Broadford Pipe Bridge ish to Godalming Wharf to just a bit back

Thunder and lightening over night meant we had a roof covered in tree bits this morning. It took a while for the temperature to start to drop but it did and made for a grey but pleasant day.

Time to prepare for cruising. First the top of the chimney was removed. Our plan of having a full tank of water to get under the low bridge had been thwarted by the weather, we how had half a tank. We’d see if anything else needed removing from the roof when we got to the bridge.

Our shady yet awkward mooring took a while to leave. The front rope first and then the stern, Mick gingerly returning to the boat along the plank as Oleanna was wanting to drift outwards.

Soon the low bridge came into view, I’d been posted to the bow to assess the situation, although Mick most probably got a better idea of clearance from the stern.

It looked like we’d be fine, by a few inches. The horns our highest point missing by about four inches, phew!!

At Unstead Lock both sets of gates were closed and a sign warning of works above the lock. Some grubby highvis clad chaps stood by the lock, a pump pipe and tube suspended into the chamber. We pulled into the lock on the opposite side so as not to disturb their set up. However filling the lock caused things to twist, a split in their pipe sprayed over extension leads, but none of them seemed too bothered.

Hire boats at Cattershall Bridge were having a spruce up for the next guests. As I walked up to work the lock Mick enquired of their diesel price, £1.30 something, he stopped listening half way through, our tank isn’t that desperate for filling. Hopefully Pyrford will be cheaper.

Once up the lock ( we think the most southerly), which has a very long walk round, we pootled our way along past the meadows towards Godalming Wharf. Here the service mooring was free so we rolled out our hose, dealt with rubbish and the yellow water. A boat moved off leaving a space for us to moor up.

This gap a 150ft ahead of us was next to the winding hole which marks the most southerly point on the main network, the navigation continues for a short distance but in a north westerly direction. The very corner of the bend is marked to be kept clear, but either side are moorings, one for a horse drawn trip boat the other for visitors. Mick put Oleanna’s stern into the corner and with the help of the flow she turned and we pulled in to tie up in the most Southerly South point of the network. That is three points of the compass visited, there is only the most Eastern point left to do, which may have to wait a couple more years.

Our mooring backed onto a roundabout which handily leads into a Sainsburys car park, so after lunch we headed that way for a big shop. We had a five times nectar points voucher and if we spent over £40 on wine we’d get another 800! Could we manage this? Well it wasn’t much of a challenge!

Then we headed to Homebase, we knew that they wouldn’t have a scaff plank, but it was worth a look round. A tube of translucent shower sealant and a mat for the roof were purchased. Time to move off to a more cat friendly mooring.

Two hire boats were breasted up at the services whilst the crew went for some shopping, good job we’d not waited to fill our tank! We pushed over to the towpath side and just about managed to get into the first mown gap, the bow slightly out, but nowhere near as far out as our shady mooring had been.

2 locks, 2.64 miles, 1 full water tank, 0 rubbish, 1 empty wee tank, 5 boxes of wine, 1 full fridge, 3ft square mat, 3rd point ticked, 10 degrees lower, 3 most southernly south pigeons, 2 hours shore leave, 1 rude woofer!