FOLLOW THE ULTIMATE GRANDFATHER'S ADVENTURES
Hazel's Helper
 Do you remember Johnathon, the dad with his family that I met on the river earlier? When we were paddling along we talked about my trip and how I had organized everything and I described how I had bought the canoe and how much it had cost and how I wanted to sell it after I had finished. Well, shortly afterwards he sent me an email and said he would like to buy the canoe. After some brief negotiations we agreed on a price and that he would collect the canoe once I had finished. Eventually I suggested he might like to pick it up at Teddington because that would much more convenient than driving across London to pick it up at Tony’s house. He agreed so here he is with me with the canoe loaded onto the roof of his Mercedes ready to drive back to his home. With the transfer of cash from his hand to my pocket the transaction was completed to everyone’s satisfaction. All that was left to do was enjoy a celebratory meal with Jenny’s UK family. From left to right – Christine, Tony’s wife; Nancy, Christine’s mother; me; Tony, Jenny’s brother; Christopher, Tony’s son and my fellow paddler; Richard, Tony’s younger son. So the trip was complete and it was time for me to return to Jasper.
0 Comments
 After a good day of paddling we arrived at Teddington in the mid-afternoon. We went through the lock and turned up towards the weir where I knew there was a public boat launch. We unloaded the canoe and waited for Tony to arrive and meet with us so that we could put the equipment into his car.
 This was an early morning. I got up at 6:00am and started to pack up as much of my gear as I could before going for breakfast at the food truck. I had to wait for some time because the two ladies were a little slow in getting out of bed. But it was worth the wait because I had a good breakfast and I bought two sandwiches for my lunch. I finished packing the canoe while I waited for Chris, our nephew, to arrive to join me on the trip from Chertsey to Teddington. He arrived just after 9:00am after a train trip from his flat in London. After he had finished his breakfast at the food trailer we set of on the last day of my River Thames adventure.
The most interesting part of this journey was passing by Hampton Court. Construction was originally started in 1515 for Cardinal Wolsey but in 1529 Wolsey gave it to King Henry VIII to buy his way back into the king's grace. Additions and renovations were made by the Stuart kings and queens and half of the original buildings were lost in the renovations at the end of this period. Now it is protected as a Grade 1 listed building. From the river you can only see the back of the palace, much like looking at the back garden - not very impressive.  With such a short distance to travel I arrived at the campsite with plenty of time to explore Chertsey. I started with lunch at the Bridge Hotel, a posh establishment with very mediocre food - a breakfast bagel and a glass of cider. From there I walked into the shopping area and explored a little. On my way back to the campground I came across a hair salon that was advertising a special for a haircut. I decided that, after so many days on the river, it would be nice to have my hair washed. So I went in and asked what it would cost to just have my hair washed. After much discussion and a call to their boss it was decided the young ladies could wash my hair for 5 pounds. That was fine with me so I relaxed in the chair while my hair wash washed - a pleasant interlude before I returned to my tent.
In the evening a food truck came to the campsite and offered meals to the campers. This was a regular occurrence so a permanent patio area was available to their customers. I ate my supper there and enjoyed a very good meal in the good company of some fellow campers.  This was my shortest day – just 1.5 miles. I had a lazy start with oatmeal for breakfast before starting on the river at 10:30am. I arrived at Chertsey lock around 1:00pm and paddled to the right bank below the lock and across the spillway from the weir. I could see the campsite at the top of the bank but I couldn’t see anywhere for me to tie up the canoe and have easy access to the campsite. So I tied the canoe next to the bank where there was a fallen tree with its trunk making a route up to the top of the bank. After struggling up to the top, fighting with stinging nettles, I was confronted by a fence around the camping field. I fought my way along the fence through more stinging nettles until I decided to climb over and find someone who could tell me where I should land my canoe. Of course, as soon as I was over the fence an employee came over and told me I should not have climbed over the fence. I explained my situation and he directed me to the backwater that gave easy access to the campground. The two pictures show the entrance to the backwater from the river and it leading up to the campsite at the end.
 This was my longest day of paddling – I got on the river at 9:00am and paddled until 6:00pm covering a distance of 14.5 miles. Because I knew I had a long way to go I decided to eat my breakfast and lunch in the canoe as I paddled along. My delicious breakfast was four granola bars and my 5 star lunch was a can of cold baked beans and two slices of bread. I camped at Laleham Campsite which was across a road from the river bank which meant my canoe would not be secure from potential mischief. I solved this problem by hiding the canoe from sight in the rushes by the river bank. As you can see, I went by Windsor Castle on my way. I remembered from my youth that the castle was clearly visible across the meadows that you can see. I guess in 63 years the trees have grown up and my expected view was not there. Oh well, at least you can see some of the castle.
 I stopped at this restaurant on the island by Boulters Lock and enjoyed a really good lunch in very posh surroundings. Good food. Good beer. Smoked salmon starter followed by a chicken burger. I tied up my canoe along the mooring you can see just in front of the restaurant. I camped at Amerden Campsite for the night and this was where I left my canoe. The campsite was a ¼ mile up the lane which started just past the end of the little hedge. The campsite owner provided me with a wagon to haul my equipment up to the campsite and then he came down to the river bank to help me pull the canoe up the bank to just behind the hedge to keep it out of sight.
 I had another incident in this part of the river. River trips are very popular when you approach the London area and these tour boats are travelling up and down the river as you paddle along. I had stopped paddling to take a photograph and I drifted over to the middle of the river. A boat like this one came up behind me and gave me a blast on his horn to tell me to get out of the way. I should have been on the right side of the river and as he passed by me on my right the skipper let me know in no uncertain terms what he thought of me. I reminded him that power vessels are expected to give way to non-power vessels but he let me know what he thought of that!
When you’re paddling a canoe solo taking pictures can be quite hazardous. You have to stop paddling and let the canoe drift while you get your camera out, take your picture and put the camera away again. By this time the river currents have pushed whereever they will. You can see in this video, while I was setting up my camera, I had drifted close to the right bank of the river and I left my return to paddling just a little too late. Brushing through the overhanging branches moved the camera a little so, when it was safe, I stopped paddling to adjust the camera position and ended up drifting over to the left which put me rather too close to the approaching narrow boat.
 I couldn’t resist taking this picture of all of the beer kegs stacked up along the mooring behind a pub and restaurant, There are pubs all along the full length of the Thames but it seems this still gets its deliveries by barge. I paddled by The Cliveden Estate which was the home of Lady Astor and was a meeting place for the Cliveden Set, a group of political intellectuals. The buildings were not visible but the property has protected the natural beauty of the riverside.
|
Hazel's PoppaI'm a grandfather who lost an infant granddaughter and who wants to help Gillian, her mother, provide support for other grieving parents through Hazel's Heroes. Archives
April 2020
Categories |
RSS Feed