Last November we started a email trail with Roy and Sue Farnham, owners of the Dutch barge the Baglady. We were excited about travelling the Thames on the barge as sole passengers (the barge sleeps four) but arranging suitable dates was tricky. Even then, the barge was almost fully booked for the summer with a three day window available from the 18th to the 20th August.
This meant getting off a plane assuming no delays in transit and immediately boarding the barge; with some optimism we arranged to meet Roy and Sue on the 18th at Maidenhead, 13 miles from Heathrow along the Thames path. Amazingly, there were few delays in flights, we got through customs and were met by our Heathrow driver by 1.30 on Saturday afternoon. Underway and speeding along the motorway, twenty minutes on we spied the Baglady moored at Maidenhead, waiting for us to board.
So we've spent an idyllic few days meandering along the Thames, manoeuvering through the locks, having some laughs with our wonderful hosts and taking in some stunning riverside scenery - the shady and beautiful reaches of Cookham water, with the historic Cliveden visible through the trees, the Kenneth Grahame-country around Hambleden, the broad stretches of river at Henley. And all along the way, waving and chatting to fellow travellers on the river, all of who recognise the Baglady and compare notes about the traffic on the river, the busy-ness of the Rewind festival at Henley, and the incredibly hot and sunny weather we've been having.
Highlights for us - Roy and Sue and their wonderful hospitality and knowledge of the river, waving to Rolf Harris sitting outside his house at Bray (and later getting a text to Roy's phone from Rolf), chugging the dinghy through the serene backwater at Wargrove at dusk, sitting having late dinners along the riverbank with a cool glass of wine and enjoying hundreds of great twists and turns of the river Thames.
This meant getting off a plane assuming no delays in transit and immediately boarding the barge; with some optimism we arranged to meet Roy and Sue on the 18th at Maidenhead, 13 miles from Heathrow along the Thames path. Amazingly, there were few delays in flights, we got through customs and were met by our Heathrow driver by 1.30 on Saturday afternoon. Underway and speeding along the motorway, twenty minutes on we spied the Baglady moored at Maidenhead, waiting for us to board.
So we've spent an idyllic few days meandering along the Thames, manoeuvering through the locks, having some laughs with our wonderful hosts and taking in some stunning riverside scenery - the shady and beautiful reaches of Cookham water, with the historic Cliveden visible through the trees, the Kenneth Grahame-country around Hambleden, the broad stretches of river at Henley. And all along the way, waving and chatting to fellow travellers on the river, all of who recognise the Baglady and compare notes about the traffic on the river, the busy-ness of the Rewind festival at Henley, and the incredibly hot and sunny weather we've been having.
Highlights for us - Roy and Sue and their wonderful hospitality and knowledge of the river, waving to Rolf Harris sitting outside his house at Bray (and later getting a text to Roy's phone from Rolf), chugging the dinghy through the serene backwater at Wargrove at dusk, sitting having late dinners along the riverbank with a cool glass of wine and enjoying hundreds of great twists and turns of the river Thames.
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