Expedition Thames

Aim

A personal challenge that also draws attention to the beauty of an old boat and the importance of keeping our natural world in good health.

I’m a trustee with The Britannia Sailing Trust. We, the trustees are all adventurers, but some of us haven’t had a good adventure for a long time.  I have personally spent most of the last four years under my duvet, successfully avoiding the bat virus but now the duvet is at the cleaners, I’ve learnt to walk again and am re-learning the names of flowers and my children. 

So, as part of my rejoining the grittiness and wonder of life, I decided that a gentle row down one hundred and twenty-eight miles of that twist of mill ponds and frog porridge, the Thames River, would be something to kick the old bod back into shape.  

We journeyed together 128 miles from Lechlade, Glos, to Richmond Bridge which is the boat's home base; going through just the 46 locks en route.

After a couple of days on my own (backing into lots of willows) I had a fantastic collection of boat buddies each day to help steer and row - take a bow Will Rowsell, Graham Janes, Tom Muldoon, Livi Thynne, Drew York, Christy Thynne, Myles McNulty, Sara Myers and Jenni Thynne - but I do enjoy rowing and did the bulk of that across the ten days.  Logistics were challenging for all and Tom brought his bike on board for his shift, to be able to get back to his car.

Sleeping on board was cosy and surprisingly comfortable, the discipline of rigging up the canvas 'tent' over her hoops and cooking a dinner on board, from a mostly squatting position which is not my thighs' natural preference, took a little grit at the end of a sometimes wet and long day but is part of the unique charm of a project like this.

Apart from the personal challenge part of this project, making this journey in the beautiful 1888 camping skiff that is Maegen is a great nod to the saving of marine heritage that the Britannia Trust is all about.  Apart from restoring the 1914 fishing smack Britannia to her full glory, the Trust, in association with the National Trust, is also creating Britannia Wood, a 15 acre boatbuilders' woodland (with public trails) to support future wooden boatbuilding - planting starts in 2024:

So if this ridiculous expedition of mine inspires or interests or moves you in any way at all to support The Britannia Sailing Trust and get another lovely old boat back in the water where she belongs, you have my heartfelt gratitude.  THANK YOU.

This project successfully funded on 25th September 2023