Locks, and more locks!

James was in his element. I'm amazed at how fascinated he can be with locks!

It's summer and the weather has turned. Today was a beautiful sunny day of about 25 degrees. To take advantage, this morning James and I ventured north west to Goring to visit the lock. But rather than the usual one in the centre of the village, we struck north along the Thames to visit a lock about a mile upstream. Last time we ventured the path is was wet a soggy. Today it was quite the opposite.

There's plenty along the way for James. Wooden gates to open, bridges to climb, and sticks to collect.

It's the end of the mid term break so there is plenty of traffic on the Thames: large motor cruisers, canal boats, and dinghies. Arriving at the lock we crossed the path on top of the gate and crossed to the centre where the lock master was relaxing waiting for the boats to settle in to position. With a good vantage James could watch the orchestration as the doors closed, the sluice gates opened, and the water flooded in to the lock. We both watched the boats rapidly rise in the lock before the opposite doors opened and the boats untethered and continued on their journeys. His favourite was the sluice gates - with their tops painted bright red. They would rise in the air above the gates under hydraulic power and then fall at the end of the cycle. That's how James and I spent the next 1.5 hours. Watching boats come and go through the lock.

Home to lunch and then we all headed north to Marlow - and yet another lock. The Thames at Marlow was seething with people and boats. We paused briefly to watch the progress of the Marlow vs Slough cricket match before continuing along the Thames to the lock. This one was even busier. And the lock master was continuously running up and down the tow path helping secure the boats and then operating the controls. Most of the boats were large cruisers but James' favourite today was a tiny little dinghy with a large man and a little boy. Entering the lock they had to throw the lines high up to the edge of the lock so they could be tied to the bollards. They nestled precariously between the cruisers as the water rushed. Again we watched about 4 cycles of the lock...

Walking back to the car James was on my shoulders pretending to be sluice gates. His little arms going up and down accompanied with the sound of rushing water. Driving home, we circled though Henley (its such a pleasant drive through the woods this time of year) where the regatta preparations are in full swing.

Photos are here.