Peter X

OldGoat: Help, I'm confused! So this Napton boat you hired came with a cross bed, which when extended had its own food supply and a radiator to keep the food warm? Wouldn't you just heat the food in the galley and consume it there? But I can see the attraction of having warm food available during the night...

I'm 6'0" but not overweight, and have often slept on a cross bed (in Brighton, the NBT butty, 7 feet wide) without problems. Except there was one night moored part way up the Wolverhampton 21 when the pound dried up making the boat slope sideways a bit, and I woke to find my weight pushing my head against the hull! In general, I think if I were 6'4" I could cope on a cross bed by lying a bit diagonally, but sharing it would only work with a shorter friend. If I were fat too I suppose it would get awkward.

I agree too but here's a bit more detail... Not just west of Oxford, EA "registration" rules apply on all their water i.e. from the PLA boundary just below Teddington, all the way up to Lechlade, plus the last little bit of the Kennet at Reading including Blakes Lock. You pay at the first EA lock you come to where someone's on duty. I think any powered leisure boat counts as a launch, and charges vary according to whether you buy a "day", week, month or year. Within that you pay by area in square metres, defined as length x beam, and the charge gets bigger according to what bracket your "area" falls into. You get two window stickers showing the expiry date, one for each side of your boat. No extra charge for air draught, but taller boats, or anyone who hasn't taken their chimney down, will have a real problem at Osney bridge in Oxford. Get that wrong and you'll feel "it hasn't been your day, your week, your month or even your year"! If you are a commercial vessel carrying cargo (e.g. the NBT), very different rules apply (toll tickets based on weight of cargo and miles), and many of the lockkeepers don't fully understand how to issue them because there is not a lot of cargo carrying on the non tidal river. I have no idea what happens for the commercial passenger vessels, e.g. the big trip boats which operate at Windsor, but no doubt they have their own separate scale of charges.

I've seen Gyles Brandreth on TV (on Countdown some years ago) and I wasn't upset by the experience at all. Seemed like a decent bloke to me, not irritating but fun. If they're doing the Thames then the GU in separate episodes, do we get a chunk about the Teddington to Brentford transit too? There would be interesting things to show and say there.

Further entertainment is to be had from that ad for Pooley Hall farmhouse. It states that: The present Hall was built in 1509 by Sir Thomas Cockayne "The Magnificent" who was knighted at the Battle of Tournai by King Henry VII. Feeling interested, and doubting that Henry VII got around to a foreign war like that while he was busy spending his reign consolidating his hold on the throne after his victory over Richard III at Bosworth, I just looked up the history.I think the estate agent has got details wrong, lifting an error from the Wikipedia article on Pooley Hall! The 1509 date of construction may be correct, but the battle and monarch look wrong. For example, see https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Cokayne-41 I didn't want to get too bogged down in research, but it seems that Sir Thomas Cockayne "The Magnificent" was knighted after the Seige of Tournai (itself part of the aftermath of "The Battle of the Spurs") in 1513 by Henry VIII... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_Spurs The Battle of Tournai was much later, in 1794.

I'd feel haunted if I were passing by on the canal when the new owner decides to try out that cannon shown in the estate agent's photos.

My tips: 1. Turn left at Reading, because the route up the Oxford canal then on to Fradley Junction is probably easier than going right down river, doing the tidal bit from Teddington to Brentford then up the GU joining the Oxford canal at Braunston (or the alternative route via Leicester). Also cheaper, because it's possible and legal to do the Reading to Oxford transit (a lovely stretch of river) on a "one day" EA "registration" if you're quick. But a week would be plenty if you want to do another nice bit of river instead, i.e. Reading to Teddington, in order to go via Brentford. 2. Have a crew member on the trip if your boat has the space, it's easier two handed. Ideally someone with local knowledge, handy in places like Woolhampton, Reading and Oxford. But there are topics you can read on the forum about these places, or about navigating the K&A, Thames, etc. in general. It's wise to do some research. Definitely read up about the Thames and Trent, they're big rivers but not too tough; just keep a good lookout for the signs and other craft. If you don't have a crew member with local knowledge, a guide book would be a good idea. 3. Try to choose nice weather; life on an unheated GRP boat will be more comfortable in the sunny south on a good day than on the Trent in winter. But actually, when I once went on the Trent in winter I was allocated the motor cabin of a pair, someone built up its stove fire before we went to the pub for the evening, and the cabin was so toasty hot overnight that I slept with the back doors open to cool me down!