We've made it up to Godalming and are now on the way back. Godalming, although a nice enough place in itself, doesn't really seem to like the navigation. We expected some good moorings, and possibly some sense of getting somewhere and although there were some moorings, they were all full and we ended up amongst the nettles and long grass on the other side of the wharf. There was no sense of this being a beginning or an end to a journey, it was just there.
We have found signage really poor on the whole navigation and it hasn't been at all clear where to go at some points - this was just around a corner with the sign (small) actually on the weir itself - some warning might have been nice?
The last third of the trip is definitely the most bendy - here is another beauty! The wind was coming straight under the bridge as was the current - not nice.
This - believe it or not is Guildford. They have done nothing with their waterfront and the few places where it is nice - there are no moorings although plenty of room for them. I'm sure they're missing out, because if a boat can moor, they will stop and when they stop they tend to spend money. You just feel very unwanted here. I'm so pleased we took the lock keepers advise about where to meet Mum as there was no-where in either Guildford or Godalming where we could have stopped and she could have got aboard.
This sign made us laugh on the way up and even more so on the way back when we'd seen what was ahead. It may have been true in 1653 but certainly not in 2013. Such a shame - the public moorings were in a really grotty area that we wouldn't have felt secure in, tucked out of the way behind a warehouse.
Another in the set of bends - you can just about make out the extent of the corner - nearly full circle. As with all of them it was tricky yesterday in the wind and against the current, but today which is much calmer, none of them have been noticed really.
This was my first view of Godalming as I came up through a lock - let it be enough to say that I didn't take any pictures of the wharf.
A bit of excitement today - we went into a lock with 3 pairs of canoes all lashed together and all was well until we reached the bottom of the lock when the front pair got jammed as their plank was a bit too wide! We had to put some water back in the lock so that they could get the plank into the ladder abatement. Then of course as we pulled out, it moved them so that they were once again jammed. Luckily they managed to lift it clear and we all survived - we noticed that they portaged them though the next lock!
We leave the lock to cheering!
This was another corner that caused problems yesterday - I didn't have the camera handy at the time so this it today's view. yesterday the bridge and bank were full of gongoozlers and there were a load of rowers on what is now our right that made getting around just that bit more interesting! Why is it never easy when you're being watched?
We had hoped to moor just to the north of Guildford at a wharf we'd spotted yesterday but a boat that left Godalming just before us got the last place. We are moored about half a mile on, between 2 road bridges that's quite noisy but at least there are bollards and we can get close to the bank. Just after we stopped I said to John that no doubt the aforementioned boat would probably go past us at some point, right on queue, there they were! Couldn't believe it - 10 minutes later and we'd have got our good mooring. Grrrrr.
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