Two Chaps' Thames Circular.
Friday 2 June 2006
Moved off from Coppermill at 09:15 in conjunction with "Oak"--a Wyvern
Shipping Company boat with Dan, wife Nell Marie, Lynette, Buddy, Ria and
8-year-old Simone, aboard. They stayed with us until 17:30 at King's Langley.
Earlier on at Hunton Bridge we all stopped for a pint. "The King's Head" was
shut, "due to open tonight", having been converted to a "pizzeria" so it was to
"The Dog and Partridge" that we took our custom, no real ales, the sort of
place that you'd avoid if at all possible.
In King's Langley, after some excellent fishing, perch, roach, gudgeon and
some of Barry's favourite crayfish, we struggled through Corry with a fuzzy
picture then walked over the bridge into town for a fish supper, noting the
close proximity of the library for tomorrow. Wonderful sunshine all day--let's
hope it's the pattern for the immediate future!
Saturday 3 June 2006
07:00 saw me up and making tea. A glorious kip with the open hatch making for
a blissfully cool bed. The sun was already up and making the day hot. We
arrived at the library at 08:50 and were admitted on the stroke of 09:00. I got
down to dealing with some 68 E-mails but unfortunately for Barry, his terminal
was already booked for an hour so he read the paper and then, while he EE'd I
returned to the boat for maggot-drowning with poor results but chewed the fat
with Lindsay, opposite the boat, whose house is on the site of an old mill.
She and her husband bought the house off of drawings 22 years ago! Reluctant
to leave such a great scenic spot, we pushed on at 11:50 and steadily made our
way north, stopping for a brief respite at Boxmoor Top Lock. I'd hoped for
some peaceful fishing whilst Barry listened to a tape he'd recorded a few days
ago. Boat traffic was fairly quiet but two girls who had managed to arrange to
get their boat towed down to Fishery Lock, needed
our help in winding their broken-down craft before peace finally reigned.
Later, a young lady was thrilled to operate Winkwell Swing Bridge for us, as
were two more young ladies, winding paddles and pushing beams at the lock above
Winkwell. We met Debbie and Simon at "The Rising Sun" in Berko, no surprise
there! The environs were awash with kids and couples drinking and lounging on
the lock gates and beams. It was necessary to clear the crowds before lock
operations could commence. Finally, we made Berko Park by 20:12 and tied
above lock 53 with burnt arms and tired limbs.
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