Good Friday River Trip – 22nd April 2011
Our Good Friday was marked with a boat trip and picnic over at Runnymede, on the Thames in Surrey.
The Bray Princess
Around 30 of us embarked on the Bray Princess at around 11am this morning to enjoy a 45-minute journey along the Thames in the warm spring sunshine. Many of those attending were children who attend the Friday Club at Parkside Christian Fellowship with the rest of the party being made up of young families and other associated hangers-on.
The mercury had already reached 17°C by the time we left home and we, like many in the party, decided to opt for shorts as an appropriate attire for the day.
Emily enjoying the trip
We again made use of our National Trust membership and managed to park for free in their car-park close to the river at Runnymede.
All aboard the Bray Princess
Once aboard the Bray Princess we took our seats on the upper deck in the warm spring sunshine. Our journey first led us upstream to Old Windsor before we retraced our route, passing the boat’s mooring and headed on downstream to the crowded riverside haunt of Runnymede itself.
Heading downstream
At Runnymede others trying to board were dissuaded from doing so by the Captain, ostensibly because of the ‘large party’ on board – and I thought we were well-behaved as well!
The journey was punctuated with frequent informative, if occasionally uncertain, interjections from our long-suffering pilot which occasionally added amusement to the trip.
Our long-suffering pilot
Eventually we found ourselves back where our journey had begun and disembarked to find a suitable location for a picnic lunch.
Some of the picnickers at Runnymede
We found an area offering some welcome shade from the relentless sun that continued to burn down from an azure sky, and settled down for lunch. This was followed by a kick around with a rugby ball and later still by the inevitable ice-cream.
After the last Cornetto had been consumed we headed home and later on, once the lawn had been cut, we had our first BBQ of the season. It was a great ending to a fun day in the sunshine.
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