Reading to Theale 23-25 August 2017

Escaping Reading Festival

 

A Tesco shopping opportunity

A very run down and depressing entry to the K & A

A smarter section with museum and leading to the Oracle centre

Traffic lights

And welcome, note the traffic lights to the right of the bridge

The Oracle: Full of trendy shops and chain eating places but excellent floral displays

Always good to get some help. This charming gent is the son of a former Sonning lock keeper

And now for something different a turf sided lock

Or scalloped edge

 

War time relics line the K & A

Moored at Theale

Theale High Street then and now

 

Church and quilt showing the history of the town

 

The librarian told us of the reintroduction of the Red Kite. A few moments after leaving the library guess what we heard and saw…….

 

Following the town trail we discovered these “bomb proof ” homes

And we ended our walk in Wadworthshire and visiting

Goring to Reading 23 August 2017

The Thames locks require little effort. This is the lock at Pangbourne, yes Pangbourne, just to show how difficult it is on the Thames! Early morning before the lock keeper is on duty

Reading Festival 90,000 expected

Camping one side of the river and show arena the other so a footbridge is needed

Festival goers

 

 

 

Steve, Beverley and Eva came to visit

The footbridge at night

Return from Abingdon to Cleeve Lock 21 August 2017

We unexpectedly met up with Dave and Lin at Abingdon. They were our next door but one neighbours at Kings Marina Newark. We knew they were planning a visit to family in Trowbridge but didn’t think we would meet up because of the different routes we were planning to take. It was good to catch up with them.

The old and new entrances to the Wilts & Berks canal

 

We met Wessex Rose hotel boat that we used to see regularly in Devizes

And a working boat, supplying gas, coal and diesel to boaters.

Wallingford but sadly the space was not long enough.

So on to Cleeve Lock where the charming lock keeper phoned Goring to see if the was a long enough space. There wasn’t, so he offered his mooring. It was an ideal spot and only cost £8.90!

Today Tuesday, we are moored up back in Goring and have already visited the butcher! His “directors” sausages are delicious!

Return from Lechlade to Newbridge and Abingdon 16 -17 August 2017

Lechlade church is full of light

 

It’s proud of its history

 

Who could forget this?

Beautiful weather to start our return trip.

Turning in a restricted spot requires much concentration particularly when you have an audience!

Luxury camping? Lots of lovely camping locations

Yet another sort of lock but well maintained and easy to use

Steering into a willow tree

Reassuring to see the Fire Brigade practising river rescue

Obeying the rules this time

Oxford Skyline

Folly bridge Oxford steamers moored to the right and hire boats to the left and a bend. Just hoped no-one was cruising towards us!

How about this for a small boat, steam powered?

 

Abingdon Farmers Market. Local includes Isle of Wight garlic!

The Albert Memorial

The Ock

And just along from Waitrose:

Eynsham to Lechlade 15 August 2017

This section of the Thames displayed every geographical feature of rivers: meanders on meanders, shallows, hairpin bends etc but it is rather scenic

An amazing caravan park, beautifully kept

This very cute boathouse took Tony’s eye

I wish bridge builders wouldn’t plant weeping willows next to them.

Some lock keepers take great pride in their gardens

A rather scary Father Thames


Lechlade by night

And in the morning

 

Abingdon to Eynsham 14 August 2017

A few sights along the way.  Camping and steaming……

Lovely hotel with its own riverboat

Iffley lock Oxford

University boat houses Used for only 7 months of the year?

Folly bridge with an immediate right hand turn

Osney bridge is the limit for high cruisers. We had about five inches clearance

 

 

 

 

 

Rural scenes

Note the mooring charges

Please don’t notice this traffic contravention, but if Environment Agency don’t trim trees there is little option!

 

Olivella showing her port face!

 

Wilts & Berks Canal Sunday 13 August 2017

The weather was glorious as we set out to follow the old, and proposed new, Wilts & Berks canal

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Close to St Helen’s church was the Wharf and The Anchor Pub

The old junction and poster with explanation

 

This is the old canal route

This overgrown footpath is the route through a housing estate. Who is supposed to maintain these footpaths?

The old route of the canal

And the proposed route. Notice Didcot power station and the herd of cows

The road to the quarry where we became a little unsure of the walk and asked a farmer for advice. He said “they had stopped the canal” and advised us to follow the road past the quarry until it joined a Sustrans cycle way

We found the cycle track an continued until we picked up the footpath again. It was heavily overgrown with nettles. Fortunately we have learnt to travel with secateurs!

Having hacked our way along this path this is what we found, and cleared the weeds. I look a bit hacked off too!

 

This sign is still not visible from the River Thames below. It’s obscured by tall vegetation so what is the point? Also with no apparent winding hole there is no way that traffic can keep this channel clear.

 

Jubilee Junction, as is called, taken from the River Thames very early morning. No sign visible.

The leaflet is dated 2010. We are now wondering if plans have changed and we need to look at the Wilts and Berks website to see what progress has been made. The Wilts and Berks is important because it linked the Kennet & Avon canal at  Melksham to the Thames at Abingdon and would make a lovely circular route, hopefully for at least 12 foot wide.

We did find a rather nice housing development set around a large marina but were puzzled by this channel of water that stopped abruptly at the road, of same apparent vintage.

Abingdon 10-14 August 2017 and 17-21 August 2017

Moored in Abingdon early afternoon

 

 

Having just got a foot in the door before the Tourist Information closed we set off to walk the town trail. Eat St Helens Street has some very fine houses.

We climbed to the roof of the Town Hall and learnt of the Bun throwing tradition. Buns are thrown to the crowds in the Market Place on significant days such as a royal wedding.

 

 

The Town Hall also houses the museum

Abingdon was the home of the MG

The Abbey gardens run alongside the river

Jerome K Jerome bears a lot of responsibility for this: Four men in a boat!

The sign post points the way (note sign post NOT finger post)

And the final artistic shots – morning and evening.

 

To Wallingford 8-10 August 2017

Wallingford is the fisrt town we have noticed to have a Welcome sign on the river bank.

We arrived  to find all the moorings full so had to make do on the meadows with an extremely high bank and field full of cows!  However Tony fixed the plank to the roof so we we able to get on and off!

 

 

 

 

Wallingford was the home of Agatha Christie so we made that pilgrimage!

 

 

 

It also has an amazing Antiques Centre,

a super independant bookshop, an excellent Museum ( I couldn’t resist this Aldridge)

and yes, a Waitrose! Plus history.

 

 

 

 

So definitely my kind of town! They just need more moorings!

 

Reading1-3 August and on to Goring 4-6 August 2017

Moored up in Christchurch Meadows where a footbridge takes you over the river and the leads you up to the station & town. we paid for our mooring at the Swimming Baths and went on to have tea in John Lewis where I bought a TomTom fitness band as my pedometer (third or fourth) all became unreliable.

Sold to me by the charming Harry

It took me about two hours of struggling to set it up!!

Reading is like many other large towns – unremarkable! It does have a Waitrose but on the other side of town.

Wednesday was a wet day and we took the train to Poole to visit Tony’s Father. We are rather enjoying train travel! Note the arrival times!

This house appealed to Tony

We saw a most intriguing sight on Thursday morning. We were approaching Mapledurham lock and as there was a queue of three large cruisers on the lock mooring the cruiser in front of us and Matilda had to sit mid channel, which was quite difficult as the weir and wind was pushing the boats around. When the lock gates opened several cars yes cars emerged followed by an assortment of amphibious craft. They drove past the weir and up onto land! This happened a second time. Apparently a “duck club” meets annually to drive the Thames!

 

 

We found no mooring at Pangbourne so we moored up at Beale Wildlife Park in the early afternoon.

We cut through to reach the main road and walked up to Basildon House NT. It has some charming rooms and has been used for the likes of Downton Abbey.

 

NOW it’s quiz time.   Why did we take this photo?   A prize for the person who answers correctly. Hilary, as you are a volunteer for the NT you cannot take part.!

We took a slightly longer hike to return to Matilda!  Having been advised to retrace our steps to the main entrance we found them closed! Fortunately not yet padlocked!

And then we had a problem with the intruder alarm. It would not switch off!!!  Tony found a temporary solution but it was not until we reached Goring the following day that we could ring the company (based in Ireland) to resolve the matter.

Hard at work tree cutting

A different summer house

Goring is a delightfully quaint village. Too small to have a Waitrose although a Tesco Metro is about to open above the station. This is Midsomer Murders Country.  It has a superb butcher.  His ‘Directors’ sausages are delicious

A fantastic grocers/delicatessen with a small bakery, a very well stocked ironmongers,a station and several hotels/pubs. It also has interior design and beauty therapy and hairdressers. What more could you want? I suppose the only odd note is along the lane where the late George Michael lived. Fans have attached flags, flowers and all sorts of messages to the fence and greenery. Beautiful frontage to the house.

 

Goring Lock

 

 

Beautiful leather on Goring Church Doors

Streatley, on the opposite bank

This made us smile

We meet so many lovely people and yesterday being Sunday everyone wanted to stop to talk and come aboard. We met up with Jane on ‘Olivella’ for the third time. We met her on the River Lee and on the River Wey. Nice to compare notes.  ‘Following On’ from Devizes moored up in front of us and we shall be seeing them again at Caen Hill Marina.