Arrival

We arrive on a fine afternoon and install ourselves on board. The boat has been recently refurbished and the living accommodation is spacious and comfortable. We’ve been warned that high wattage appliances can’t be used – so no hairdryers or microwaves – but there are few other compromises. Having come equipped to self-cater we’ve brought quite a few food and drink items that need to be chilled and the fridge is not quite regular size so we have to do “fridge tetris” to fit everything in; this provides the perfect excuse to enjoy a couple of chilled drinks on the small front deck. There’s a full size Calor gas cooker, a wide selection of movies, books and games and an excellent sound system. The toilet turns out to be less of an issue than I feared.

We are keen to explore our surroundings and take the riverside path from the hotel garden but it’s quite overgrown and our shoes aren’t really up to it. We retrace our steps and follow the Thames Path over Shillingford Bridge and along the north side of the river along a private road. The path turns right along a narrow track between properties, then we see a left turn that isn’t signposted but clearly takes us back towards the river. It emerges at the end of a cul de sac where there is a sign marking high water from various floods – some as high as us. 

The road leads through the village of Shillingford towards the A4074 where we find a hotel called the Kingfisher where we stop for a drink. It’s a fairly soulless and neglected place; we’re the only customers. While Simon orders the drinks (appropriately, his is a Kingfisher) I look for local information among a display of leaflets. We’re in Midsomer country so there’s a map of locations, but as we’ve never watched the Midsomer Murders they don’t mean much to me.

We return via another footpath which joins the Thames Path where we had turned right earlier. We retrace our steps back to the boat and prepare dinner. I enjoy watching night fall over the river as I cook.  There’s no wifi and almost no mobile signal but fortunately Simon downloaded some music on Spotify which we can play through the amp and speakers provided. After dinner we choose a movie from the wide selection provided on a hard drive attached to the TV. Big Fish fits the aquatic mood.