Not at all easy trying to moor on a river.

And here was I hoping to put a photo of us on the island, sipping a glass of wine and enjoying a BBQ. Well, the torrential rain arrived by 3 pm and put a stop to that! All afternoon and well into the night it poured making us very glad to be tied to the trees in case the river came up.

This morning it was time leave the island and go find a bankside mooring. That turned out to be harder than we thought. I must have swung FS around half a dozen times (good for my river skills) before finally deciding on which mooring to go for. We tried several times to get into places we thought suitable but they were either too shallow, not enough length for our 57feet or the foliage and branches got in the way.

To shallow and that branch nearly dislodged my rod. Ian is behind the leaves somewhere.

 In the end, we went the wrong side of a green buoy (keep green to right, (starboard) and red to left, (port) when going upstream) when we spied what we thought to be the ideal spot. We got in alright by taking it very very slowly but now a bit concerned about getting out when we leave later. We will have to back out as the channel is too shallow and weedy for us to venture in. These show why.

Looking good

Only just got in with FS bow the wrong side of a tree and the stern well into the branches.

The mooring stake is hooked and ideal for river mooring.

Will have to try and back out beyond this branch.

Anyway off we go to Cliveden. A good walk of about a mile and a half with 175 steps to climb for the last part.

We came to Duke of Sutherland's statue and the view of the house and parterre was set out before us and we even got a glimpse of the river.

Once in the gardens, there was a notice to say part of the house (now a hotel) could be viewed between 3 pm and 5 pm. Managed to get tickets for the 3.30pm tour and being NT members it was free. No photos to show as photography was not permitted. Did find out how much a room was in one of the wings. Would set you back between £400 and £600 a night. You do get breakfast thrown in and a good job too as looking at the restaurant menu you would have to fork out £15 for a chicken sandwich.! Very knowledgeable was our tour guide and a brief history can be read here

The maze was good fun. Made it to the centre after several wrong turns but trying to find the way out seemed to take forever

The gardens and grounds were full of vibrant colours. July seems to be the right month to visit.

Shell fountain.

Gilded pigeon loft perhaps

We did manage to get away unscathed from the mooring but more about that tomorrow.

And todays wildlife,