After settling in yesterday, Mark snoozed Hazel unpacked ! we started exploring the ship and got very lost….

The ship seems very spacious with lots of nooks and crannies for her 980 passengers and 540 crew. Apparently there are 150 Aussies onboard, we shared a dinner table with a couple of kiwis. We were both tired after our 4am start so had an early night.

Bergen has a 4 ship capacity, as soon as one left in came another. The morning saw a Viking sister ship reversing in !

The weather was pretty miserable, but our first shore excursion carried on. The guide was pretty hopeless, a rare occurrence for Viking, and a lot of people stayed on the bus rather than walk with her to each location.

The usual Church visit was delayed by a previous group so some of us went searching for zombies in the crypt….

We DID find an Angel when allowed back…..

With the rain easing we started a stroll in the city, but soon decided to do our own thing and walk back to the ship as I had another tour booked later.

I did the next tour by myself, whilst H had a go with some sock wool we had just bought. Harold, and 2 assistants, led a Ebike tour of Bergen. This was completely different from our first, starting with instructions for complete novices….. He did his job brilliantly and then took off at a cracking pace, and seemed taken aback on stopping to find me right behind him ! It didn’t take long for the penny to drop as I called him an excellent lead out man…..you’ve ridden an ebike before I see……

Our route was up the mountain behind Bergen thru some beautiful forests. The sun came out, the air was crisp and with a lot of banter to and fro everybody seemed to be enjoying themselves.

Eventually we had to turn back down and, via a set of steep switchbacks, found ourselves in the middle of the city ! “Just follow me Australia” said Harold, “as you drive on the wrong side of the road”……there was never more than a metre between his rear and my front tyre ! Weaving thru cars, buses and people he cut a swath with all of us ringing our bells like mad !

Onto the obligatory Church stop, then a clothing shop selling traditional dresses, and finally the Bryggen with its traditional Hansiatic warehouses.

This was how a tour is done, he got a resounding cheer at the end….”row, Row, ROW” like the Norwegian fans at the World Cup give, plus numerous tips.

An hour later we sailed out, under a bridge and past numerous islands with little houses scattered around on any flat spots.

During dinner, and as I write this blog, we are cruising past the most spectacular scenery. I’m having a hard time not rushing out every minute to take another 100 photos !

I’ll try to resist taking too many more, I know we have a beauty planned for tomorrow. Cheers till then

After a very early start, 4am ! we headed out to Gatwick and our flight to Norway. The usual crush of people and delays before take off do nothing to enhance international travel.

Our flight path over England revealed a dry and parched land, very reminiscent of Australia. Bergen Airport was all mod cons and it didn’t take long to pass thru to our Viking ship transfer.

Viking Vela is very smart and modern, the cabin and verandah are significantly bigger than Oceania’s, and she feels very airy. I’ll post some pics of her over the coming weeks. In the meantime we’re enjoying our balcony view, the cooler weather and a G&T.

It is with considerable regret and sadness that I write this post advising that today will be our last day aboard Prime Thyme.

With little Sea Otter Club action and not having a reliable trailering service we feel we’ve spent enough time on the Wey and Thames, and will revert back to hiring on the canal system

Starting in 2012 we hired for a few years before buying our first Sea Otter T42. She was trailed extensively around the canal system, doing many rally’s where we met like minded folk.

Our friends Rico and Lorraine aboard Lazy Otter accompanied us on many of these rings and we remain forever thankful for their company, help and cooked dinners on the towpath !

We also met Penny in our early T42 years and she kept an eye on her and Prime Time over the years. When having a boat the other side of the world this has been of considerable reassurance and help, especially finding engineers and examiners.

Of course most thanks must go H…lock labourer, chief cook and bottle washer…..and my best mate ❤️

Tomorrow we have a very early start for Norway. In the meantime as I’m feeling better, a little cruise……..

Our mooring last night in Godalming got interesting as I moved the boat out from under the tree, with its messy roosting pigeons, and found a wasp nest in the bank. Thankfully they were sleepy and didn’t seem to mind us, but we closed the windows that side.

We’ve been passing Alan in Eleanor, a 40’ Aintree Beetle, all this trip. So when he set off downstream to Guildford, joined him to halve the lock load. First up Cattersall lock and the narrow pass thru the Farncombe Boathouse boats.

Godalming is surrounded by Lamas Land, ancient river meadows. Excellent for dog walkers rather than grazing.

Then onto Guns Mouth, site of the junction with the disused Aran canal, and very low Broadford bridge

Going thru St Catherine’s lock we met up with NB Flat Bottom Girl. Owned by a lovely couple, they had given us a tour of this magnificent 60’ boat whilst moored in Guildford Meadows. A keen knitter she and Hazel had lots to talk about.

Saying goodbye to Alan we transited thru Millmead Lock, Guildford town centre, Dapdune Wharf and onto Ladymead for shopping. Not food but tissues and medicine, I’ve come down hard with a cold, again.

Dapdune Wharf is the centre of the National Trusts Wey Navigations, with lots of old buildings from its days of barge building. It also has a tea room, good idea let’s stop !

With me starting to wilt in the sun it was time to find a shady spot, under an ancient Oak tree just above Bowers lock was ideal

We had 3 hours rest without any boats, the 4 arrived from all directions ! Time to move, but not with the new hirers…..Giving them a hand thru, we soon caught up later on. Our usual spot by Send Church had a spot for overnight…phew.

With our time running short we decided to do one last run up Godalming, especially as supplies were running low. Hazel has been getting a little better each day, but by the time we got to the first lock my throat was on fire….

Fortunately the 3 locks are fairly easy, even if 2 were set against us. As there is less traffic on this section the waterfowl has increased, with numerous flotillas of Egyptian and Canadian geese.

The wind gradually picked up, and with patchy cloud cover the temperature didn’t feel high.

First the shallow St Catherine’s, then the slightly hidden and remote Unstead locks. Then past Riff Raff Weir and it’s pretty lenghtmans cottage.

Then back onto the windy river section into Godalming, after Cattersall Lock where Farncombe Boathouse were teaching day boat hirers……as they disappeared into the distance the instructor was saying “don’t hit anything, don’t hit anything, they are out of view and are not my responsibility anymore” !

By the time we got to Godalming I was feeling really rotten, had just enough energy to help H with the shopping, then found a perfect shady spot to moor, make up a bed and then crash……no more cruising today. We have 2 days to get back to the Marina and then pack…

We seem to have spent a bit of time at Walsham Gates this year, by ourselves in the heat, sharing moorings with Iris

But we always fly our Tassie flag with pride 👍

With water levels starting to fall, and restrictions likely, we’re heading up to Guildford for our last days before Norway.

We’ve finally had a couple of cooler days, making cruising more enjoyable and having dinner one night with Penny and Mark outside the New Inn

Today I enjoyed a visit to RHS Wisley, where I worked part time, as a student and full time member of staff running the Orchid Glasshouses. Nothing remains of them from my time, but the new glasshouses are magnificent.

We wandered across to Battlestone Hill, where I first started as a summer vocational worker, and a place I always feel at home…especially amongst the Eucalyptus trees that I planted some 50 years ago. The fairy dell is still magical, though I didn’t see any badgers like I used to do in the late afternoons.

We wondered around the exotic, walled and rose gardens….perfection everywhere.

It was gradually getting hotter, time for lunch or an ice cream…..

A magical day at a magical place, I hope to return one day….

We had an another warm night last night, dinner at 8 with it starting to cool down by 9. A shower at 10 cooled me down enough for sleep. We are usually up by 6, this morning was no exception, and cruising by 7 to keep out the sun as much as possible. Our first lock was Bowers, let me take you thru it..

This is Bowers from my perspective, I’ve dropped Hazel off at the lock landing and enter via the bottom gates. We know the gates are hard to do, so I motor to the top gates, fasten the boat and climb out via the slimy ladder set in muddy walls.

Once Hazel and I have closed the bottom gates, it requires both of us with maximum effort, I climb back in and Hazel pulls me back towards the bottom gates. We fasten the bowline to a bollard, loop the stern line around another bollard and I hang on the end.

Hazel then goes to the top gates, checks that we are both happy with the lines, and cracks open the top paddle on my side of the lock. Immediately water starts filling the lock pushing the boat back, then forwards as the water bounces off the bottom gates. I control all the movement with my stern rope.

These locks are about 75 feet long, 15 feet wide and up to 15 feet deep. With both paddles open they could fill in 5 minutes ! That’s why it’s imperative to rope up and take it slowly. Sadly some people believe they can do it quickly, usually resulting in flooded boats, damaged gates and occasionally drownings. You can never take them for granted. The noise is tremendous as well, we have a system of hand signals for various operations, including emergency paddle closure, thankfully only used once when a line got caught and the boat started listing.

Once the initial surge is over, and 1 top paddle fully open, Hazel comes back and tighten the bowline, This ensures I have enough stern line to keep the boat central as the water level rises.

Walking across the top gates she then opens the second paddle. By then the boat is emerging from the lock, and I can step off on the opposite side to Hazel.

The last couple of inches always seems to take the longest, but until the water is level with the river you can’t open them !

Once level we open the gates both sides, wind down the paddles to close them, and I coil the lines as Hazel makes her way back. Then start the engine, and exit the lock, usually with a boat waiting to go thru in the opposite direction.

Of course sometimes the lock is set against you, it’s in full sun or you have to share. All part of the fun, the maximum we’ve done is 21 in one day……hard yakka 😀

We’ve used the services at Dapdune Wharf, done a bit of shopping at M&S, and are now moored at our usual spot in Guildford Meadows. It’s definitely cooler and there’s a nice breeze, where’s that ice cream……

After a couple of days at Walsham Gates in the shade to escape the heat we had to move for services. So back to Cartbridge via Newark and Papercourt Locks.

Built in 1633 Newark is one of the oldest locks in the UK and is called so because of its proximity to Newark Priory. Only a few walls remain standing of this 12 to 13th Century building for Augustian monks. It was mainly destroyed during the reformation of Henry VIII.

After the Marina Services, and a quick shower which did nothing to alleviate the effects of heat, we moored at our usual spot in Send, Highbridge, for a quick shop. There was no shade here, and as the temps hit 30 again, a mooring around the corner provided some relief. To early for the pub, but OK for morning tea.

Whisper cruised past with Brian enquiring about our electrical problems. The amp meter is working fine…..so the smart gauge has now decided to play up ! So long as we can keep cruising for another week……then I’ll get the mobile mechanic to take another look. As the sun moved around we decided to head for our first nights spot near Send Church Bridge as it has good shade. Just one lock, Triggs, set in our favour by Whisper 👍

Fortunately nobody was moored there, and i spent the rest of the afternoon moving PT up and down to keep in the shade, as well as washing the rear deck boards. Tomorrow’s forecast is for 29, we will head for Guildford and a chemist for Hazel’s cold.

So a quiet day at Walsham Gates….what to do ?

Say good bye to our new friends onboard Pennies from heaven.

Read, a whole trilogy by Anthony Ryan, glad H bought them.

Photograph the Damselflies and Dragonflies around the banks.

Watch the temperature go up and the batteries go down 😳