Boating

It was an early start this morning. We drove to Kris Cruisers, the boat hire company, first so that we would have an opportunity to deck the boat with bunting. When we arrived, it wasn't quite prepared, and there was a small amount of admin work to complete. We messaged P and asked him to take his time bringing the others. But, with some assistance from the team, the flags were on the boat by the time everybody arrived.

Although we received instructions on piloting the boat, P was very proficient, and we set off at about 10am. About 45 minutes later, we moored at Cafe On The River for a coffee before heading onwards. The weather was mostly lovely, with just some rain at lunchtime. We put the covers on during the rain, but they needed to come down again almost as soon as they'd been secured as the rain stopped, and it was much nicer to motor along with the top down.

P superbly navigated Romney Lock, Windsor, Boveney Lock, and Bray Lock while I enjoyed the view and, later, the bubbles. PY and J jumped out at the unmanned lock to work the machinery, but two of the three had a lock keeper. We'd probably brought more to drink than needed, and the picnic that J had prepared meant that we were not too concerned when we couldn't find anywhere to stop for lunch.

In the end, we made it to Maidenhead. We passed more impressive riverside properties but stopped looking up their prices when we saw prices above five million.

When we returned to Datchet, we still had time on the hire, so Phil steered us a little beyond. J, PY, and C all tried piloting, but I was content to sit at the back, enjoying the view.