Thursday 25 July 2013

England

It is as Emily said.  After 5 days waiting in Dunkerque, France, we crossed the English channel and survived. 


Crossing the shipping lanes in the English Channel - not as frantic as we'd expected

We then waited 5 or 6 days at Ramsgate for good enough weather to get up around the corner into the Thames. 


Neat shops are tucked under the road that runs up the cliff
The marina at Ramsgate
While we waited we visited towns such as Broadstairs (where Dickens wrote some of Bleak House), Sandwich (where the Earl invented some kind of convenience meal), and Canterbury (where they make great French fries - oh, and have some kind of old cathedral).


The beach at Broadstairs - A little too cool yet for swimming
Cycling along the white cliffs at Ramsgate
 


Before Dunkerque (I forgot this part), we took a side trip to Iepers (Ypres), a town in France with a significant role in WWI for Canadian troops.  We saw where John McCrea wrote In Flanders Fields, walked through a rebuilt trench system, and stood with lots of visitors for Last Post at the Memorial arch.

 



Rows of headstones at a graveyard in Flanders - no poppies where the grass is mowed







After Ramsgate, we got into the River Medway, stopping first at Chatham where they have a most excellent museum built on the Historic Dockyards.  We got to tour a submarine and warship, make rope the old fashioned way, and learn how wooden ships were built hundreds of years ago. 





After a few days there we headed up the river to the first lock, where you get out of tidal salt water and into non tidal fresh water.  This was exciting on account of the many times we ran aground.  When this happens in tidal water, you simply have to wait 'til the tide comes in and lifts you off the sandbar or rock bed, or wherever you happen to have got stuck.







 



 
The Medway was lovely and we left the boat for five days and stayed in an apartment while Tom did a boat show in Southampton.  As Emily mentioned in her post, we watched an inordinate amount of television  - because it was there.  We also visited an excellent exhibit about the Titanic, as Southampton is the city it sailed from on its unfortunate voyage.



After reaching the top of the navigable Medway, we turned around and returned to Chatham, from where we set out for London. 

London was fabulous!  We were not expecting to have such a good time, being not big city people.  But the whole event started with an excellent mooring at St. Katherine's Dock, just below Tower Bridge (which is the nice looking one, not to be confused with London Bridge which fell down and was replaced with something completely nondescript).  Having done no real research ahead of time, we were very pleasantly surprised to find that the Tower of London (really great castle/palace/fortress) was just down the street on the other side of the bridge.  We also found all the usual sights such as Trafalgar Square and Canada House, Buckingham Palace, St. James and Hyde Parks, Westminster Abbey, Big Ben, and the parliament buildings, etc.  We managed to visit the Science Museum, Maritime Museum in Greenwich, Tower of London, Museum of the Bank of England (who would've guessed that would be interesting!?), the British Museum and the National Gallery. 



After London, we headed up the River Thames, landing at lots of places we've never heard of, and some of great fame. 


For instance, books and spring rolls were acquired in the main street of the town of Staines. 


LEGOLAND was thoroughly enjoyed in the town of Windsor. 


Oh yeah, we popped in at the Queen's place in Windsor, too.  That was actually very cool, and although we didn't see her, the changing of the flags on the central tower of the palace let us know that she showed up while we were wandering through her little abode.




 After Windsor, we moved further up the river and focused on getting the boat ready for our own royal event, the visitation of my parents.  They arrived yesterday evening, and after just one small mishap with the rental car which must be driven on the "wrong" side of the road, Tom obtained them from Heathrow and delivered them to the boat.  So now we are six folk on a boat and have found ourselves moored about 50 feet from a pub in a town called Sandford on Thames which has absolutely nothing else going on so is very pleasant and rural and quiet, and is a short morning's boat ride from Oxford.  We will spend a couple of days in Oxford and then turn around and make our way slowly back down the river. 

That's assuming I can pull Tom away from his new local, the King's Arms.

Tuesday 2 July 2013

The River Medway

We just got back to Chattum after spending fifeteen nights on the Medway. Five of those days wee spent in Southampton. In Southampton we rented an apartment. Dad went to be in a boat show and Georgia, Mom and I went swimming, shopping, wandering, out for lunch and staying at the apartmrnt watching TV and being bored. we had left our boat in Wateringbury. On the Medway, there are ten locks. Eight of those you have to do by yourself. it is a bit hard.
Georgia and I pushing one of the lock gates.
 
 
Tomorrow, I think we are going to start going to London. mom wanted to be in London for Canada Day, but we weren't.
 
 
EMILY