The BIG SCARY THAMES.
We spent the morning before we hit the Thames scrubbing the Pterodactyl shit off the boat, digging out extra long ropes, checking the engine, securing any loose objects and generally preparing for the Thames as if we were crossing the channel.
Turns out that the big bad expanse of scary looking water is actually 'totally lovely' and has many benefits. First of all - the locks are chilled! All you have to do is press a button, and sometimes you don’t even have to do that because there’s a lock keeper to do it for you. Each lock has a lock keepers house and usually a very beautiful and well tended garden. The lock keeper won’t let you in unless you make a comment about the weather - this is England and them the rules.
The trees are amazing along the river, weeping willows, copper beaches and massive old oaks in massive gardens that belong to houses that are so big you can’t imagine what living in one must be like. Most of these houses around the Henley area have boathouses which are actually nicer & larger than any house I’ve ever lived in.
There are a few downsides to the Thames. You have to pay to moor up - and wherever we go they seem to be hot on it and quite expensive. We spent our first night in Henley and we hadn’t even finished tying off the boat before a non communicative teenager came roaring up to us in a buggy and scrawled out a bill for £10. There’s also rowers, who at first I admired for their dedication but after they crashed into the boat (the perils of going backwards) I wasn’t so impressed by them. You also have to share the wide waterway with plastic boats which go quite a lot faster than a narrowboat, and quite often don’t slow down to go past moored boats
At our expensive (£10) mooring in Henley we headed into town for an explore - it’s a ‘handsome market town’ as described by the Nicholson Guide and reminds me of Marlborough but this town really celebrates its river. As we are a few weeks away from the famous Henley Regatta, we noticed a lot of rowing clubs practising and little marquees and bunting going up in preparation for the big day. The community seems to be brought together by the Thames.
Back to us exploring the badlands of H-O-T…. It was getting late, and enticed by the smell of garlic, we turned into a little pizza restaurant/cocktail bar/nightclub called Magoos. With low expectations - we ordered a veggie pizza and sat undercover in the large garden at the back with a friendly Tom Cat for company. Chris had brought a couple of bottles of wine from a shop down the road and shortly after our pizza takeaway was delivered the heavens opened; rain so intense you couldn’t see through it, hammering down on the plastic roof so we had to shout over it. Faced with the choice of soggy pizza boxes we opted to eat in the garden and sloshed some decent wine into our pint glasses and waited for the rain to pass. Just me and Chris and the Cat, sitting out in the rain with our pizza and high quality wine - it was one of those moments were you figure that your not doing too badly at life.
If you want to visit Magoos for pizza, it's not too bad - £11 will get you a good sized barrel & stone pizza but there is definitely a slight sticky - essence of nightclub about the place.
The following day I wanted to moor up in Marlowe for a night, but the moorings were full (and close to a really busy road) so we cruised on down to Maidenhead. Where I had one of those moments where I decided that maybe I wasn’t doing too well at life. We moored up next to a busy road, with a high cement wall on one side that filled our vista and a private towpath that was full of perilous goose shit. We mooched around the town; Vue Cinema, Pizza Express, Frankie & Bennies - all that can be wrong with a high street. Run down pubs, kebab shops, strip clubs and a handful of geezers prowling for a fight. A trail of blood on the high street led to an ambulance, it was only 4pm on a Friday.
We still managed to sniff out the best pub though, so if your stuck in ‘Amazinhead’ drop in on The Hand In Flowers. The bright and airy bar had a good selection of beers and a 5-7pm happy hour(s) (30% off a very good G&T), they also serve food, and have some special deals for Steak which is good for you carnivores! Good Pub or not, it wasn’t enough to keep us parked up so we decided that tomorrow we’d wiggle on down to Windsor & Eton.
Turns out that the big bad expanse of scary looking water is actually 'totally lovely' and has many benefits. First of all - the locks are chilled! All you have to do is press a button, and sometimes you don’t even have to do that because there’s a lock keeper to do it for you. Each lock has a lock keepers house and usually a very beautiful and well tended garden. The lock keeper won’t let you in unless you make a comment about the weather - this is England and them the rules.
The trees are amazing along the river, weeping willows, copper beaches and massive old oaks in massive gardens that belong to houses that are so big you can’t imagine what living in one must be like. Most of these houses around the Henley area have boathouses which are actually nicer & larger than any house I’ve ever lived in.
 |
| Doing the Regatta Course in record slow time |
 | |
| Mooring in Henley on Thames |
At our expensive (£10) mooring in Henley we headed into town for an explore - it’s a ‘handsome market town’ as described by the Nicholson Guide and reminds me of Marlborough but this town really celebrates its river. As we are a few weeks away from the famous Henley Regatta, we noticed a lot of rowing clubs practising and little marquees and bunting going up in preparation for the big day. The community seems to be brought together by the Thames.
Back to us exploring the badlands of H-O-T…. It was getting late, and enticed by the smell of garlic, we turned into a little pizza restaurant/cocktail bar/nightclub called Magoos. With low expectations - we ordered a veggie pizza and sat undercover in the large garden at the back with a friendly Tom Cat for company. Chris had brought a couple of bottles of wine from a shop down the road and shortly after our pizza takeaway was delivered the heavens opened; rain so intense you couldn’t see through it, hammering down on the plastic roof so we had to shout over it. Faced with the choice of soggy pizza boxes we opted to eat in the garden and sloshed some decent wine into our pint glasses and waited for the rain to pass. Just me and Chris and the Cat, sitting out in the rain with our pizza and high quality wine - it was one of those moments were you figure that your not doing too badly at life.
If you want to visit Magoos for pizza, it's not too bad - £11 will get you a good sized barrel & stone pizza but there is definitely a slight sticky - essence of nightclub about the place.
 |
| Me, Chris and Cat just before it rained |
We still managed to sniff out the best pub though, so if your stuck in ‘Amazinhead’ drop in on The Hand In Flowers. The bright and airy bar had a good selection of beers and a 5-7pm happy hour(s) (30% off a very good G&T), they also serve food, and have some special deals for Steak which is good for you carnivores! Good Pub or not, it wasn’t enough to keep us parked up so we decided that tomorrow we’d wiggle on down to Windsor & Eton.
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