Michael Askin wrote: > On Wed, Sep 9, 2009 at 9:41 PM, Julian Tether > <[email protected]> wrote: >> Now is there anything left between Runnymede and Teddington that is >> still to be done? > > While I wimped out on doing the Loddon, I've managed many back waters > of the Thames: > > http://shoestring.zapto.org/pics/beale2006/index.html > (Note I'm having problems with Internet connection on my webserver, so > it may not actually be working when you click on it!) > > Looking at it, would there be enough depth to get to the junction on > the Loddon for a narrowboat, or is it just too shallow? > > Cheers, > > Mike
I walked it a while back and have some pictures somewhere. It looked impossible by the time you got to the bifucated channels under the A4. AFAICS you could get off the Thames, under the three little bridges and possibility of winding a 60ft NB at the first junction, where St Patrick's Stream goes off to enter the Thames below Shiplake Lock. How far you would get beyond this is anyones guess, it certainly did not look windable at the junction near the A4. Glad to see you have done Hedsor Water in a NB ;-) Seeing as Earnest will probably not be in Ireland for much longer, we did some investigation of some off-piste traverses round the islands in Upper Lough Erne. At the bottom of the lake we tried to find the "NW passage", but stopped just short of grounding on a rock causeway, some 1ft deep. After carefully winding we retraced our steps. As we came into view of the protection markers we saw an Aghinver plastic hire boat sqreech to a stop by the marker, ignore it and come towards us, at some speed. This is typical of the average "sheep mentality" hireboater on the Irish lakes. We decided at the last minute to warn him :-) http://www.tuesdaynightclub.co.uk/Stuffimages/InverDuke.jpg The channel goes across the top of the picture, the entrance into this no-go area, protected by the marker in the distance. We have now twice seen a hire boat stuck on the rocks, as it tried to cut the corner into Dromod Harbour. The last time the boat was well out of the water and some private boaters could only approach it in their teeny inflatable, with the outboad up. -- Neil Arlidge NB Earnest / Barge Maurice A (in the pipeline) TNC...Gorn west... http://www.tuesdaynightclub.co.uk/tour.html
