The plan was a start early in June from Dundas, meeting up with Andy and Dorrie in Sorrel at Bradford-on-Avon, followed by the climb of Caen Hill,
Here we go!
the lock-encrusted K&A through the Bedwyns, Hungerford, and Newbury to Reading. Then up the Thames to Oxford, the Southern Oxford to Napton, the Braunston and Blisworth tunnels, and so down the Grand Union to Bulls Bridge. From there, the route was along the Paddington Arm/Regent's Canal to Little Venice, and on through St. Pancras to Limehouse. Then would come the hairy bit - out from Limehouse onto the Thames Tideway and west through the centre of London to Teddington, after which we would be back onto the relative safety of the locked stretch of the Thames to Reading, then the K&A and back home.
This amounted to about 400 miles and 400 locks. Whilst the estimated travelling time was reasonably adhered to, the number of actual days was not! We expected some days "off" whilst our friends had certain jobs to deal with at home and elsewhere, and we expected a short break for the Eclipse, but we hadn't anticipated the lesser number of cruising hours per day that our advancing years would decree! Nor the several gremlins and mechanical problems that would arise.
Leaving Copse Lock - the flow from the River Kennet can, at times, be a nuisance!