Monday 6^th May; We left Pangbourne this morning with Florida sky’s and bright sunshine making for Reading and the mouth of the Kennet and Avon, with only two locks ahead of us for the day.

It was not long after setting off that we passed what can only be described as an Alpaca Farm, with several fields of (flocks if that’s what they are called) of Alpacas of various colours grazing surreally on the riverside pastures. We soon arrived at Mapledurham Lock with all facilities and took advantage by doing all our usual chores and refilling the water tank. We were surprised to recognise the lock keeper, only to be told that we had met him two days ago at Whitchurch (I must be getting old, it’s the memory you know) as he is a temporary lock keeper and fills in for the full time lockies. Through the lock we saw Mapledurham House, one of England’s finest Tudor buildings, where the final chapters of the “Forsyte Saga” were written and where E. H. Shepard was inspired to illustrate “the wind in the willows”.

Passing several islands we soon approached Caversham with expensive houses lining the banks of the Thames, some of which we recognised from our last trip, four years ago, one of which had only changed by not having his Hughes 500 helicopter in the garden (must have sold it, poor thing). Through Caversham Bridge where we stopped on the last trip and on down to the last lock of the day and this done we only had a short journey down to the Tesco moorings where we pulled over for the night.

A Canada goose making good use of the thatch

What, no helicopter this year

Tuesday the 7^th; today is the day when we enter the Kennet and Avon, leaving the Tesco moorings at 10.00 we had a few hundred yards (meters) to go before turning right up the K&A. The first thing I noticed was the increased flow of water as we pushed our way up to the first lock, thinking that as we passed the lock the water would slow down (but no). This first lock was manned and we were assisted through which went very well and we were soon on our way through Reading and under the many bridges.

Reading itself is a very modern city, especially along the waterfront with its many head office buildings of well known, worldwide companies. Most all of the buildings look very new with bright red brick and white sandstone, and climb up from the wharf’s edge reaching for the sky, and it’s all rather spectacular in a way. In front of us now are traffic lights which control the flow of boats through the centre of the town (why, I thought to myself) and like a pedestrian crossing there was a control panel on which a button had to be pressed to get either a red or green light. The button pressed and we got a green (the water still flowing very fast through the town) and we set off, being warned not to stop until we reached County Lock. This section is again all very new, passing the Oracle Centre and more restaurants than I had ever seen in one place, here the river has sharp bends going left to right and back again all the way through, under several bridges and now I understand why there are traffic lights, for if you met anything coming downstream you would be sure to have an accident or two. Eventually you reach County Lock, with a weir to the right with the water gushing over it and on through the town, however once at the lock you have a moment of tranquillity.

 

From here we did a further three miles before mooring just above bridge 14, by the Cunning Man pub, and a word of warning if travelling upstream in a strong flow, at bridge 14 stay over to the right and put some revs on, otherwise you will come to a stop and pushed onto the towpath under the bridge.

We had moored up and were eating our lunch when we saw a boat passing us on its way downstream, it was NB Morning Myst, so we waved franticly as we knew of the boat from our friends John and Graham. At the helm was Bob and he saw us and made to pull over and moor up, so we quickly finished our lunch and went out to meet them, chatting for a short while. Now with the offer of tea or coffee we arranged to go back at 3.30 for a chat and get to know them both (Bob and June). We eventually spent a couple of hours with them and have to say what a nice couple they are, and hopefully we have added two new friends to the many we have met whilst boating. (Thank you guys for a great afternoon and allowing us to join you both, and of course Phoenix).

Wednesday the 8^th; With a fond faiwell to Bob and June we were soon on our way again up the K&A, with a promise of meeting up with them around September. Ahead of us are 6 swing bridges and 7 locks, as we plan to stop when we get to Aldermaston, only six miles further upstream. I would like to point out at this time, for those who do not know, the K&A is more a river than a canal at least as far as we have travelled so far.

At the first lock we teamed up with NB Mithril, skippered by Greg and Celia and stayed with them all the way to Aldermaston, a nice couple who made our journey a lot easier as this is their local canal. The stream here is still quite fast, and I calculated it as being around 3.45mph, which made the journey a little more difficult than we had travelled before. Someone had told us that the K&A is hard work, but very pleasant and I have to say that I agree with them so far. With the flow of the river the helm demands a lot more concentration than normal to keep it centred and running straight, not much time for enjoying the scenery.

Arriving at Aldermaston, we left our travelling companions as they pulled over at the bottom of their garden and moored up, as for us we went through the lift bridge (28) and moored up on the 48hour visitor moorings just before Aldermaston Lock. It is a quiet wharf, offering all facilities and a secure overnight mooring. A note, we had tried several spots for mooring, however the sides of the river are very shallow and we could not get the boat anywhere near the bank.

 

 

And now with 60mph winds and rain forecast for tomorrow, we are battening down the hatches and staying put for the day.