Vicky and Graham's River Thames Row

 We struggled with the Wi-Fi last night so here are photos from the last two days 😀 We have now arrived in Wallingford, distance covered 53 miles and we seem to be getting the hang of long distance rowing.  We have found a nice steady pace that suits both of us and we manage to keep going quite well.  While we are not travelling as fast as Dad expected (which is why our days have been quite long), the experience is just magical.   Yesterday we passed through Oxford and saw lots of 8’s (eight seater rowing boats) out on their water, most with novice crews learning to row.   We stayed in Abingdon last night, the home of the most friendly happy people we have met.  The lock keeper and his assistant were a delight (although anyone who says yes when I ask them if they have a loo is a winner in my book).  And a lovely boat hire company looked after our boat overnight. Our accommodation was the curious and delightful St Ethelwold’s House which is run by a ch...

Graham here today. Our third day, we covered 15 miles on the river, including 7 locks, leaving Eynsham at around 10.30, rowing through Oxford and arriving in Abingdon at 5.30 pm. It rained on and off during the morning, also Vicky and I had steady hip joint/back pain from the previous day’s rowing. To ease the strain of pulling hard on each stroke, we decided to row more gently. Although our had speed dropped to about 4 miles per hour and we had to row for longer, our discomfort was much the same at the end of the day as it was when we started, so we got through the day. Our boat is not an ultra-lightweight, slender and fast racing boat but a one or two person, coastal rowing type of boat. With  two people and a load of baggage on board, it rows easily at a modest speed but requires a lot of effort to row any faster.  On this challenge, we have met people who have been incredibly kind and helpful. At our first nights accommodation, this extended to picking us up and taking us ...

Sorry, we are staying at budget accommodation, with no Wi-Fi, so we were struggling to add photos last night. Still can’t add any this morning (groan).   We are at the Talbot Inn in Eynsham, by Swinford toll bridge (which charges 5p to cross!).   We are both feeling refreshed this morning. Will keep you posted later.

Well on paper it should have been.  But it wasn’t.  We set off at 10.30am, rowing 13miles, negotiating 4 locks and stopping for a short lunch break (and a cheeky swim in the river).  Even then, we only got to our destination at 6.30pm.  Today should have been quicker. Rowing has got easier as the river has got wider (although it’s still bendy) and we are rowing as a double scull, so we are moving faster.  But progress is slow and just plain hard work. However we are driven to keep on going thanks to the generous donations through our Just Giving page and our dogged determination to finish the row (unless it’s not safe to do so).  I think what I am trying to say we are both rather tired and not sure if we have set ourselves realistic targets.   We are getting better at following a good path down the river without getting tangled up in overhanging trees and reeds, mainly because I have inadvertently taken on the role of chief navigator.  (Graham her...

(Vicky here).  Gotta get to the pub on time… It’s been a long day. We have been looking forward to supper in the Trout Pub, 4 locks plus 10.5 miles from our starting point and we made it, just later than expected. We left Christchurch with our boat on the car roof at 9am and stopped at Swindon Station to pick up my Uncle who had kindly agreed to take Dad’s car to his home in Weybridge (thanks Doug).  We were on the water in Lechlade Marina at 3pm. It was a hard row. The river was quite narrow with continuous twists and turns, so navigating our way using mirrors was quite difficult. (we row facing backwards). We took turns in coxing the boat (sitting in the back, facing forward and giving the rower directions, but rowing a heavily loaded boat as a single was harder than we expected. When we rowed together as a double, we flew along but this made it difficult to avoid reeds and trees growing out into the river. We made it to the pub in the end.   The river was stunning, the...

April-May 2022 Vicky (Mum of 2 boys) and Graham (Vicky's Dad), are proposing to row 153 miles down the River Thames from Lechlade in Gloucestershire, through London and finishing at the Thames Barrier. We plan to start on Friday 29th April and to finish on Sunday 8th May 2022. Our plan could change, but at the moment is: Start   Friday 29 April   around 1pm, Lechlade Marina,    0 miles .   1st day   -    pm Fri 29 April .     10.5 miles . Tadpole Bridge.   4 locks.   2nd day   - Sat 30 April . Eynsham   24 miles   ( +13 miles),   3 locks . 3rd day   - Sun 1 May .    Abingdon,   39 miles   ( +15 miles),   7 locks . 4th day -   Mon 2 May .     Wallingford   53 miles   ( +14 miles),   4 locks . 5th day   - Tue 3 May .     Reading   69 miles   ( + 16 miles),   4 locks . 6th day   - Wed 4 May .   ...