THE THAMES TO THE SOLENT

BY CANAL AND SEA

OR

THE LOG OF THE UNA BOAT CAPRICE.'

BY

J. B. DASHWOOD.

LONDON:

LONGMANS, GREEN, AND CO.

PREFACE.

AMONGST the many works written on sailing, rowing, shooting and fishing upon the Thames, the author has not yet met with an account of a trip from thence to the Solent by canal, which forms the subject of this little book.

This voyage' was accomplished in a small Una-rigged boat, which gives the writer the opportunity of offering the results of his experience with regard to the capabilities of these little vessels for river and sea sailing, as well as for fishing and shooting.

As the reader will perceive, the expedition from Weybridge to Portsmouth can be made (wind and weather permitting) in four or five days, so that a fortnight's holiday may, in this way, be agreeably spent.

The following incidents were originally put upon paper merely as memoranda of this pleasant journey, but the writer having received

so many assurances from his friends that the subject would be of interest to the general public, he has ventured to publish them, hoping that they may prove entertaining and useful.

The descriptions (historical and topographical) of the various places of interest on the route have been in a great measure taken from Murray's Handbooks of Surrey and Sussex, as well as from the 'Beauties of England and Wales.'

The last chapter is essentially a nautical one, and has nothing to say to the expedition. It has been written with the sole purpose of giving the writer's experience with regard to Unarigged boats, and contains several suggestions which he trusts may prove of use. As this chapter is written solely for nautical readers, it is hoped the unsophisticated will not find fault with the nautical terms.