River Boating Forum

Greetings all -
I was raised in 1936 onwards, close to Ewell Court and the Hogsmill river, and I wondered at an early age where the locks were - only the foundations of the mill remained. (I was too young to realise, the head of the navigation was downstream.)

I went to Diss, Norfolk, later at the age of eight, and was elated to learn in history lessons that the monks from Ely & St. Benets used the rivers to voyage to the broads, The Redgrave Levels! I went down to the Waveney to see, and was dissapointed - the river was too shallow! I even went bicycle riding to Redgrave to see the bridge with the Little Ouse on the other side - just another bridge!

With holidays at the sea, I soon came to trust sailing boats, under nine foot perhaps, but sailing! My mother was employed at Barton Mills when I was fifteen, and she purchased an eight foot sailing dinghy in time for my birthday. Merry Miller was its name! We travelled up-stream, towards Bury, and down-stream to Mildenhall. The locks were unuseable, of course, and the levels of water below Gas Works lock in Mildenhall were not sufficient to float even such a boat as mine! (The lower lock, and the staunch below, was without gates.)

Later, I took the boat to the Basingstoke Canal, as detailed in canal.bendall.de , and purchased the Merry Miller II as soon as I was able, an outboard motored 16 foot "Nomad."

I travelled with a Horse Boat, Oxford to Nantwich, and Flashes next to London to Stoke Bruerne bottom lock, during the military service.
Single Handed, except for relays of helpers to steer the boat, I bow-hauled the seventy foot narrow boat that I purchased from the "hostelboat", from Autherley Junction to (Near) Rugby!
We abandoned the boat as we wanted to go to to Coventry Rally of boats, and when I got back to "work" I was greeted with news that I was posted to Christmas Island! I did not have time to return to the boat, and several weeks later I received a letter from home that the boat had sunk. BW were getting rid of the boat without charge and I confirmed that!

More later, if you can stand it!
We had early season bookings for my family for Broads, Fens, and Canals trips ---

Certainly a story please write more, we are always interested.
must have been sad to hear that the boat had sunk.

hi peter !!!

nice to read your story, and welcome to the forum.

alan

Welcome!