Boating through Britain: A trip down the Thames in search of Ratty, Mole and Toad

By Caroline Hendrie

Pristine: Sonning Lock is a delightful spot in rural Berkshire


As the sun burned through the morning mist, I sipped my tea and surveyed the scene from my chair on the deck of the African Queen. A pair of great-crested grebes performed dives, a swan and three cygnets paddled by and a heron took flight from a tree stump in dramatic fashion.

Less than 40 miles from London there wasn't sight nor sound of a car, just the gentle noise of a rushing weir and the sizzle of bacon in a pan. While the occupants of a nearby craft had to cook their own breakfast, the eight guests on our vessel - the only moving boat hotel on the Thames - were being waited on hand and foot.

No flinging of ropes, learning tricky manoeuvres or even pouring drinks for us. All we had to do was sit back and watch the landscape slip by, or hop off and become part of it ourselves on the towpath.

We joined the boat at Mapledurham, Berkshire, in the heart of Wind In The Willows country. Captain Andy gave a blast on his vuvuzela and was soon taking us through our first lock.

During the afternoon, as we admired the scenery, Andy's crewmates, Karen and Cherry, handed around glasses of Pimm's while the guests got to know each other.

Before we knew it, we were tying up in Sonning for the night. We had travelled six miles, and we would follow this delightfully gentle pace for the next four days. The dinner bell rang at 7.30pm and we gathered for a buffet of Cape Malay specialities cooked by Andy's South African wife, Bonny.

The 100ft boat, a working barge built in Holland in 1924, now has seven cabins for guests on the lower deck, each with its own tiny bathroom, with five cabins sleeping two (at a bit of a squeeze). On the main deck there's a dining area and bar.


boat to... Henley: The African Queen has been sailing for almost a century


An unexpected excitement next morning was spotting the Swan Uppers, the Queen's splendidly scarlet-coated officials, on their annual journey upstream to count the Thames's swan population.

I cycled three miles along a muddy towpath to the next lock, using one of the bikes kept aboard our boat, arriving at the same time as the African Queen. There I met a retired couple from Nuneaton who had started their own narrowboat journey three months before and were now London-bound.

Back on board, I had a great view of some fabulous riverside villas on the approach to Henley. In the town, we spent a fascinating couple of hours in the River & Rowing Museum, which includes a Wind In The Willows exhibition. We were moored in Henley for the night, so there was time to stroll around the shops before dinner and see a memorial dedicated to singer Dusty Springfield - who lived here for the last few years of her life - at St Mary's Church.

Next morning, as we sailed back upstream, I mixed walking along the towpath with birdwatching on deck. Red kites soared above and I caught glimpses of kingfishers darting near the riverbank.

That evening, Hilary Thomson, a Blue Badge guide, came aboard to talk to us about life on the Thames 120 years ago, when Jerome K. Jerome captured the new craze for pleasure-boating in his classic novel Three Men In A Boat.

In the morning, we went to the Herb Farm garden centre at Sonning Common. Finding my way to the centre of its maze, I sat down and pulled out my own copy of Three Men In A Boat. While my disorientated shipmates pleaded for directions on the other side of high beech hedges, I read them a chapter from the book where Harris gets lost in the maze at Hampton Court Palace.

Later, we visited Mapledurham House, which is mentioned in the Domesday Book. With its grand facade and fascinating history, it is one of several possible inspirations for Toad Hall.


Feathered friends: The upper Thames is home to a vast array of wildlife - including the kingfisher


On our last day, we passed Hardwick House - another contender for the inspiration for Toad Hall - and watched alpacas grazing. We were on the quietest and prettiest stretch of our trip - true Wind In The Willows country.

Ratty's words - 'there is nothing - absolutely nothing - half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats' - still ring true. But there is something that can be even more fun, and that's sitting on the deck while someone else does all the work, and then brings you a cup of tea.

Travel FactsSaga (0800 056 5880, www.sagaholidays.co.uk) offers five nights aboard the African Queen, from £739pp (no single supplement). The cost includes full-board and excursions. For further information, go to www.visitthames.co.uk.


source: dailymail