Day Thirty-Two - Brentford to Hampton Court

We had an amazing day starting out walking from our boat to the Thames River to see how low the tide can go and ending with a visit to Hampton Court.
We had the morning off waiting for the opening of the Thames Lock onto the river at one o’clock. We were pleased we walked to the Thames River which was only fifteen minutes from where we moored to see the very low tide. It was good to compare what we saw early in the morning to when we motored through in the early afternoon.
Our guide book gave us very little information about getting onto the Thames River and what to expect. The lock keeper gave us a guide book and a quick talk about all the rules and what to do. He kept referring to the guide book which covers what he referred to as “Bibs and Bobs”. And before we knew it he opened the lock gates and we were on the Thames. We had no time to refer to the guide book. We immediately hit roughish water as we turned right out of the lock and headed westward. The river was wide and we had the tide pushing us along. At times our rudder was out of the water because of the roughness. It took us over an hour to complete the tidal section of the river before we reached Teddington Locks. From here we will be on the non-tidal section of the Thames for about a week.
There were only three boats lined up to come onto the Thames. We think we know the reason. When we got to Teddington Locks we had to buy a licence for the non-tidal part of the Thames. It cost one hundred and nine pounds! No wonder we haven’t seen any canal boats over the past few days! We picked ourselves off the lock keeper’s floor and made our way to the boat feeling quite fleeced!
The ride up the Thames from Teddington Locks was calm and we had beautiful views across the breadth of the river. We moored “Carli” at Hampton Court moorings at four o’clock and we felt like Henry VIII when he brought his royal barge up the river to his royal court. We quickly locked the boat and spent two hours looking through the palace and gardens. It was magnificent.
Tomorrow we move onto Windsor.
Photos: Low tide, River Thames; Richmond Bridge, River Thames; Hampton Court and gardens; Garden at Hampton Court