DAY 1

27 May, Surbiton to Brentford, 9 miles

Engine trouble, persistent rain, a handful of a boat for one person and a bit too gusty at points. Oh - and I hate rowing. The question presents itself? Have I gone on holiday by mistake? I'm not sure yet. I made the first planned leg from Surbiton to Brentford, which is quite comforting, in about the time I thought it would take. But being in a new boat on a windy day, and sodden - I had too many things on my mind to take the surroundings in: there is life on the Thames. That's the first thing you don't see from the banks. Some malevolent - dirty mussels growing on slimy lock walls, spitting water as the level goes down; dead carp half chewed in half from unseen teeth below. And joyous: the Canadian geese with their tiny chicks, a large black cormorant fishing; and at one point, a mammal diving. I only saw it for a split second - could it have been an otter? Photo: this is where the tidal Thames joins the Grand Union Canal: west London's equivalent of Limehouse Basin.