leg 1
leg 2
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Harleyford Marina to Limehouse Marina
Limehouse Marina to Chatham
Chatham to Allington
Allington to Maidstone
Farleigh to Branbridges
returns to top of this page
On a hot sunny Saturday in August 2002 we headed out of Harleyford Marina ready for a new challenge. Monday morning at 5.45 saw us sliding quietly away from our mooring at Hampton Court to catch high water at Teddington Lock. There can’t have been more than a few inches between tidal and non-tidal river heights and so we were quickly through and on our way. We had the river to ourselves apart from the occasional early morning rower, the herons and cormorants.
As we approached London the chatter on channel 14 increased as the city woke up. Much to our disappointment we failed to spot a hanging bale of straw at any of the bridges on this trip.
On arrival at Limehouse we were quickly locked through, and allocated a berth in the CA part of the basin. We had stayed there before and like it because it is quiet and you can get in and out at almost all states of the tide apart from a few hours either side of low water. It’s not as busy as St Kat’s. And there are some interesting river side pubs nearby. The Prospect of Whitby, The Barley Mow (now changed name and market strategy!), The Grapes, are all within easy walking distance.
Teddington Lock - 06.30hrs
Locking into Limehouse Basin
There are plenty of interesting industrial landmarks and fascinating riverside scenes to keep one entertained - the sugar-coated cranes at the Tate and Lyle wharf, cars at Ford’s plant at Dagenham, Gravesend with its town pier and moored tugs, and the occasional very big ship! And these big ships make impressive waves even at their moderate speeds. Its important to keep a good look-out both forward and aft as well as a listening watch on the appropriate VHF channel to find out what’s about to come round the next bend.
We were hardly ever out of sight of a buoy for the whole trip so there was never any real test of navigating skills required. At the point where you turn south for Sheerness its important not to cut the corner at low water, and for a few miles you are cruising at 90 degrees to the tidal stream so you do have to make allowances for tidal drift. But for the rest of the journey if you plan it right you can have a favourable tide for almost the whole passage.
If you enter the Medway at low water you can see the superstructure and masts of the wreck of the Liberty Ship which still has a considerable amount of its ammunition cargo on-board. It went aground on a sand bank and broke its back during the second world war while at anchor waiting to join a convoy to France, and has been too dangerous to clear ever since.
At the time of day we entered the Medway (early afternoon) it was quite busy with large and medium sized shipping and we had to be even more alert than on the Thames. As on the Thames it was mainly a matter of buoy-hopping our way to Upnor Castle where we requested to be locked into Chatham Maritime Marina. We were tied up at just after 4.00pm.
Locking out the next day
Thames Barrier
Chatham Marina
Wednesday afternoon we set off for the gentle trip up to Allington lock on a rising tide, timing our arrival for just before high water at Allington. The Medway is very shallow in its upper tidal reaches at low water, and so a lot of care is needed in planning departure times to ensure that there is enough water as well as clearance under the bridge at Aylesford.
The river goes through many different mood changes along this stretch. Rochester, which is still busy with commercial traffic, gives way to a more tranquil stretch marred only by the noise of the traffic on the M2 passing high over the river. Alongside is the newly constructed bridge for the cross-channel high-speed rail link.
After this it is very patchy with areas of industrial dereliction, chemical plants, housing estates as well as countryside. Finally the river becomes more rural, the high point being the picturesque riverside village of Aylesford and its Norman stone arch bridge (2.9m at HWS).
The upper reaches of the tidal Medway suffer from large amounts of floating debris. Most of it is just harmless reeds and other vegetation floating in a continuous band about four feet wide and reasonably easy to avoid most of the time. But mixed in with it are the less savoury items which demand constant vigilance and periodic avoiding action.
A few miles further on and there is Allington Lock which is manned by the Environment Agency lock-keeper. Here you can buy a license for the non-tidal Medway, and a key for the power operated lifting bridge at Yalding (which we didn’t need in the end because the bridge is manned at the week-ends). There is a pump-out here and another one at Yalding both of which were free – yes free!!!
The sights and sites of Snodland
Aylesford
Allington
We spent the evening moored at the Malta Inn at Allington – it is a pleasant location but very busy and noisy at night with huge numbers of pub-goers of all walks of life. While we were eating, someone threw a lighted cigarette onto our deck, which burnt the paint. To add insult to injury, there was a two hour wait for a table and neither the food nor the service was that good either – one to avoid on a hot summer night.
The following morning we headed on up the Medway. First port of call was the chandlery at Allington Marina to buy a windlass for the locks, all of which except Allington are self-help. Then we stopped at Maidstone to get provisions. There are good moorings in town convenient for the shops. They are OK for daytime use but probably not so good at night.
The second road bridge across the river in Maidstone (Maidstone Bridge) is shown as having a headroom of only 2.55m on all the maps and guides. In fact it is an arched bridge and we passed under with no difficulty with the windscreen up. The 2.55m dimension is apparently taken at the shoulders of the bridge – very misleading.
Typical Medway rural scene
The real excitement was getting under Farleigh Bridge, just after the lock. It is a narrow, low, arched stone bridge. It required a fair bit of nerve and everything that folds down to be folded down (including the helmsman).
After Farleigh Bridge everything else was plain sailing (motoring!). Moorings were few and far between, but anchoring seemed to present no difficulty. We were told that there were good moorings after Oak Weir lock but we turned round before this point near Branbridges as we had an appointment with the tide the following day for the return trip to Chatham.
The Medway is an interesting river to visit – very pretty in parts - and the passage between London and Chatham was a good introduction to tidal navigation and pilotage.
Farleigh bridge
Yalding
Copyright © 2002-2009 Mike Hawkridge