese Granite stones which in turn make 50 steps - each representing an individual state of the USA. 

From there we walked the short distance to the Magna Carta memorial, but as (bad) luck would have it, it was in the process of being renovated and surrounded by scaffolding, so in the end we had a quick look and headed back to the boat. 

Our cruising yesterday took us from Runnymede down to Kingston Upon Thames. This stretch was certainly not as picturesque as the past few days have been, and the closer to London we get, the more bizarre and diverse both the boats and houses are becoming. This row of house boats was certainly very interesting as we approached Molesey Lock. It was like sailing down a road in flood.

Once through the lock, we soon passed Hampton Court Palace, a contrast if ever there was one !! We decided to go on to Kingston Upon Thames and found a nice mooring just above Kingston Bridge. 

The area was really vibrant and there was much activity to observe on the water. Not only these yachts, which kept us entertained whilst we had dinner, but canoes, rowing boats, skiffs, dragon boats and a couple of paddle steamers too. 

I was particularly pleased with this picture of Kingston Bridge at night. I'm a real point and shoot photographer as you can no doubt tell. I wish I understood it better, but I don't, but I guess this was more luck than judgement. 

Ll

When we set out on our trip, we had intended to go into the centre of London via Brentford and end up in Paddington, but we've enjoyed the trip on the Thames so much, we've decided to change our plans and actually head back along the Thames to Oxford and make the most of it, and remove at least 95 double locks to Norton Junction in the process, much to Louise's delight. So today we started to retrace our steps, but only for a few miles as we always intended to travel along the River Wey and Godalming Navigations as part of this trip. On the short journey back to the River Wey, we passed this magnificent 'houseboat' called 'Astoria' at Hampton. It is owned by Dave Gilmour, the guitarist from Pink Floyd who has actually owned it nearly thirty years and uses it as a recording studio. It really is beautiful and is over a century old. 

We had lunch just below Shepperton Lock before we entered the River Wey. The river is owned and run by the National Trust, so another licence had to be purchased at the first lock before we could proceed. Thames Lock doesn't have much clearance to get into it, so having passed through the stop lock gates, we waited for the level to be brought up so we could actually get into the lock itself. 

The locks don't have ground paddles, so it's gate paddles only and we were warned by the lock keeper that they can be quite turbulent. Once he'd locked us up, it was time for me to pay up and also sign for my special River Wey windlass which is loaned to us (free of charge). 

 Our short trip down the Wey this afternoon has been a real contrast to the Thames. It's like being back on a shallow canal and progress is much slower. I could get used to leaving gates open on exiting locks though, it makes life so much easier. We made it down as far as Pyrford this evening and had a meal in The Anchor which was your average pub grub. Why they have to serve food on paper is a mystery though. 

Well I did title the post 'Contrasts'. We've also had huge contrasts in emotions today too. As we cruised up the Thames this morning, our eldest son rang us to say he had got the job he wanted in London. He has been job hunting for his dream job for the best part of nine months now, so to get it is testament to his hard work (and our cash). If anyone heard a loud shreek about 10.30am, it was Louise. 

Contrast that to the sad news that a very good friend and former work colleague passed away very suddenly today in Canada, the range of emotions have been well and truly stretched. Rest in Peace Nev. I'll miss you buddy.