7th to 13th September 2010

Hampton Wick to Bell Weir Lock, River Thames via Wey and Godalming Navigations.

Having left the mooring at Hampton Wick, we moved upstream and spent some time looking around the grounds at Hampton Court (too mean to pay the entry fee!!).

We then headed further upstream and turned off below Shepperton Lock to join the Wey and Godalming Navigations that belong to the National Trust. At Thames Lock we duly paid the Lock-keeper the admission fee/licence fee for 3 days. This was later extended to 5 days to allow us to enjoy the waterway at a more leisurely pace.

Thames Lock at the entrance to the waterway has very little clearance over the lower cill and so to allow deeper boats to enter there is a stop gate about 200ft downstream. This is closed and the level of the pound is raised by about 2 feet to allow boats to enter the actual lock.

As part of your fee you are loaned the special windlass which gives much more leverage than usual as some of the paddle gear is quite stiff. The first couple of miles seems quite built up and not particularly interesting but soon after the junction with the Basingstoke Canal the scenery improves and the rural naure of the canal takes over.

Our first night stop was at Pyrford near the Anchor Pub (excellent beer and food ). We had a slow journey the next day with some queuing at locks and very slow hire boats, but we reached our target of Dapdune Wharf in Guildford for the next overnight stop. The wharf is the National Trust HQ for the waterway and has some very good exhibits detailing the history of the waterway.

The next morning we set off for Godalming and the head of navigation. This is the most southerly point on the connected waterways in the UK and is conveniently located alongside a Sainsbury supermarket. A horse-drawn trip boat operates from the wharf and we were fortunate to see them set off.

Our return trip down the waterway was governed by lunch dates with rellies on Saturday (in Guildford) and Sunday (back at the Anchor at Pyrford).

On Monday morning we continued downstream to re-join the Thames and to continue our trip towards the Kennet and Avon Canal.