Thursday, 13 July, 2017 – weather same as yesterday

This is our last day on the boat. The original plan had been to stay in Hampton Court but in order to connect with their next booking, we have all decided to go back up the river. This means travelling a fair distance and against the current which will mean around 1 MPH slower effective speed. So we start out early, on the go before 7:00. In fact, we hit a Lock pretty much straight away. This one is “backwards” from the ones we have previously done in that we start low and water is added in the Lock to lift us up to the next level on the other side.

The water just starting to fill in
The water almost up to the top

Wendy was controlling the Lock because it was too early for the Keeper. In fact, we went through another Lock, again unassisted. Wendy then made breakfast.

Bacon, eggs and mushrooms for me

We stop near a Lock, as we had on the way down, to load up with water, which adds another 30 minutes to the journey. We finally, after over 6 hours of travel, make it to a mooring in Staines which is not too far from Egham where we had stayed on the first night.

This mooring is just about perfect – we are very close to taxi access which we will require tomorrow morning

Julie goes prancing of course. A few photos:

Drinking consultants – love it
The Crispy Duck!
Grog shop

In the mean time, I have a good nap. When I wake up I have been abandoned – Graham and Wendy have gone for a walk and the boat is locked up. Eventually they return and the day is really nice. So pretty much like my last day in Lyon, I decide to go out for a tour of Staines. My photos:

The Swankeeper
Random Art?
Water feature – missed their change for exiting from other orifices
Entrance to that park
A war memorial
The Town Hall
more Town Hall

I walk out to the main street and a couple of signs grabbed my fancy.

That could have been my favourite eating place
Only Poms could have a name like this
A second river runs through Staines to the Thames
The Famous London Stone
An explanation of the reason for the London Stone

Apparently Staines is well steeped in history. It came about in Roman times when the Romans built some of the bridges.

Our boat from above. I had not noticed the solar panels before

Julie returns too and Wendy makes the last supper.

Ocean Trout and lots of salad for Julie
with Vegies and mustard sauce for me
Wendy, Julie and Graham in a farewell pose at the back of the boat

We have to leave tomorrow for our next stage of the journey, which means we will have to pack the suitcase. Off to bed

One thought on “Staines”

  1. Hi Patrick, just catching up with the blog. The boat trip looked great. Looking forward to reading about the next adventure. All’s well here,,,,cold!! XX PS It appears that the knives are coming out for Nathan and Eddy! Chas

    Reply

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