On being narrow minded.

One of the nice things about narrowboating is that when the weather isn't really holiday type weather, boating is still comfortable and fun. Our boat is about 50 feet long and 6'8” wide. It has a full galley (stove, oven, broiler, fridge, lots of cupboards and even a bread box on the counter), a double bed, a full bathroom (with a shower and small bathtub), and a small sitting area with a chair and table and two easy chairs (that are much too big for the boat) as well as a small flat screen TV. I am surprised at the huge number of high def digital channels we get with just an antenna.

The galley.

The saloon.

The rack.

It's a good thing we have all these amenities because the weather for the past couple days has been rather gray and cool. That is really not a problem though, because our boat has central heating with hot water radiators throughout the boat.

Because the Thames was once the main form of transportation for goods in this area of England, all the towns are built right along the banks. It facilitates noodling along from town to town, or pub to pub complete with free mooring and very short walks to everything. The pubs are clearly marked on the chart! It can be a very lazy holiday. 

Self explanatory!

The exception is actually passing through the locks. With a total crew of two (including the skipper), the locks are an all hands on deck evolution. As we approach the lock we try and determine if our end is open or not. If it is it is simply a matter of cruising right in and tying up. If not then we must moor at the waiting point until whoever is in the lock is through. Once they clear the lock we motor in, tie up and follow the directions of the lock keeper. One of the advantages of cruising on the Thames vice some of the smaller canals is that most of the locks, most of the time, are manned by lock keepers and the lock work is done for you. On Sundays or after hours, or on the smaller waterways, the locks are self serve. Doing it yourself is not difficult, just time consuming and requires getting on and off the boat several times for each step. Realistically, three people are needed; two to handle the boat and lines, and one to do the sluices on the lock.

The eight behind us in the lock.

A crowded lock!

The river is a very busy place. There are narrowboats, modern fibreglass cruisers, rowing shells and every other form of water traffic at every bend in the river. Locking through to Abingdon yesterday, there were two narrow boats, a speed boat and an eight man rowing shell in the lock with us. There was a similar batch waiting to go in the other direction. There are permanent liveaboards in all sorts of craft all along the river. There is fresh water and a sewage pump out at almost every lock (every couple miles) and sometimes in between. It is great to see so many people using the river and so many facilities available to boaters. Rule Britannia!