The June Rose: Tuesday 14 July 2015

We set off at 8.00am as the lock keepers’ hours are 8.00am – 6.00pm but when we got to Sonning lock it was self service – nearly every lock is against us so we have to moor up, fill or empty it then proceed!

Once through Sonning lock we had to look out for the entrance to the Kennett & Avon which we guessed at as it is not marked at all – the EA in Cambridgeshire are much better at putting signs up so you know where you are going than the CRT are!

On through Blakes lock then we hit the middle of Reading with all the restaurants on the riverside – unfortunately you are not allowed to moor here so it is difficult to take advantage of the facilities. Out the other side of town and through County lock then we chugged past lots of gardens – the properties that back onto the canal are Victorian and three stories high but quite narrow with skinny gardens. Once we were through Fobney lock the surroundings changed completely – it was very rural and we were surrounded by countryside. We chugged through Southcot Lock and Burghfield lock under the M4 and there was the mooring for Garston lock and who was just mooring up, yes Rob. Returned the life jacket and continued to cruise with Rob and his girlfriend Claire who has joined him for the week.

The countryside and villages around here are lovely. We carried on through Sheffield, Sulhamstead, Tyle Mill, Ufton, Towney Padworth, Aldermaston and Old Woolhampton locks. We have also had to open seven swing bridges today – you feel quite important stopping the traffic for two narrowboats to chug through then put the road back in place and let everybody go about their business again. The only trouble is you need the CRT key to operate these and guess who managed to leave another key behind, yes Steve! Luckily there was a chandlery on the next stretch of river so we were able to buy another one straight away so we have two again now!

We found a nice mooring near a pub called the Rowbarge, Rob invited us onboard for dinner so we ate with them then went for a drink in the pub – there was a narrowboat moored up at the pub and onboard there were four people – two men and two ladies – a travelling theatre group. They chug along the canal to pubs where they set up a stage in the pub grounds and put on a show for donations – what a great way to earn a living. We did try to watch some of it but it was cold and raining quite hard so we retreated inside the pub.

The Oracle, Reading - where we used to go to see Jade in her shows!

Must be a well known feeding spot for the swans.

As I jumped onto the landing stage at Blakes Lock there was a Moorhen who took off at quick speed into the reeds leaving behind her eggs. I was pleased to see that when we were in the lock she quickly returned - bit of a daft place to build a nest...