Sailing on the Thames
Roy Burnham is the winner of our "Trip Ideas" competition and shares his spring boat trip and picnic with us.
What did you do on your trip to the river?
We left from Upper Thames Sailing Club in our Wayfarer sailing dinghy appropriately named Buck Fizz. We were taking our son and granddaughter on a picnic outing under sail.
With a wind from the south blowing over Winter Hill, we were able to easily negotiate the broad reach of the river between Bourne End and the island near Marlow. However the strong flow of the river through the island was impossible for us to sail through so we moored on a small convenient beach. Here we enjoyed a peaceful picnic interrupted occasionally by a curious cow.
Our 4 year old grand daughter loved the trip and being a Swallow and Amazon for the day!
When did you do it?
On a nice spring day in April 2007.
What did you like best about it, did everything go to plan?
Our lovely picnic close to the A404 bridge was a highlight. The atmosphere of the river was so peaceful compared with the mayhem taking place on the busy road nearby. The cows interrupting our meal from time to time raised a few laughs.
What could have been improved or done differently?
The really memorable thing was on the way back downstream when we were bugged by two young boys in a speedboat who were doing circles in the river at full speed! Not very good for either the environment or the riverbanks.
Other ideas ...
For other ideas for affordable ways to spend time on the Thames, click here.