Up (some of) the Basingstoke Canal

Why only "some of" you may well ask.  No we're not running out of time, it is shortage of water that means we can only take Leo as far as Brookwood, just west of Woking.  One of our aims in coming so far south was to cruise the Basingstoke Canal.  Though we lived just south of Woking for a couple of years after we bought Leo, we've never taken her up here.

More about the Basingstoke in a moment, but first I need to bring you up to date.  The last posting was from Godalming at the end of the Wey and Godalming Navigations.  So last Thursday, after another visit to the museum and a stroll round the town, we set off downstream just a short way to moor above Broadford Bridge near Guns Mouth where the Wey and Arun Canal used to leave the Wey Navigation heading for the south coast (and may do so again one day).

Having turned round this is where we moored in Godalming on the Lammas lands at the edge of town.  It looks and feels like being in the country but the town is only a few minutes walk away.

Having moored on Broadford Meadows we walked up the course of the Wey and Arun Canal for a short distance.  It leaves the Wey following a stream called Cranleigh Waters.  200 yards up this, the canal branches off left and used to go under this bridge.  You can see the original arch in this picture.  On the other side the course of the canal is in private land.

After watching the Tour de France (hence the TV aerial) we had a barbecue on the meadows.  Very peaceful.












On Friday we returned to Guildford, once more mooring by the water meadows above Millmead Lock.  A very short day's boating of one and a half miles and one lock!

The river had dropped a couple of inches compared with our upstream cruise, so there was more room under Broadford Bridge, but it was still necessary to take the flowers off the roof.

There are some very tight turns on the river here and we always like the patterns in the water at the stern when turning very sharply.  Helen took this intriguing picture of the patterns.

Here is a close up from the towpath of the spring by Old Ferry Bridge on the way into Guildford.

And here is Leo moored by the water meadows.  There are sluices that allow these meadows to be flooded with water from the river.  This helps to avoid Guildford being flooded and was a way of bringing on an earlier growth of spring grass to feed the animals.

Guildford Castle sits on a hill above the river.  The gardens in the moat below were a riot of colour and really well looked after.












Our friends Rosemary and Roger came to Leo in the afternoon for tea and biscuits and later we went together to eat at an Italian restaurant in the town.  Sitting at a table on the pavement it all felt very continental and it was good to catch up with each other's news.

On Saturday we had a proper day's boating going through Guildford and on to moor below Papercourt Lock.

This is Dapdune Wharf where the National Trust has its headquarters for the Navigation.  We stopped here to empty the toilet, an unpleasant but necessary task, and to fill with water.

Once more we are facing the wrong way in this picture showing where we spent the night.  We passed this spot aiming for a section of bank further down.  But we decided we didn't like that one and so turned to come back here.  We've done lots of turning round on this river but fortunately there are plenty of places to do so.





On Sunday we had a lunch appointment at the Anchor pub at Pyford and made it with time to spare.

Lunch was with friends Joan and Brian (seen here later on the tiller).  The Anchor serves good food and beer and the service is excellent.  After lunch we took Joan and Brian upriver back to where we had spent the previous night and then returned to Pyrford.  Or perhaps I should say that Brian took us, displaying his skills with Leo.

Here is Joan keeping a good lookout, perhaps because Brian is on the tiller?  It was good to see them both again and they really enjoyed their boat trip too.  Amazingly our space outside the Anchor was still vacant on our return, so we slipped neatly back into place.
















 On Monday morning we started early as we were booked up the Woodham locks on the Basingstoke Canal.  We went slowly up the shallow canal and moored next to another boat, Artu, below Lock 1.

Here are Leo and Artu side by side waiting below the first lock.  Unfortunately a body had been found on Saturday in lock 3 above and the police had closed the canal.  Very sad for the poor man who had met his end in the Basingstoke Canal but we had to spend the day moored here.

It was not too bad a place to stay and, having cycled up to talk to the policeman at the 'incident', we spent the afternoon cycling to Brooklands and back.  This picture is of the old Brooklands racing track with the banking clear on the right.  On the way back, as well as shopping in West Byfleet, we enjoyed tea with our niece Angela and little Maxwell.

This is the view from our bed looking back down the Basingstoke Canal to the junction with the Wey Navigation.  Periodically a boat would go past the end.











We did not know how long we would be at lock 1 and Roger from Artu had been there already for two days.  Fortunately we were able to move on the following day (Tuesday) and came up the six Woodham locks to Woking.

Here are Artu and Leo sharing the first lock.  The Basingstoke is very shaded by trees and the locks seem very dark as a result.

Here the two boats are in lock 3 where the body had been found.  The pound above here had been drained by the police, presumably looking for evidence, but Carl from the Basingstoke Canal Authority had made sure it was full for our passage.

Part way up we met a boat coming down.  Normally one would not remark on this, but there are very few boats that make it up the Basingstoke.  Our licence is no 38 which means we are the 38th visiting boat up here since 1 January!

Above Lock 4 the pound was very low.  We went completely aground just before lock 5.  By going forward and back a few times we ploughed a furrow in the mud to get into the lock.  Then silt prevented us closing the bottom gates.  Lots of digging and prop washing cleared this and up we went.  Then a paddle sheared!  All of us helped Carl mend it.

A boathouse above the top lock showed the distance in miles and locks to the end of the Basingstoke Canal at Greywell, but also that it was 173 locks and 386 miles to Ripon.  We're not sure why Ripon was chosen: perhaps the owners lived there once.  It is only 12 miles from where we live.

Above the top lock the canal is very shallow and weedy in places so it was a struggle to cover the three miles through Woking to moor outside the Bridge Barn, a Beefeater pub.










That evening we enjoyed a meal at the pub with Sarah and Nicky who Helen used to work with.  On Thursday we stayed where we were and walked into Woking to explore our old home town.  Much of it is presently a building site, but no doubt it will be better when it's all done.

Either side of a footbridge over the canal in Woking town centre are statues of the Bedser twins, famous cricketers who came from Woking.  Here you see Alec Bedser bowling across the bridge to ....

..... his twin brother Eric Bedser who was famous as a batsman.  If you follow the eye line of Eric you will see ......

..... on the Council offices on the other side of the busy road, a cricket ball embedded in the concrete.  If you look below and to the right of the town crest you can see the ball in the panel below.

A nice memorial we thought to two famous sons of the town.  There is also a fine statue of HG Wells in the courtyard of the Lightbox, a gallery and museum close to the Bedser Bridge.

On Wednesday evening we met some Woking Cycling friends for a meal at the Bridge Barn and here are some of them back on Leo for tea afterwards.  It was lovely to see such a lot of them and we were delighted they could all make it.  One cycling friend, Robin, who could not come in the evening had earlier arrived for tea on Leo.





After the social whirl of mooring at the Bridge Barn we have today (Thursday) come up the five St John's locks to moor at Brookwood Country Park.

Unlike our trip up the Woodham locks, all has gone smoothly today.  Here we are just going into lock 7.  The Basingstoke Canal does not have much by way of lock moorings, so Helen is lining up to jump off as we come into the lock.

And this is the last lock today - lock 11 - with the Kiln Bridge behind.  From here it was a fairly easy mile and a half to where we had to turn round and moor.

Here is Leo with her nose in a large and easy winding hole just short of the road bridge at Brookwood.  The other side of the road bridge is the first of three locks but these and the Deepcut locks are closed to us because of shortage of water.

There are delightful purpose made moorings for a couple of boats at Brookwood Country Park.  Meadows and woods separate the canal here from modern housing, the old Brookwood Asylum (now converted to flats) and a large Sainsbury and Homebase.








Tomorrow the plan is to take the Bromptons by train to Hook and to cycle to the end of the Canal and back down it to here, so at least we will have got to the end, even if not by boat.  Taking Leo will have to wait for another year's cruising.  Having spoken to the Basingstoke Canal office the best times for cruising here are Easter through to perhaps May and from late September onwards.