We had a very quiet night in Caversham, once the playground had cleared of children! This morning was sunny again but thankfully cooler than yesterday; at least this heatwave was only really one day (although does that count as a heatwave?). The Le Boat hire boat in front of us left first, and then we set off at about 9, heading straight under Christchurch Bridge.
We went round the right hand side of Fry’s Island, which is home to Caversham Boat Services who have a fleet of rather old hire boats. At the end of the island there’s a bowls club, and there were people there today mowing the grass. It sounds rather exotic, being called the Island Bohemian Bowls Club.
There were a few rowers out from the Reading Uni Rowing Club, and then we went under Caversham Bridge.
There’s a big park on one side (all no mooring) and a few big houses on the other. The most photographed must be the one with a bell tower.
A bit further on there’s another striking house, but in a very different style. I tend to like these modern houses, but I’m not sure about the black glass, especially on the ground floor.
By Tilehurst the railway accompanies the river, but quite a bit higher. There are a few sections where there’s a big retaining wall — but it was only when we got closer I spotted the post box. I wonder if this is the one that used to be on Sonning Bridge.
Just before Mapledurham Lock there’s a brief glimpse of Mapledurham House thanks to a gap in the trees. It’s apparently regarded as one of the best examples of an Elizabethan house.
At the lock we could see the gates were open, and it turned out our neighbours from last night were inside. They waited for us to come in, and then the chap pressed the buttons although he was a bit confused about what to do as he’d not done one himself before.
Once the lock was full Adrian took over to close the gates and sluices, and we stopped on the landing above briefly to deal with rubbish and Elsan. Services are pretty few and far between, so you can’t really pass a bin without making use of it. We’d just set off again when four big white cruisers came round the corner heading for the lock, so I was glad we hadn’t lingered a minute longer. A few years ago we tried to moor near Mapledurham but couldn’t get to the side. Today there appeared to be a few places we’d have been ok, but we wanted to try Pangbourne. It’s a really popular mooring on the meadow, so when we saw a space we grabbed it. The bow is close to the bank but the stern is a good few feet out.
I took Macc for a walk and found there would have been a space a bit further down, but it was just being taken. It seems everyone wants to stop here, and quite a few of the boats looks as though they’ve been here a while. One reason might be that it’s free; I’m starting to put Thames mooring fees on the stats at the end of these blog posts, as they really do mount up.
The people on the boat in front told us what a nice town Pangbourne is, so we decided to go and have a look and have lunch at a cafe. We chose Artichoke Cafe where Macc could come too. Our lunch took a long time to come, but it was very good when it arrived. Pangbourne also has some nice shops including a bakery and a cheese shop, and a useful Co-op. On the other side of the river is Whitchurch on Thames, and the two are linked by a distinctive bridge.
After lunch I went to have a look at the bridge and Whitchurch. It’s a toll bridge, and prices today are a bit higher than they were originally — at least for cars and vans. They don’t charge pedestrians these days.
There’s a toll both at the far end, with one person inside who takes money on both sides. Quite a few people seemed to have a season ticket or were using a card reader to pay, but even so the staff member appeared to be rushed off her feet.
From the bridge, there’s a lovely view of a very pretty selection of houses up the weir stream with the church beyond. There’s lots of work going on at the church so the spire is covered in scaffolding. I went for a closer look, and it appears it’s having all new wooden shingles on its roof.
Whitchurch has a couple of pubs, but the road is busy and immediately after the bridge is only one way at a time, so drivers seem rather exasperated. There are some nice houses though.
More canal restrictions because of low water have come through during the day. Hatton Locks are going onto restricted hours next week, and Atherstone is closing completely. Blake’s Lock in Readingbis still shut (so it really is good we got out when we did yesterday) and the lock ahead, Whitchurch Lock, was closed for an hour or two because the gates wouldn’t close. That explains why we hadn’t seen any boats for a while.
6 miles, 1 lock, free mooring. (51 miles, 20 locks, £74)