For Macc’s first walk this morning we went down the Thames path back towards Abingdon Marina, and found a couple of meadows where he could have a run about. After breakfast, Adrian went into town to collect a parcel which turned out to be not where it was supposed to be, but fortunately wasn’t far away. We’d also seen yesterday about the roof terrace at the County Hall Museum in town, so we paid the £2 fee and went up.
Meanwhile, I did some audio editing and put together another podcast which has been uploaded and scheduled. We thought we’d go out for lunch, so went across the bridge to the cafe by the river. AV Boats rents out day boats here, so it’s a busy spot.
In the afternoon it was my turn to go into town, so I also paid the £2 to go up to the roof terrace, where there are really great views. The church in the middle of the first photo is the one we can see from the boat (and which disappointingly isn’t illuminated at night).
The museum a couple of floors down is also pretty good, and has a section about MG, which used to be based in Abingdon. They’ve even got an MG-B on display.
My return route took me via Waitrose for a big shop as we were running out of food. Then Adrian dropped off a return parcel and went to get some of the special offer wine from Waitrose too.
0 miles, 0 locks, free mooring. (74 miles, 27 locks, £124.50)
(Just catching up with internet – now I am home.) It was lovely to meet both of you at Wallingford, and also discover buildings and walks which you have done – so next time I visit friends and family – I’ll have new places to take them too!
On my way to the train at Goring, as I crossed the river bridge, (lock side) there were 2 large “champagne palace” type boats which had been moored for more than 48 hours. Then I spotted 2 young men in Hi-vis with I-pads, so that might have been an expensive cruise for some people. But good to know the moorings are kept available for more visitors.
Floodlighting of churches is a bit of a controversial matter. Like you, I do like to see it but at least two contra factors. One, the increasing cost of the electricity is difficult to afford especially churches with restricted budgets. Two, the environmental impact is non-trivial and has been a campaigning matter in the past. Whilst floodlighting looks good it does add to light pollution.
Our church uses the floodlights for special occasions (Christmas for example) and by request, for a fee, for things like birthdays and special anniversaries especially where residents have recently died. I made the conscious decision not to commemorate dates for my parents for environmental reasons and I don’t think I am alone.