I am Linda and along with my husband Richard and our dog Muffin we enjoy our summers on the UK's canal system

Tuesday 16 September 2014

Thames Promenade, Reading (River Thames) – Monday 15th September

We were late waking up again which was a nuisance as once again we were on a mission!!  We left our lovely mooring and moved to the lock.  As we turned to go in I saw a wide beam coming up river – it was Still Rockin.  We shared the lock with them – it was a pretty tight squeeze but at least we could get two boats in.  Carol said that at Temple Lock there was only room for them and that No Problem was following on.  We both needed the services so pulled over and had a quick chat before we roared off up the river!
 
Harleyford Manor
I was reading No Problem’s blog this morning and Sue had written about our brief chat yesterday “Linda and Richard came by at lunch time in motorway mode to make it a couple of locks up to meet friends.” Love it Sue - that’s just how I feel!!
 
Temple Island
After Hambledon Lock we passed Temple Island and its elegant ornamental folly temple designed by the 18th century English architect James Wyatt and constructed in 1771. It was designed as a fishing lodge for nearby Fawley Court.  In December 1987 Henley Regatta were able to purchase a 999 year lease of the island and the temple. Following the purchase, the Stewards of the Regatta undertook restoration works to the island and the temple.
 
The Angel on the Bridge in Henley
The house on the island in Henley that I mentioned back in July on our way down the river is still for sale – with two agents now thought I can’t find it on Rightmove

The Little Green Boat 
Shiplake and Sonning Locks, lunch on the hoof and finally we saw the moorings at Tesco in Reading – phew!  We moored up and shortly after a little green boat came out of the K & A and there was Daisy Chain with Steve and Diane on board :-)  They were the whole point of our “motorway” dash up the Thames as we will be cruising with them up to Lechlade and back to Newbury before finishing for the winter.  77 miles and 21 locks in 5 days which included two evenings of socialising – can we PLEASE slow down now!!
 
Black swan family
Diane and I went to Tesco to stock up and then set off up to Thames Promenade in Reading.  We came across two black swans with their cygnet.  Apparently black swans don’t breed very well in the wild – well these two certainly have though it is very late in the season.

The view from our mooring

We arrived in lovely late afternoon sunshine and sat out on the grass till about 8pm when it became really too chilly to do so!  Opposite our mooring is this lovely house with a cupola – look it up if you don’t know what one is!!

16.50 miles
6 locks

2 comments:

  1. Pedant alert ! "The Angel in Henley" is in fact The Angel on the Bridge, as over the bridge on the Berkshire side (about 200 yards) is another pub called The Little Angel, the "on the bridge" & "Little" are used to distinguish between the two. ;- )

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  2. Hi Alf. Thanks for the correction - all done now!

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