Cruising on the Thames
By road (on a good day) this journey would take less than an hour but by river, negotiating the locks, it took us a wonderful six nights. The pace of the river is about five mph and as it meanders its way through pretty countryside and English towns you soon relax and realise that you can be in no hurry! A far cry from our busy life at home, we quickly started to unwind into this rather enjoyable pace of life.
Our boat was truly beyond our expectations with two bedrooms and two bathrooms. It was an upmarket little cruiser, rather similar to how you would imagine a typical boat that you would take out on the Norfolk Broads to look like. They have a lovely fleet at Benson, with boats to suit all tastes and family sizes, I suppose ours would ideally suit two couples, or a family with older children. It was very spacious; with a full and very well equipped kitchen, a table and inside seating area that would comfortably sit six adults, plus additional seating upstairs on deck, with a second table and even a parasol and a built in BBQ!
There is also a choice of inside and outside steering – good when you are up against “good old English weather”. We easily swapped from one to the other – even whilst still on the move! Being complete novices, we were a little anxious after our one hour “training” but having negotiated the first lock with our “trainer” in tow – we felt we had the beginnings of some confidence, and we were soon on our way. The locks, by the way, are all electronic and mostly manned by lock-keepers along this stretch, making the trip ideal for first-timers like us.
Being on the river is an easy holiday – plenty of pubs and restaurants that you can eat at along the way – mooring outside, and even a Tesco Express where you could moor up right outside! We mostly self-catered, eating out three times during the seven days.
Overall it was a fantastic holiday which has definitely left us with some great memories that we will treasure. It was a lovely sight too, arriving into Windsor and seeing the magnificent castle overlooking the water! If you want to know more about this trip, give me a call, I am always happy to help!