We weren’t quite sure what to expect from the Thames. On the Trent, mooring was more or less restricted to the floating pontoons around the locks, and we had to call ahead on our VHS radio to alert lock keepers we were approaching, but not on the Thames.
The Trent’s frequent electric charging posts were a real bonus, just paying for what we needed on our precharged card. But it felt a bit like a motorway, plenty of boats getting from A to B as quickly as possible. The Upper Thames has a very different feel. Its a lot quieter, and people are simply enjoying the river. And the riverside pubs.
We’ve taken to the challenge of wild mooring. Who needs armco or pins when you can tie to a tree.
Ok we do, but its been a novelty that we’ve enjoyed. Perhaps its the time of year, mid May, that everything is fresh and green.
Or even yellow
We found ourselves a bit of steep bank that we could get close enough into to be able to get on and off
And a field full of buttercups
Just outside of Eynsham, so whilst I sat in the field with my little electric spinning wheel
Eric sat on the roof of the boat wiring in the last of our solar panals. Needless to say retro fitting panels that require wiring being threaded up, under and behind every conceivable obstruction is not to be recommended and all I can say is no wonder it took him so long to psyche himself up to tackle the job.
Whilst Eric was engrossed in his project, I thought I’d take myself for a walk up that hill, only to discover that its part of the Wytham Woods estate, owned by one of the Oxford Colleges. It is a research site containing ancient woodland that has remained under strict preservation since the 1940s and the general public are not allowed in without special permission. Perhaps next time we are here, I’ll be better prepared and will get that permission in advance.
In the mean time I’ll just happily watch another sunset