309. The 'wife' and I do more boating, from Reading to Windsor

My 'canal wife' Lorna and I continue our voyage down the Thames in a former Norfolk Broads hire boat, in this episode going from Reading to Windsor where the trip ended.
#AD Visit ABNB, the canal boat broker, to buy or sell your canal boat at www.abnb.co.uk or call 01788 822115
Ed (who owns the boat) has now refurbished it and is hiring it out! See his Facebook page at www.facebook.c...
My video about Henley's classic boat regatta: • 273. The Little Ships ...
Lorna’s video of the trip • The End of our Time To...
Start point: goo.gl/maps/Me...
End point: goo.gl/maps/et...
Part 1: • 308. The 'wife' and I ...
Nicholson's Guidebooks: geni.us/CtC_Ni...
Pearson's Guidebooks: geni.us/CtC_Pe...
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Theme music: "Vespers" by Topher Mohr and Alex Alena, from the KZbin music library
#narrowboat #canal #cruisingthecut #rivers #offgrid #liveaboard

[@CruisingTheCut]

My 'canal wife' Lorna and I continue our voyage down the Thames in a former Norfolk Broads hire boat, in this episode going from Reading to Windsor where the trip ended. #AD Visit ABNB, the canal boat broker, to buy or sell your canal boat at www.abnb.co.uk or call 01788 822115 My video about Henley's classic boat regatta: kzbin.info/www/bejne/eIO0ZYucmZuIZqs Lorna’s video of the trip kzbin.info/www/bejne/mJbcmqd4patgraMsi=HSQ8Bz13i9CaUkkD Start point: goo.gl/maps/Mep8GUqViY2GMzMw7 End point: goo.gl/maps/etKrSgRPu7gABZbQA Part 1: kzbin.info/www/bejne/kGKonWeYgZp7hbc Nicholson's Guidebooks: geni.us/CtC_Nicholsons Pearson's Guidebooks: geni.us/CtC_Pearsons

[@daveallen63]

Thanks for sharing, that was a very enjoyable virtual boat journey.

[@om617yota7]

Thanks David and Lorna for taking us along, and thank you to Ed for loaning you the boat. We viewers appreciate it!

[@presspound7358]

Well said …. and ..yes we do.👍

[@Lego6980]

I’ll drink to that too! 🍸

[@davidpiper3652]

'Old School' Cruising the Cut episode, thank you and Lorna!

[@sianwarwick633]

That was as lush as it gets, I reckon. Beautiful cruising. Thanks for taking us along. Congratulations on adding a banana to your lunch menu.

[@CruisingTheCut]

There's nearly always a banana

[@mattyboy8270]

Love your videos of life on the water, and this one passed through the town of Henley on Thames where I grew up. Just a little history of the entrance to the River Kennet 1:27 the unassuming timber bridge is known as Horseshoe Bridge and with the Brunel brick bridge behind are Grade II listed structures. The timber bridge is high sided and was created so that horses towings goods barges could pass over the River Kennet un-sighted of the ground and would not be spooked. It forms part of the Thames path linking one of the sources of the Thames in Gloucestershire with London. Also another piece of river history 12:40 the Széchenyi Chain Bridge (1849) in Budapest is literally an upscaled version (5x) of Marlow Bridge (1832). Same Designer.

[@CruisingTheCut]

Thank you! Good info

[@joetaylor486]

I like your collaboration with Lorna whom I have appreciated for years. Happy for you.

[@bte52]

Your narration of the videos that you post on KZbin is magnificent. Thank you.

[@CruisingTheCut]

Wow, thank you!

[@lornajaneadventures]

This was SOOOOOO good. Even better than part one. I can’t wait for the next trip

[@CruisingTheCut]

😀😀

[@edsageseamaster3440]

If you want more time, take her for a week next time!!

[@geirmyrvagnes8718]

MV Lymington (built in 1938) was indeed partly brown, says the great Wikipedia. Especially on the inside... Unusual colour for a ferry, so I had to look it up. That is some very specific knowledge for a silly joke. Excellent! 😅

[@amosb1452]

The stretch between Henley and Marlow is glorious....you missed some great pubs and the reindeer park!

[@sidneybowerman558]

"Weeks passed" made me laugh.

[@Renovator26]

Brilliant, David and Laura. A nice balance of chat, research and great camera work. A large groan for your Isle of Wight joke!! See you again soon, .John, Ontario, Canada.

[@CruisingTheCut]

It truly is my favourite joke ever (and for the benefit of other overseas viewers who may not have understood it, Cowes (yes, like that) is a town on the Isle of Wight.

[@dennismatthews6660]

Forgot how much I miss your humor! Thank you for the ride.

[@marksaint-john3722]

Happy to have found 'cruising the cut'. Very enjoyable with great narration.

[@CruisingTheCut]

Welcome aboard!

[@rheffner3]

Tbanks for the video. Never realized the Themes was like this. And all those boats. Never knew the English were so into boats. Pretty cool.

[@CruisingTheCut]

The English have always been into boats! We practically invented seafaring 🤣

[@dereksanders7905]

Seeing Shiplake Lock brought back sad memories. In 1982 the lock keeper, Peter Gough, a good friend of my parents, drowned after falling into the river as he tried to free wood jammed in the weir. 59-year-old Peter had been lock keeper at Shiplake for nearly 30 years.

[@CruisingTheCut]

Oh my, that's horrible

[@mikehilbert9349]

😢

[@gabzchristine7082]

Thanks for having us along on the trip!🛥

[@jamesellsworth9673]

Splendidly scenic!

[@regisburek4998]

there is something so relaxing about your "narrow boat" videos that I miss. glad you can get out from time to time.

[@umbertoyltp]

Whatever happens on your trips, you always to make the narrative entertaining and informative with the wink of an eye now and then. Well done, I smiled several times, of course on moments where pun was intended. 😂

[@CruisingTheCut]

You are most kind, thank you

[@michaelburroughs7494]

Lots of really nice scenery on both halves of this trip.

[@MrLangDog]

What excellent scenery this trip. I wasn't even there and those rowers got on my nerves 🤣

[@artd.1498]

Stunning how beautiful this trip. Those houses. Oh my. Thanks for the vlog. 👍

[@edsageseamaster3440]

Have loved watching this mini series David. So well put together. You and Lorna make such a great boating team. The way you play off each other is great to see. I’m so pleased you had a few decent lock keepers. Some are so nice. On my way back from Windsor, I was staying in Henley, and had a river swimming group pass the boat. There were over 800 of them all together, but unlike the rowers, they were not allowed to go through the locks and had to portage themselves! Thank you again.

[@CruisingTheCut]

800???!!!!!! 😱😱😱

[@edsageseamaster3440]

@@CruisingTheCut seriously. It took them 2 hours to all come past!

[@Brittdog666]

I done this from reading to Windsor in 4 days by kayak. Loved every minute doing it. Folk in the boats cool in the locks. They kept offering me alcoholic drinks lol..

[@gillianc6514]

I did that very journey over 40 years ago in a bright orange Hoseasons fibreglass boat. It was magical and the only time I have ever seen kingfishers. Not much seems to have changed except it is much more crowded and the rich have got richer.

[@larryclark5355]

I enjoy your shows and see things I barely remember from some 50 years ago. Do remember "private property' wherever water looked fishable. You also reminded me of what I was told back then," the U.K. and USA are separated by a common language", you ate tah-mah-toes for lunch while I had ta-mA-toes for breakfast. Safe Journeys lol

[@shanehumberstone5262]

That Victorian mansion(at 19 minutes ish) was frankenferters castle in rocky horror

[@PaddyWV]

Pleased I'm not the only one to be a long time appreciaterof the Cowes joke! 👍

[@CruisingTheCut]

I'm glad it's not just me as well!

[@jonb3311]

I can understand why so many lock keepers were upset. You were stopping them gardening. There must be a "Best Kept Lock" competition, like they used to have for railway stations.

[@roberthakes5562]

Oh how I have missed your remarks as you ride along. More PLEASE!!!

[@michellemieux1544]

Missed your narratives mr. David 😂 Tks for sticking around

[@holly-go-lightly]

Beautiful scenery and waterway with an abundance of history. Thank you David, for your humor and delivery of same. My favorite shots continue to be the approach to the covered bridges. Each one has its own uniqueness and beauty.

[@JxH]

21:15 "Why did they build Windsor Castle under the flight path to Heathrow? What were they thinking?" ... ... ... ... LOL.

[@chrispnw2547]

Great storytelling is "Alive & Kicking'. Thanks to you and your 'canal wife' for giving us these special moments.

[@CruisingTheCut]

Glad you enjoyed it

[@2760ade]

You've given me an idea for a business. I'm going to get a card reader, walk along the bank of the Thames, and charge everyone who is moored up eight quid!😂😂

[@CruisingTheCut]

Fight you for it 🤣

[@laurieharper1526]

It's an old scam. In Three Men in a Boat, JKJ describes people doing exactly that (although not with a card reader, obvs). He also relates how it was not unknown for them to be told to go forth and multiply.

[@colinstewart173]

They should really issue a ticket. I got fleeced by a guy at Pangbourne like that. He came up and asked for the mooring fee and I give him a fiver only to find out later it was free mooring. After that I refused to pay unless they issued a ticket

[@pollenhead]

Thanks for the educational and entertaining journey. Also thank for introducing Lorna, I will follow her channel, so I will be keeping up with your shenanigans too. Also, thanks for some of the other channels you recommended. Lou and Emily crack me up.

[@andrewdolinskiatcarpathian]

Lovely to see “my part” of the Thames from a boat perspective. I’ve walked the Thames Path between Reading and Windsor countless times. The “event” you saw being prepared at Shiplake would have been for the “Wargrave and Shiplake Regatta”. Thank you both for visiting “my world”. 👏👏👍😎

[@CruisingTheCut]

That would certainly be more likely than a jousting tournament!

[@stephenpegum9776]

​​@@CruisingTheCutHad it been the sort of tournament you described David, the organisers would certainly have left their setting up to the last minute. Or as they would say "Joust in time". I'll get my coat..........😱😱

[@gilles111]

14:37 love to see that Dutch barge; Merwede, the river I live next to her in The Netherlands. How thoughtful showing this for your subscriber. Thank you, David!

[@spencerjhog4429]

Delightful travelogue! The odd tidbits of history, local folklore and truly awful (and appreciated) puns and commentary are an entertaining escape from reality. Thank you for taking us aboard!

[@CruisingTheCut]

Awful?!! 🤣🤣🤣

[@jeffhoward9186]

Great video showing us Englands water way. Your wit and humor at full maximum power as usual. I think the reason why there was no lock keeper at the one lock was because the hydraulics were down (😂😂😂). Let someone else power through it all. 😂😂😂 either way glad Lorna and you had a great experience and fun with Ed’s boat. Thank you all for allowing and sharing your boat and sharing a few days of your lives.

[@craigw.scribner6490]

Thanks for a fun and informative "Part 2" video, David. I even learned a new word from you: "pongy."

[@CruisingTheCut]

My pleasure!!!

[@jennifersanders2456]

I absolutely loved the sights and the witty monologue. Awesome. Former Brit now in TX 😄👍🏼👍🏼

[@ianmillard1604]

Another excellent narration and a wonderful adventure. Thank you!

[@CruisingTheCut]

Cheers!

[@txfotog]

Another great story! Getting to see some of the sights of London without leaving my home. Someday I'll get over there.Thanks to you both for all the hard work!

[@carolmckinlay6625]

Thank you David and Lorna for taking us along on your adventure. More please.

[@rboston33]

Great story telling and narration

[@CruisingTheCut]

Much appreciated!

[@christineprice5463]

Thanks to you both. David, you wit is lovely. I truly enjoy your diagolog.

[@CruisingTheCut]

Many thanks!

[@christineprice5463]

@@CruisingTheCut you are welcome 😊

[@blutey]

Your video was more interesting than most of the stuff on the TV nowadays, which I can't watch.

[@cloudsrain8753]

Lorna is a real love. Great and very enjoyable. Ty.

[@DebraGayleBERGESON]

Love your sense of humor. Enjoyed so much your trip from Reading to Windsor both parts. We live in the US and so enjoy your videos. God Bless from Pennsylvania😊

[@CruisingTheCut]

Awesome! Thank you!

[@johnsonslawnserviceministr4038]

Beautiful scenery shots really enjoyed the wildlife

[@TheByard]

I often returned to Wraysbury late Sunday nights after an ADLS event, to be ready for work Monday morning. Winding those lock wheels all the way, once forgetting my jacket with keys in the pocket three locks back. No tow path so had to rewind one lock, never forgot the jacket again. My brother did the motorcycle on the table stunt for Meatloaf in the RHS. He also jumped Tower Bridge in Branigan in an E Type for John Wayne.

[@judegenrieadalin4706]

Watching this video is riding personal on the boat with a very friendly and cheerful tourguide. Love it ❤❤❤❤❤

[@CruisingTheCut]

Thank you! 😃

[@peigieeager9073]

David, again you went and set my wishes to be young again and visit England by narrow boat. I would pay a kings ransom to boat the cannels. What an enjoyable 4 days you had. The country side was one that I was very much surprised to see. Thanks to you and your boating wife really did a wonderful job. Thank you.

[@christinewerner6207]

Your classic Brit narration cracks me up 😂 so I had to subscribe. Thanks for all the laughs. Cheers from California USA 🇺🇸

[@CruisingTheCut]

Welcome aboard!

[@blackbird365]

Thoroughly enjoyable: light, relaxing, funny & informative. Thank you. :)

[@hollysmothers3902]

Oh my my my ! The workmen on the scaffolding high in the sky at 7:55 minutes! How brave - don't look down!

[@victorfebo2672]

These two short videos are one of my best! And, I have to agree with Lorna, I was left thirsty to see what was along the route. Thank you very, very much for sharing with us such a beautiful journey! And, keep on boating! David, as always, you did a splendid job narrating this trip! I really felt like I was there with you guys! Cheers from sunny Puerto Rico! :)

[@CruisingTheCut]

Glad you enjoyed them 😀

[@russellridgeway5532]

It is nice to see a cruising video again. I have missed your canal cruising wit that seems less present in your documentaries. Thank you.

[@CruisingTheCut]

Cheers; you say that but of the last 10 videos, 7 were me cruising on a boat!!! 🤣🤣

[@pellfan]

A pleasure as always to see your vids. Lovely!

[@mitchkahle314]

Great to see you sharing your passion for narrow boating together.

[@CruisingTheCut]

Thanks 👍

[@kateflies3930]

Having totally succumbed to geekdom, I toggle back and forth from this and Google Earth, following your journey down the Thames..currently at Temple Island Eyot....

[@robsin2810]

Wonderfull journey, well done both of you.🇦🇺🙏👍

[@nancyti2354]

So happy to be on the water again with you!

[@DangerousPickalo]

Thanks for taking us with you, a lovely video and, as always, some laugh inducing wit.

[@CruisingTheCut]

Thank you

[@markgruenberg6277]

A most enjoyable video with fascinating landscapes. Thanks for sharing. Be well and stay safe.

[@CruisingTheCut]

Thanks, you too!

[@SR-ee5nm]

Nice video with brilliant narration 👍

[@CruisingTheCut]

Many thanks!

[@keykeypr8292]

So much beauty to look at. Loved the churches and the cormorants (including the commentary accompanying them). Eyots--I knew the word and the spelling, but had never heard the pronunciation and never had bothered to look it up, so thanks for that. I don't know who does the landscaping for those locks, but they are an ambitious and hardworking bunch. Thanks so much for this trip.

[@Crowley2979]

Ah! My new home (Reading) to my old home Windsor ...well, south Slough.... Nice to see my regular walks from the river

[@Crowley2979]

Nice to see a wee bit of Eton.(on the left) Hope the Waterman's is still a good pub..my old local

[@charlesmoss8119]

Always amazed at the powerful looking boats so far up the Thames when only so slight a performance can be used

[@crispy63]

Beautiful video and history! 🇬🇧

[@Joe-lb8qn]

I live in the vicinity of all these places so extra interesting to see. Unfortunately i do not own any of the houses we see in the background, if i did I'd probably have my butler type my message here for me. FWIW did look at holding a wedding receptions in the Temple Island eyot, it wasnt as expensive as youd think (or to put it another way it was no more expensive than anywhere else nearby) but IIRC only had a max of 30 people. But it would have been a cool place to hang out.

[@littlebrookreader949]

Such a fun and interesting cruise, and so lovely! I’ve never seen Egyptian geese before, ducks though they be, and the cygnets, though ugly ducklings they’ve been known as! Really interesting sights this go-round! Photography a real treat!

[@CruisingTheCut]

Glad you liked it!

[@ChatGPT1111]

Amazing beauty on that trip! Those inconsiderate rowboats are so frustrating! Here in Florida, we have sailboats that constantly require the drawbridges to be raised, usually during rush hour or when you go out to lunch.

[@kristialexander7677]

Great, super photography - I love you on the water best. Sorry, just can not image being locked in a box to sleep and toilet around England. You are best on the water - just borrow boats and do all the Northern canals - but for all your watchers, you are the best at showing us a world we are missing and can not see! Many thanks!

[@ABusAndBeyond]

Aww thank you for this David. I grew up in Bourne End and went to school in Marlow and it was a lovely trip down memory lane seeing the river. Great video. ❤

[@CruisingTheCut]

😀😀😊😊

[@dennyporter2447]

What a lovely trip.. so enjoyed the cruise.. hope you both do more of these! Cheers to the both of you!

[@rufustrotman4322]

The rowers do cause some problems for motorized traffic on the Thames - I used to kayak mostly around Abingdon and there are a couple of things I can say with some certainty. The speed limit on the Thames is for powered boats, even I (in my knackered old fibreglass 14 foot kayak) could comfortably cruise at faster than the speed limit, and an eight would comfortably outpace me. The lock landings tend to be narrow, with inconvenient corners, so not easy to manoeuvre a 60+ foot rowing eight along. I could manage my kayak easily enough through most (but not all) of them with only a few bumps and scrapes to the collection, but I hardly need point out to you the problems of long narrow boats and confined spaces. At least that far downstream the coaches have their own boats. Avoid mooring anywhere near the Oxford (or Cambridge, if you do the Cam) college boathouses unless you want an early morning wake-up call from a coach riding a bicycle with one hand and berating the passing crew via a megaphone with the other.

[@CruisingTheCut]

Fair points, thank you

[@imnottellingyoumyname3050]

The beaver is nice but the green boat at 20:13 is pretty good too, don't you think? ...yes, that is my boat!

[@kafka8886]

My favourite American Tourist joke; Jeez Elmer, why'd they build that castle so close to the airport?

[@davidau8455]

10000 times? If I've told you once, I've told you a million times, don't exaggerate!! Another enjoyable video, and I'm not exaggerating :)

[@martystacey4429]

Wonderful video guys👏👌 Took me back to the early eighties sitting in the Angel listening to the hip George Benson and drinking the oh so fashionable (relatively new to market) Perrier water😎👌😂

[@CherylSteele-rt8dj]

So enjoyable. Thank you for taking us along.

[@CruisingTheCut]

Thank you

[@urbanrider429]

Great to see you back on the water David

[@lyndarichardson4744]

Thanks for the very entertaining video David. I must go and watch the first half of it now 🙂

[@CruisingTheCut]

Please do!

[@smitm108]

Another new word/term: “Pongy”. I’m keeping a list …

[@PagyBio]

I loved the two videos! I have missed the old and traditional Format! Nice!!!

[@TillerQueen]

One thing I love about the Thames is the little eyots/aits you pointed out and that word appears in The Lord of the Rings and Terry Pratchett's The Colour of Magic. It's not a word I'd been aware of before cruising around the Thames though, despite having read both of those books.

[@nilo70]

Thank you for sharing this with me , and Cheers From California 😊

[@oceana9294]

What an exhilarating trip all around; seeing the million pound (or million plus dollar) properties as well as pretty, calming and enjoyable natural river scenes. And the Victorian Mansion turned into a hotel - an unexpected sight because it didn't occur to me that you were approaching WINDSOR CASTLE!!! I was floating along...enjoying the river and there you were. Amazing, thanks!

[@ontheroadwithjohn]

What a great trip. You could not get bored travelling on that river. So much stuff to see.

[@splatten8597]

Very enjoyable. Now watched the last third of it. Loved the feel of money around Henley!

[@bill45colt]

ANother really great David video,,,,,Blimey O Reilly!! HAHA i enjoyed that!!! THis one showed more boats than ive seen in ever i think,,,and many beautiful homes and shores but then we are getting more into the populous area of the home land. Seems to me that the water looked cleaner and less cluttered with limbs, leaves, and flotsam......more beautiful and ancient bridges,,,id not had any idea that those built sooo long ago were sturdy enough to be still useable and looking so attractive.,,,,Thanks again David for the education and entertaining comments. Im thinking by now that maybe you could do well as an after dinner entertainer or speaker, or toastmaster, or maybe stand up comic!! You have lots to draw from and a very personable and intelligent, friendly approach to all we see. Lotsa editing here that is not evidenced of course, but in reviewing, it all fills in smoothly and seamlessly,,,,,thanks for your dedication and caring for us across the pond to your left. I know im to your left because as i look at a map, you are to my right 8 inches and up about 5 inches.....bill in alabama,,,stay safe,,,

[@CruisingTheCut]

Bill, you are most kind, thank you

[@ThalassTKynn]

As someone from Western Australia I was very happy to see a black swan! Woo!

[@daniellarge9784]

The story of the discovery of the black swan by the English is really interesting. They had only seen white swans and back in England the expression likely as a black swan was used to describe the impossible. Then they travelled to the other side of the earth and found black swans in western Australia.

[@TrevsTravelsByNarrowboat]

Coincidently my kettle was on when the whistle went off on your video. I got up and went to turn mine off, just as I heard you say it was your kettle.

[@4sstg]

I needed a boat ride. Many thanks. The ducks were lovely. The houses, oh my! Posh everywhere.🌟

[@altowatts1325]

This leg of the trip was fraught with man eating waterfowl and highly dubious land pirates masquerading as property owners who were preying upon unsuspecting boaters 😂😂😂. And don't feel bad about being worn out from operating that lock gate. Captains aren't accustomed to doing manual labor. That's really the best cover story I could think up on the spot 🤷🏾‍♂️. Stay safe as always and I'm looking forward to your next boating adventure ⛵👍🏾.

[@andyrbush]

That was delightful to watch. It took me back to when I was in the Sea Scouts, and we often went boating on the Thames. I emigrated to the USA and lived for a while on a boat in Galveston Bay Texas. What a contrast, not just the size of the boats (everything really is bigger in Texas) but everyone is so friendly and happy to see others out on the water and in the Marinas. Lots of stories as you can imagine.

[@SinisterMD]

The "eyot" is also spelled "ait" and is a small island on the Thames. The word derives from Old English iggath (or igeth); the root of the word, ieg, meaning island, with a diminutive suffix.

[@andyalder7910]

And if one of those rowing crews stops to eat their sandwiches on one you can say "the eight ate on the eyot"

[@horstszibulski19]

@@andyalder7910 😂

[@sianwarwick633]

As in the Isle of Eigg in Scotland ?