Twists and turns

 

                      After leaving our mooring at Pinkhill lock we came across this steam launch which was just being fired up.

The further we go up the Thames the more we are falling in love with it. There are so many twists and turns on the river that its not long before both your arms start to ache from continuously working the tiller from one side to the other. It can be very narrow in places as well , but that all adds to the fun of it . I would much sooner have this than a long boring straight piece of canal or river.

                                                                It looks like someone had fun with their shears.

                                                                          A mum or Dad protecting their Cygnets

                                                                                        Father Thames sitting proudly at St John’ lock.

After leaving St John’s lock we cruised the short distance to Lechlade which is just about where the navigation ends on the top end of the River Thames. It has taken us a very enjoyable cruise of 9 and a half hours to get here today.But now it’s time to chill with a glass or 3 of the red stuff and then a day off tomorrow from cruising to explore the local area.

                                                                                                      Happy Days

Up the Thames

 

We puled pins from Abingdon at 07.10 and headed straight for the service point after doing a self service on the lock. The good thing with the Thames is that all the water points have hose pipes and the elsan’s and rubbish disposal area’s are so much cleaner and tidier than on Canal and River Trusts waters.

After not seeing a Kingfisher for a few weeks we saw 4 within half an hour. Managed to get this blurred picture as they were not that happy to have their picture taken.

All the locks are so well kept , But with talk of Canal and River Trust taking over the running of rivers from the Environment Agency I am not sure how long they would be managed to this high standard.

How about this for a lock Keepers cottage. Most of the 45 Keepers cottages along the Thames are equally impressive. All but 5 have lock keepers in them and those 5 are rented out privately. We were talking to one of the keepers and he said “The lock keepers used to have the cottage until they retired, but because of the possibility of Canal and River Trust taking it all over ,they now all have just 12 month contracts to stay in their cottages”. ps Look out if C&RT ever do take it over ….

Going past all the boat houses below Oxford and this lot decided they wanted a race….. We let them win.

After passing Oxford we were waiting for this lock to empty and were a bit surprised when the gates opened and this lot came out.

After a 7 hour cruise we arrived at this mooring just above Pinkhill lock on the upper reaches of The Thames. The river has completely changed from below Oxford and i must admit we are really enjoying ourselves here on the Thames.

                                                                                                               Happy Days

Abingdon

 

Leaving Shillingford and we soon pass some more of the superb properties that line the river.

Now that reminds me , I must teach Hamish to read…

This is Culham Lock and one of the deeper locks on this section.There was a lot of trouble when we arrived as there were no lock keepers on duty. When the locks are set to self service the filling and emptying of the lock is slowed down ,so nobody can come to harm with a fast filling or emptying lock. The lock was taking over 20 minutes to fill and a similar time to empty. With a long line of boats above the lock tempers were starting to flare. When the young lockie eventually turned up one lady had a right old go at him. It turned out that the rota’s were wrong and he was sent to another lock so not his fault. Anyway with us not being in a hurry it didn't really matter a lot to us.

Arriving at Abingdon and finding all the moorings below the bridge full we picked up this one above the bridge.

After mooring it was into Abingdon and a walk around the town.

Its funny how Carolyn’s pace increases when she see’s a market. Abingdon is lovely town with some very expensive property prices. After a good look around the town and filling our rucksacks with bits and pieces it was back to Inca .

Tomorrow we will be off on our travels North again and heading up past Oxford and towards the upper reaches of the Navigable River Thames

                                                                                                          Happy Days

Self service On the Thames

 

We pulled pins from Reading loop at 07.40 on Thursday and our first lock of the day was Blake's lock and this is the one that takes you off the K&A and down onto The Thames. With no lock keeper and the sign saying self service we both got on the paddle wheels and lowered Inca down through the lock.

Once out on the Thames we soon arrived at Caversham lock which also had the self service sign displayed. Now this was a different kettle of fish to any lock we have ever operated before. The lock is electric and everything has to be done in the correct sequence or else nothing happens ,as we soon found out. The lock was full and we had to empty it and then open the gates to enter, but no matter what we did nothing happened. After a long short time it was pointed out to us that the last person to use the lock had left the top paddles open and because of that nothing else would work on the lock until they were closed. Eventually after holding up all the lovely people on their way to work by having the lock gates open we got through and were on our way again. Surely when we do our next one on self service we will have a bit more of an idea .

Some of the locks and side weirs are so spectacular on this river. Also this lock had no Lockkeeper on , so with our newly found knowledge we negotiated this one a lot easier than the last.

Some of the locks can be so fierce when filling that we need to have Carolyn with a bow rope around a bollard and then me with a stern rope around a bollard as well.

Approaching this lock and these 2 Plastics Tuperware GRP boats were in such a hurry to get in the lock before us that they sped past us on the approach. A little later we saw them on the last 2 available moorings at Wallingford. So maybe they had some inside information as to the availability of the moorings.

Just one of the bigger boats that we have encountered on The Thames.

After a most enjoyable 7 hour cruise we are moored up at Shilligford for the night. With a glass or 3 the red stuff and a good tree to provide a bit of much needed shade, this is …Just the ticket.

 

                                                                                       Happy Days

That's a big one

Our mooring outside Reading Gaol, made famous for the incarceration of Oscar Wilde and after his release when he wrote his poem The Ballad of Reading Gaol.
After Carolyn had visited most of the shops in Reading it was off to have a look around the rest of the town. Not far from our mooring is Forbury Gardens and home to The Maiwand Lion. It was was erected in 1886 to commemorate the deaths of 329 men from the 66th Berkshire Foot regiments campaign in Afghanistan between 1878 and 1880. It is made of cast iron and weighs in at 16 tons making it one of the worlds largest cast iron statues.
It was then onto the museum were Carolyn was taken in by this full size copy of The Bayeux Tapestry. It is so long it fills 2 large rooms on the 1st floor.In 1885 thirty-five ladies of the Leek Embroidery Society began work on the ‘tapestry’ and it took them just a year to complete it.
Reading is famous for Huntley and Palmers biscuits and it has its own section in the museum. There are lots of old biscuit tins on display and several that i can remember. I must be getting old !!.
This year they have an exhibition all about the River Thames that we both found very interesting.
Back to Inca and the view from our side hatch looking out over the loop. We have had a good couple of days in Reading but now it is time to leave The Kennet and Avon and make our way back onto The River Thames.
                                                                                          Happy Days