Yesterday I forgot to mention a hirer's story told to us when we met them at the penultimate lock (Town Lock) on the River Wey. It's one that could so easily happen to any of us if we misread the signs. For those not familiar with the entrance to the Wey Navigation from the Thames, this one is for you. 3 exits present themselves. The weir stream channel (left looking at the picture) Straight on is the Thames lock Wey Navigation cutting and to the right of the photo is the River Wey.
The hirer's happened to take the wrong channel. The Wey Navigation channel has a board with an arrow which looks to be pointing to the left exit and not the middle one. They assumed they had to keep left. So what happened next? Well, the more into the river they got the shallower it became. Suddenly realising their mistake, managed to turn the boat but in doing so got well and truly stuck on a sandbank. Here they stayed all night until the hire company came and pulled the boat off. Funnily enough, when we first came to the junction we too wondered which way to go. That arrow on the board could be misleading from a distance and it was only as we got up to it realised which way to go.
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| This taken from the Weybridge moorings. |
With all that rain last night river levels have risen slightly but not enough for stream warnings. Lots of debris now heading downstream which made my swim feeding fishing session a no go. Instead, FS got a good clean inside. It's amazing how much dirt accumulates on every surface. One would think being on the water the boat would stay clean. Not so when bikes, walkers and the wind picks up the dust on the towpaths and deposits it all inside.
As you may have guessed we stayed on the moorings for another day. We paid the £5 for another night, this can be done online and will see what tomorrow brings before deciding if it's time to leave.
One wildlife today,
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