We are still getting up early, so an 8am start saw us arrive in Guildford along with all the commuters. We seemed to be the only ones on the river though. Hazel saw us safely thru Millmead lock, no gongoozlers today, so of course everything went perfectly. 

Whilst Hazel went shopping I skulked around and accidently found a watch shop ! A nice 1948 vintage Rolex and Omega were added to the collection. The guys just wanted to talk watches and classic cars…….so I obliged ! 

Guildford was also home to Lewis Carol, author of Alice in Wonderland, so a statue of a bunny racing home to his rabbit hole was quite appropriate next to our mooring.

After a quick lunch, another Melton Mowbray Pork Pie ! We pushed onto Dapdune Wharf for their services and the New Inn at Send for a swift half of Stowford Press Cider, life couldn’t get much better ! Cheers Mark and Hazel 

At the head of the River Wey Navigations lies the town of Godalming. Although surrounded by new developments the heart of the town still has its charm. Especially as the River goes right thru the middle of it. A short walk to Sainsburys for food was followed by a wander around the town as Hazel hadn’t explored it before.

Resisting the charm of the old pubs I was delighted to find an old fashioned green grocer, run by a genuine cockney. A little bit of banter, being called young man ! and some delicious strawberries to have with cream for tea tonight ! Lunch wasn’t bad either, Melton Mowbray Pork Pie, Nairn’s ginger oatcakes, proper cheddar cheese and battenburg cake – my idea of heaven. We have started heading back to Pyrford, being moored at St Catherine’s Lock weir stream. Another warm day…..that’s 3 in a row, it can’t last 😎

We are moored up at Gunns Mouth on the River Wey, enjoying some HOT weather !

 A fairly trouble free Dreamliner flight saw us arrive at 6.30 am, despite leaving 2.5 hours late. However there were no aerobridge’s available so we had to be bussed into the terminal. Being on a non EU passport it also took me an 1.5 hours to get through immigration……you can have one of the most advanced aeroplanes in the world but it’s only as good as the weakest link.

By midday we had made it out onto the river, along with most of the people of Surrey. I’ve never seen it so busy with cyclists, walkers and boaters. It was so warm we even got an ice cream from the van next to Pyrford Lock. We pushed onto our favourite mooring beyond Send, and finally collapsed at 7pm after watching highlights of THE wedding. I don’t remember my head touching the pillow, but was awakened at 3 in the morning by flashing lights….our house batteries were failing ! Later on, and reading 24%, we set up the solar panels to start topping up. We shall install 2 new ones before doing the Warwickshire Ring. 

Pushing onto Guildford saw some beautiful reflections……and a data card for the iPad !

Guildford from the meadows.

T42 needs a bit of a clean, so I’ve some work to do before catching up on some more ZZZ’s

In the meantime cheers 

Yes Cooper is feeling the cold, which means we are about to travel. Helen our house sitter, aka Cooper’s new mum is settling in and all our cases are packed. Blogging will soon start !

Hopefully the Med and the UK will be a bit warmer than last year, but first we have a wedding, to not attend !

Well apparently it’s 11 weeks before Tasotter starts his travels ! This year, we will be big boat cruising the Med, then 4 weeks on T42 doing the Warwickshire Ring and finishing up with the Sea Otter Rally at Warwick. Yes it’s been 2 years since the last one at Tamworth. Once again we hope to travel with Lazy Otter’s crew to help Hazels locking duties. After a long, hot and dry summer I’m looking forward to some watery adventures….

But please let it warm up a bit ! at the moment T42 is encased in ice and covered in snow !

In the last couple of days we ventured out on the Thames down to Walton to see our friend Sue. It was good to catch up, even though time was limited to an hour or so. With threatening skies we headed home to Pyrford and the last 4 locks of the year. It’s always a sad moment for me when we “finish with engine” for the season. Hopefully we will be able to attend next years Sea Otter Rally in Warwickshire….

Another final day ritual is a visit to Wisley. Compared with the bleak day when visiting with Leon and Heather, it was high summer. Lunch was held outside in shorts……The roses had also come on, and it was a pleasure to stroll around them enveloped in their fragrance. With the packing completed it requires a few chores in the morning before returning the car and heading to Heathrow, till next time Cheers Tasotter  ps this year we set an all time high with over 1000 people reading the posts, who are you all ? 

A blast from the past today, we motored downstream to Weybridge, where I grew up in the UK. After contacting our friend Sue at Walton Marina we decided to moor up here, as it’s a sheltered spot. At least it’s not raining, but it’s still blowy and the water has a stronger current flowing today. Our mooring is enhancing / spoiling a million £ house view !

T42 is moored on the right hand side of the pic. Not much of Weybridge remains that I recognise, 1 or 2 shops and the road layout.Church road antiques seems to be still surviving, at the “bottom” end of town, near the addlestone road and bridge.

Monument hill and the Ship Inn, now a hotel, still looked familiar. A lot more housing going up to Queens road now.

Our favourite grocer and fish shop has gone at the bottom of Baker Street, though a florist is still there.

Thankfully the library is still there, exactly as I remember it due to the hours spent there selecting and reading books. Something I still enjoy to this day in preference to tv. Weather permitting we will visit Sue tomorrow.

So last blog we were slow boating downstream on the Wey, enjoying the Rhododendrons in the sun ! Whilst having lunch at the New Inn at Send the weather started deteriorating. Going across open water meadows the wind started making steering difficult, so we decided to make a run for the marina rather than mooring on pins in the open. Thank goodness we did, last night a storm blew thru with heavy rain and gale force winds. T42 lurched around all night, and we could hear other boats hitting pontoons. It was still blowy this morning, it would be no fun on the Thames, so we’ve cancelled our trip to Hampton Court for present. Instead we went to the Aston Martin Museum / Owners Club HQ at Dreyton St Leonard. Situated in an old tithe barn we were made to feel most welcome, enjoyed the exhibits, and renewed our membership. 

First time seen in the flesh, Aston Martin One-77 with a  7.3litre V12 producing 750bhp, eat my dust Bugatti Veyron !

Another first see ! Vanquish Volante with only a 450bhp V12, well you don’t want your hair blown completely away….

Another sunny start saw us moving downstream 1 lock, but what a difference in surroundings. Our tranquil weir stream mooring for the old Dapdune Wharf in Guildford. We woke up to church bells, and as I write this blog they are ringing out from the Cathedral. On route we moored up by the high street and had a walk round. Guildford has changed from my childhood days, the coffee house and bookshop have closed, worse still the Jaeger fashion shop closed a couple of months ago……sorry mum. Hazel managed to find some stylish and inexpensive clothes from M&S, Mark found a stylish and expensive pre loved watch from Mappin and Webb ! The weather looks like it’s on the change, we will see how far downstream we get tomorrow.

As Ratty almost said ” there’s simply nothing like messing around on boats”, especially on an English summers day !The last 3 days have had glorious weather. With no timetable we finally reached the head of the navigable Wey at Godalming Wharf.

After a little shopping we met Penny, and gave her a lift by our boat to hers. Iona, a horse drawn trip boat also uses the wharf, after her departure we met again at the first lock going downstream. It was good to see a horse on the towpath, it was of course their intended use.

This couple seemed to have things sorted, being punted along. Normally seen at Oxford it looked good this afternoon. Tomorrow we will head back to Dapdune Wharf for a final foray into Guildford before heading for the Thames.