Big River

 Approaching Folly Bridge near Oxford

Our mooring close to the centre of Oxford proved to be really quiet inspite of its proximity to roads and houses. We upped sticks and set off, just down the river to the first of many Thames locks. We purchased our expensive Thames license and then decended the lock being on the Thames is a bit of a treat because most of the locks are really well kept and they are operated by lock keepers.

 Kaitlyn about to be eaten

 A Lock Keeper's cottage

 We were joined for the first few locks by two glass fibre boats and we played leapfrog with them for most of the morning. One would stop, then the other, we would pass, and then they would catch and pass us and so on. We finally lost touch with them when we moored for lunch in Abingdon. It became increasingly windy and at one point a cushion from the front of the boat was blown overboard. We only became aware of this when all the people on a passing boat shouted "cushion"! We managed to retrieve it and it is now drying out.

 Abingdon

 Full safety gear in use

 Now that we are travelling on a big river, we have attached the anchor, ready to chuck overboard should the engine fail, and Kaitlyn donned a lifejacket. We will also wear these when we reach the tidal section below Teddington in a few days time.

 A beautiful Thameside house

 There are some truly fabulous houses backing onto the Thames, with beautiful gardens and boat houses. It is hard to pass these by without at least a bit of envy.

 A cute white duck -photo by Dan

Tonight's mooring

 We searched forages for a mooring where we could meet up with Tamlyn and Luis who were due to collect Dan and Kaitlyn. Moorings are hard to find on the Thames, with most of the banks either being private property or deeply covered in bushes and impossible to get near. We reached Shillingford where there are some moorings, but they were all taken. We nearly squeezed in between two other boats, but couldn't quite fit. After circling back, a chap on a dutch barge kindly suggested that we could moor alongside him. We took him up on this offer, and that is where we are tonight. Tamlyn and Luis managed to find us and after some dinner, all four of them left us, leaving the boat feeling very quiet and empty.