Braggabout

Our regular travelling companions Sue and Martin have bought a narrow boat this year and invited us with fellow Aussies Ian and Jan aboard for an inland cruise. A few years ago we travelled West along the Kennett and Avon canal so the plan this year was to go east, join the Thames and continue via the London canal system to Olympic park. The relevant section of the inland waterways map follows: 

The first challenge was the 29 Caen Hill locks. The team looked keen enough at the beginning of the 16 lock ladder. 

Although beforehand some had to be cajoled from their leisurely start. 

Last year Sue was a little traumatised at the thought of owning and captaining a narrow boat, but now manoeuvrers it and barks orders to the crew as well as any of us. 

Not that life aboard was particularly onerous. Here we decided the weather was so good we would breakfast ashore. 

 And lunch was no less tough 

One of the attractions of travelling with Martin is his knowledge of historical buildings. We stopped at Crofton pump station which was built to pump water to the top of the Caen Hill pound. There are two large steam driven pumps with 30 inch bores, an 8 foot stroke lifting 1.25 tons of water each cycle. The lever arms between pump and engine are massive. They are operated by volunteers every week or so and are apparently an awesome (noisy and steamy) spectacle. The rest of the time the water is moved by a couple of small electric pumps – how times have changed. 

Our next bit of interest was from the same era. This is one of only 4 horse drawn trip boats in England and the only one that goes through locks. The horse was in its first year but wonderfully docile. The only thing that phased him apparently was wild rhubarb – probably the elephants in them.

When arriving at a lock the horse was released and then the two boat handlers took over. This was pretty hard human work getting the boat started (while the horse walked by past the adjoining bridge). With two trips a day 24/7 from March to Sept these guys were pretty fit.

The whole area was so picturesque.

As was the centre of Reading but very much 21^st C.

For those avid Grand Design watchers this is the house that was built on the Thames on a very narrow block. Apart from the human and physical challenges (eg building foundations under water) I think the final building works well with its surroundings. The finish was of a high standard.

However, a few NIMBYs felt it detracted from the whole area. It certainly contrasted with some older house and plot sizes. 

Shortly after Reading we arrived at Henley the home of the Oxford v Cambridge boat race. We saw many scullers in this area. It is a very pretty town and we wondered around the market stocking up on cheese, pork pies and stuffed olives.

There were also a number of Kites in the area. This one was unusual with its “double diode” tail. 

Meanwhile swanning around is not the only mood of the Queens bird. This one was constantly haranguing and chasing another swan with the intent of mortally wounding it. Later a lock keeper advised that he had to keep two pairs of swans either side of a lock to stop them killing each other (notwithstanding it was not part of his job description).

Our next overnight stop was adjacent to Brunel’s 1838 Sounding Bridge. This remarkable brick structure is the worlds flattest and longest brick arch (128 ft long and only a 24 ft rise). At the time his sponsors told him it would collapse and to leave the formwork in place. He did so but only after dropping the formwork a couple of inches without their knowledge. The formwork was later washed away in a flood and still stands carrying the busy western railway line. Its subsequent widening used exactly the same construction.

 It also makes a beautiful picture frame.

From Reading we were on the Thames and all the locks were manned during the working day and self service after hours. They have a best kept lock competition and this one had to be close to winning.

Some way upstream it became apparent that we were approaching Windsor

We went for a stroll around the town and our timing was perfect as, after only a 10 minute wait, we caught the changing of the guard.

After Windsor came Runnymede which was the birthplace of  Magna Carta being formally confirmed by King Edward 1 in 1297. The document “safeguarded constitutional rights against unjust and arbitrary rule” and  is acknowledged as the start of Democracy. The Americans donated a memorial to this effect.

Further up the hill was the Air Force memorial dedicated to those who died in the second world war and whose remains where never found. Although this had great views from the top of the tower these were overshadowed by the thousands of names around the walls which made this a particularly poignant memory.

Downstream we moored up at Hampton Court. Unfortunately the rear gates had an additional fence in front of them which made photography quite challenging. This side is the earlier Baroque style designed by Christopher Wren.

The front is a little different… 

As we approached London the canal adjoins Paddington railway station. It is quite majestic despite numerous additions over the years and now has modern entrances. In the alcove in front of the clock is the entrance to the new cross rail which is due for opening in 2018. Should make crossing London by train pretty quick.

Further down the “cut” things were definitely at a lot slower pace in colourful Little Venice.

Parts of London came upon as at rapid intervals over the last couple of days. We stopped at Camden markets which was both large and brimming with people. The horse transport link between rail and canal has been built on over the years and there are many sculptures of horses and related gear in the market. In fact some of the décor is extraordinary such as this canopy over the entrance to a railway arch shop.

Apart from the usual eateries and T shirt shops there were some quite novel ones. These Garra Rufa fish apparently nibble away at the dead skin of your feet. We decided not to give this a try in case it tickled too much.

We moved off the canal system at Limehouse basin and onto the River Lea navigation. Some of the “bow” apartments in the area have great South facing views.

Our final goal and destination was the Olympic village. Many of the structures were being reduced in size to accommodate more usual activities. This makes sense but not why the whole site has been sealed off to the public including the canal system, for more than a year. Anyway here is a distant view of the main stadium and ArcelorMittal's Orbit (frolic) behind.

We had a busy but great trip. It was not until I travelled by train back to Caen Hill to pick up the car and then drove back that it really underpinned how far we had gone. A big thank you to Sue and Martin for their generosity in letting us travel in Braggabout as well as giving up potentially a much more civilised pace of life to accommodate our requested whirlwind schedule and route.