I spent yesterday afternoon tidying the exterior of Prime Thyme, it’s amazing how much mud the fenders can transfer. I was ably assisted by Mr Swan and family, 2 white adults, 5 grey cygnets and an adolescent black swan ! Bit of a mixed bag, must have some Aussie blood in the parents.

We snuck thru the stop gate at Thames Lock, with 24” of water over the sill and our draught of 18” we didn’t need to fill the second pound, saving time and water.

Suffice to say New Haw Lock provided Hazel with a challenge as usual. I took lots of pics as she wrestled with gates and paddles, but as the internet is slow uploading tonight I’ll save them for another time.

We are meeting Penny and Iris tonight at Walsham Gates, but had a loiter around TLC who supplied us with a fender whilst hovering mid stream, and then stopped outside the Anchor Pub at Pyrford. Time for a celebratory drink and lunch for fulfilling our goal of getting on a canal, and returning home unscathed.

We will meander upstream to Guildford and beyond over the next couple of days. Still plenty to see and do, but we are both looking forward to our upcoming cruise around Ireland.