Another narrowboat President Wensleydale was making the journey too. They were a group of young men and it was their first Thames trip too. The traffic light signal changed to green which indicated that the massive lock gates were open and we moved forward into the lock to wrap the bow and stern ropes round the vertical rods so that the ropes can move up and down as the lock fills and empties. I was on the bow rope and the lock keeper was directly above me as he worked the machinery. I asked him if he had a heart monitor! He assured me that the swell wasn't high and we would be fine. Everything happened so quickly. The lock emptied, the massive forward gates opened, the ropes were untied and we were off into The Thames.
The first bridge you meet is the iconic Tower bridge. Listening on the radio we heard that it would be raised at 12.30 pm but sadly not for us. You are told to take the starboard aches on bridges but no one can resist going through the central arch of this one!
From now on the famous sights came thick and fast. Too many photos to upload but a small selection follows.
And yes, I did the tiller
After about 90 mins we were past all the main sights and the number of trip boats, ribs and catamarans had died down and it was really a leisurely cruise. We were not now subjected to the wash from these boats but you still had to be alert to the other boats and river users. In fact at one point near Putney some dinghys were going back and forwards across the river. One man was just not watching- the horn was needed!
The other boat crew had unfortunately lost their radio overboard but we can confirm that they float! Our radio was being held very firmly on a wrist strap.
After 3 hours we approached Brentford lock where the lockkeeper had the lock ready for us.
We had enjoyed a wonderful day and before we made the journey we had only met 2 couples who had enjoyed the experience. We are another pair of narrowboaters who found it exciting.
No comments:
Post a Comment