London and Thames 2025

Friday, July4: Wimbledon
The weather was spectacular and Wimbledon was packed. We had originally planned to just get ground passes and walk around, but the queue for ground passes closed hours earlier. So it was either buy a ticket or go home. So we took a big breath, went on Stub Hub and bought 2 debenture tickets to #1 court.

Enjoying a Pimms with strawberries and cream. In comfort.

Watching Englishwoman Sonay Kartal beat Diane Parry

Manufactured photo op

Our seats were directly behind the coaches box. Gael Monfils was here to see his wife, Elina Svitolina, lose. When Cameron Norrie was playing, his parents were directly in front of us, so we had to watch what we said.

In front of the bus taking us to the Frosts' house from Tunbridge Wells.

Our boatmates, Debbie and Larry dressed to kill, getting ready to load up on the bus.

Debbie and Larry Rehr,the Smiths, and Juliet and Nigel Frost, the hosts, in front of their beautiful home.

Jensen, future barrister, giving a speech, with the groom's brother.

Monday, July7: Benson to Dorchester
First day of our cruise. Checkout at LeBoat headquarters.

We took a short trip upstream to Dorchester for the night. Note the stakes that we drive in with a sledge hammer to tie the boat to. Tomorrow we'll turn around and head downstream for the remainder of the trip.

We had to cross a few fields and some hill know as Dyke Hills in order to reach the little town of Dorchester, which was originally inhabited by the Romans.

Little sign on the way into town describing the town.

The best repurposing yet of those cool old phone booths.

St. Helen's Church, Benson, UK. Originally a Saxon church, it was rebuilt by the Normans in 12th century, and renovated for the next 800 years.

Dorchester Abbey

Larry and Debbie studying stained glass bible scenes. Shamefully, they know more about Christianity than Kathy and I do.

This was a little farm stand, unattended on the trail into town. Strictly honor system. We bought some jam - delicious.

Tuesday, July 8: Dorchester to Goring
We're turning back downstream and back through Day's lock, our first of probably 25 locks on the trip. We got there early enough yesterday to be assisted by an operator. Today on the trip back through, we're too early, so it's self-service. Probably half of the locks we encountered were self-service, so we became experts in operating locks.

The video below shows us exiting Cleeve Lock en route to Goring.

Goring Lock. Larry at the wheel, Kathy and Debbie manning the lines, Mike looking fabulous.

We moored just past Goring Lock with our handy stakes pounded into the ground. Captain Debbie and crewman Kathy are headed into town.

Kathy and I are sitting with Agatha Christie. She had a house in Goring, and I think some of her stories took place here. Her museum is in the background. Unfortunately it is closed for the day.

Here's a handy little map posted in Goring. Next stop Henley.

Wednesday, July 9: Goring to Henley-on-Thames
Our chief Photographer. Many thanks to Debbie for taking most of the photos on this trip.

Some of the canal boats are lovingly maintained and very pretty.

Nice little place to stop for lunch, but we kept on going.

Lots of tradition along the Thames. Classic canal boat moored in front of nice British house.

Some not so traditional.

These places can be picked up for pennies. Billions of pennies.

Lots of stuff like this along the river. This dilapidated hulk was probably pretty cool in its day.

Going through Reading. We were told not to stop here for the night. This beautiful floating estate is probably one of the reasons.

Kathy at the wheel.

Traversing Sonning Lock with the mother-daughter 2-woman team. The daughter seemed to do most of the work.

Our other LeBoat friends, the German 4-woman crew.

Lots of beautiful estates lining the river.

Waiting to enter Henley Lock.

In the lock. These very long narrow boats are very common on the Thames. They are too wide to be canal boats, but they fit in the Thames locks pretty well. We peeked inside a few and some of them are quite luxurious.

Henley was having its big annual festival, the week after the Henley Regatta, which is a big deal, we think. Diana Ross was playing on a floating stage the night we were there. Formal dress was required, so people dressed up and hired boats to take them over to the viewing area.

On their way to the concert, sipping champagne. When I saw this boat, I thought it was the Flagella.

Tuxedo-clad dweeb no doubt mansplaining something to his date.

Here was a notable attendee.

"The New Orleans" with a boatload of revelers.

This was definitely the least seaworthy of the hired crafts. Note the guys with paddles. We know for a fact, though, that they made it.

Debbie (who can talk her way into anything) met some people who could sneak us into the (locked) grounds of this exclusive hotel, where we could at least listen to the concert. We couldn't see it because the stage was facing the other way.

So we got a nice view of the audience and the parade of boats going by.

This is how we know the most dangerous boat in Henley made it to the concert.

Debbie selfie on the forbidden grounds of the hotel.

Thursday, July 10: Henley-on-Thames to Marlow
Leaving Henley early early. We need to get to Marlow, and grab an Uber to Oxford. Looks like Gorgeous had a rough night.

Exiting Henley in the rowing racecourse in near dead-calm conditions.

Kind of like a postcard.

One of the reasons we wouldn't swim in the Thames. Many people did, though.

Passed under the Marlow Bridge, heading to the large public park where we'll moor.

We drove in our stakes, and tied up at the park. England is in the middle of a pretty bad drought, so grass everywhere is burnt. Kathy, Debbie and Larry heading to town where we'll get our Uber to Oxford.

Debbie and Larry looking very academic at Oxford. Larry, who is an extrovert's extrovert, started chatting up some college kids in front of us with American accents, and we got a little mini-tour from the kid from Buffalo who is there on scholarship. After further questioning, it turns out that it is a Rhodes scholarship. He has a full ride to NYU Medical School when he finishes his stint at Oxford.

Entrance to the chapel at All Souls College.

Interior of chapel at All Souls College, Oxford. With the scary eagle lectern. Looks like something guarding the gate at the 7th circle of hell, IMHO.

Debbie's maiden name is Sanders. Cool antique map store with decidedly uncool bee-atch inside.

We stopped in Marlow, just as a convenient place to Uber to Oxford, but Marlow turns out to be a pretty cool town. The locals all recommended Ginger Wings, which is touted as the best wings restaurant IN THE WORLD. The owner is the son of Heston Blumenthal, the celebrity chef who runs a 3-Michelin star restaurant. Not being a wings fan, I have to say that they were far and away the best I've ever had. Below is the menu. BTW, you need a reservation to get into this joint, lol.

Here is a single "This is not our First Rodeo" chicken wing.

And of course, the tasteful sign in the Mens' Room, with "Push to Flush" instructions. Debbie didn't take this picture.

Friday, July 11: Marlow to Eton/Windsor
Mike hammering in stakes at Marlow under Kathy's supervision.

And there we are, snug as a bug in a rug in Eton.

Eton was a little boring, but we did see this prominently displayed on a news stand..

We popped over the bridge to Windsor Castle. Mike and Kathy enjoying a cold brew while awaiting Nigel and Juliet.

Juliet, Kathy and Nigel in front of the Castle.

Juliet and Debbie enjoying a little snack.

A royal brew.

Debbie was drawn to the dinnerware, which I have to say was pretty awesome. This piece was made in 1863 and still looks pretty good to me. I think it said it was dishwasher-safe.

The Royal Guardsmen may look a little dorky but they are carrying Enfield SA80 (L85A2) fully automatic assault rifles. Without ammunition. Note Larry strolling along in the background.

Queen for a day. Famous Debbie selfie

Ugh. Another reason we didn't swim in the water.

Not sure why the French flags are interspersed in there. Maybe because William the Conqueror, who built the original castle, was French.?

Well, we're back at the boat in the park the next morning and we're greeted by this somewhat bizarre scene. Yes, that's a man in a swimsuit driving a horse-drawn carriage. The Brits say "swimming costume"

Saturday, July 12: Eton to Runnymeade, then on to Chertsey
We got another early start. Kathy and Mike chilling at the dock waiting for Larry to open the gates to the Romney lock. We're on the upstream side, so the lock must be filled before opening the gates.

Nice view of the Romney lock. It's drained as it should be on arrival. We are still outside the lock, and Larry is opening the upstream sluices to fill up the lock. Then he'll open the gate to allow us to enter. Then, he'll open the sluices on the downstream side to drain the lock. He then opens the downstream gates and we exit and wait at the downstream dock for him to close the gates and get on the boat. Easy peasy.

We made our way to Runnymeade, tied up and went ashore.

Little monument commemorating the signing of the Magna Carta. If you look carefully, you will see that it was donated by the American Bar Association.

The UK gifted one acre of land to the United States for the JFK Memorial. The quote from one of his speeches is a little difficult to read, but says "Let every nation know whether it wishes us well or ill that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend or oppose any foe in order to insure the survival and success of liberty."

There is an architectural artwork installation by Mark Wallinger at Runnymeade. The exterior is striking with an always open entrance. After entering, you walk around the periphery until you get to the central sculpture area.

The photo doesn't do it justice, but the effect is very moving. The upside down Magna Carta text around the circumference is reflected in the absolutely still pool of water. The sky is perfectly reflected also. A continuous bench surrounds the pool. Very cool.

A little Runnymeade kiss. Kathy just signed the Parva Carta, giving me more of a say in things. Hahaha, not really.

We chugged on down the Thames past Chertsey, which is our drop-off point until we found The Swan, a restaurant with free overnight mooring space. We tucked in just behind "Cocolicious", drove in our stakes and tied up for the night. While we were doing that, Larry went inside and bought drinks and brought them out to the boat. Afterwards, we went in for a nice dinner (although Kathy hated hers).

View from the Swan. Proof that people really do swim in the Thames. Not bad for a river where 50 years ago, bacteria couldn't even survive in it. That might be an exaggeration - I just made that up.

At dinner, we were entertained by the local bizarros. This asshole, with his completely out of control brats, clearly abused this poor horse. He was clearly drunk.

This sign, which gives instructions on what to do WHEN SOMEBODY IS DROWNING, had to have been made by Monty Python.

Sunday, July 13. On to Hampton Court, then back to Chertsey
We pulled up stakes at the Swan, and headed downstream to Hampton Court. Lots of interesting sights. Not sure what to make of this one. It seems to be a bar, but it's early in the morning, so not much activity.

Fairly common sight as we approach Hampton Court.

This is Debbie's new BFF, Tim. He operated the Sunbury Lock near Hampton Court. He was extremely chatty, but gave us useful information on how to plan our busy day. He said we had to see the ceiling in Henry VIII's chapel.

We tied up at Hampton Court just outside the golden gate. To our horror, we were denied entrance here and forced to join the hoi polloi and enter through the visitors' entrance.

The tour naturally started in the Great Kitchen. They are doing experiments with the salting and brining techniques used back in the day, and also cooking up some fine chunks of meat.

This is pretty sound advice even today.

This is the Fountain Court. Lots of pretty nice apartments in there for VIP's.

William III's humble apartment. Apparently, he was a pretty bad asthmatic and had other issues, so they made the steps to the staircase very easy. The very cool trompe l'oeil (not to be confused with our trump l'oil) depicts William III as Alexander the Great (see arrow) vying with Julius Caesar for a seat at a royal banquet. Oh brother. It turns out that William III was not a total putz of a king - he was instrumental in moving the kingdom to a constitutional monarchy. Either that, or it was forced on him. You can see the intrepid boaters in the lower right. Kathy seems to be admiring a blank wall.

The royal bedchamber of Henry VIII. Except he didn't really sleep there. He went through a curtain behind the bed to his real nighty-night place.

When Henry VIII attended church services, he stepped out of his bedroom and had this view of his private chapel. Tim was right, the ceiling is incredible.

A crown fit for a king. Spoiler alert: it's a reproduction.

Debbie and Larry in the Clock Court.

Of course there was a jousting demonstration. Even the pretty tame demo looked dangerous to me. A jousting injury is what ruined Henry's life. He developed a non-healing wound, probably osteomyelitis which made him inactive, obese, and foul-smelling. Little wonder that his wives cheated on him.

Having a little snack on the boat in front of Hampton Court

Heading back upstream to Chertsey, where we'll leave the boat. Larry is upper left opening the sluices to fill the lock so we can proceed.

Waiting for our Uber to take us to Heathrow. Now this is a boat I admire.